Critique for Skylar

Hey Skylar! So excited your applying this session :0 yayy all my friends are coming, so I’m super excited to give you this critique! Please don’t mind me if I get a bit like uptight or strict here it’s just the critique I swear-
Overall, your answers for the About Me section seem solid, I’d just say to elaborate on some of your interests more, for example I’d love to hear more about mini metro since I’ve never heard about it and I’m sure most haven’t (unless I’ve just been living under a rock for my life), so these little and interesting parts of your life are things that you’d specifically want to include and elaborate on! Anything else that you mentioned that you didn’t talk about too much in your About Me can also be included, mini metro was just an example.
For experience, it’d be great if you perhaps included a short memory from your notable sessions in SWC, maybe your first one, or one where your cabin one first, etc. This is great for the hosts because they get to one, not only know about you but two, see your experience with SWC itself more and how passionate you are about it.
In your first sentence of cabins you’d like to lead, you say “I would most like realistic fiction, but I do have ideas for all three” after listing your favorite genres you like to read and write in, so I think the but isn’t necessary and you can change it to “and I do have ideas for all three”. It’d also be nice if you could order them by preference so if you are chosen the hosts have a better idea of which cabin they’d give to you, and who knows maybe they take into account the cabins you want to lead when judging whether you should get in or not? Either way, it’s just nicer to have than not.
Your Dedication seems amazing, but here’s a hint for you just because you’re awesome and definitely deserve this piece of advice I’d recommend you give some affirmation to the fact that you will always balance your health, responsibilities in real life and scratch evenly, if not prioritizing your responsibilities because hosts always like people who think of these first, that when the first thing they see is that you know what they’re thinking about in asking this question is not only how much time you can dedicate but how healthy you are with your time! Of course this might not be exactly correct because I’m not a host but I’ve included this in my previous apps and it’s been great!
For time management, I would not recommend you going up and immediately saying I’m really bad at time management, as it just leaves a bitter taste in the hosts mouths that you were able to immediately admit it, and event hough they obviously value honesty, they’re going to immediately think, well this person doesn’t take time management as well as this other person. I’d say that if you were to keep it here, try and add something to the sentence that would balance this statment out, and try not to be too negative about the question, as that’s never good.
In collaboration, you say “that I’d always listen”, change it to I instead of I would, to show that even in the present you’re still using this strength. It’d also be great if you have more time to list maybe 1 more strength and weakness, and even though it can be hard, I swear that it shows to the hosts that you are more dedicated to answering the questions. Though word count isn’t important, sometimes if the quality of the words are good and there is an above average count, it shows you are passionate about the topic.
In your One Quality, there is this one part where you say maturity is like doing something you might not want to do, and then you compare it to doing tasks in SWC, which might give off the wrong impression, telling the hosts that perhaps you’re not dedicated to different parts of SWC because you like it, but because you have to and you’re mature because you’re doing things you dislike. I’d say to maybe rewrite a bit what maturity is as a symbol, as I like the idea of it being your trait, but the way you explain it might be off-putting.
That’s a wrap! It was nice to go through your answers and get to know you a bit more Skylar, and I can’t wait to see whether you got in or not because that would be so exciting! Good luck, and I hope this helped!

(794 words)

-Word War-
Against @–Artsy_Girl–
Word Count: 394
Status: I lost
Notes: please note that as this was a word war, I stopped right at 8 minutes, which is why this is cut off so suddenly. I'm not really sure what I was doing here, and I don't know what time period I set this in. The past, I guess?

Dear Journal,
Today was another absolutely exciting day in my life. Obviously, I woke up at the ripe hour of 8 am. My favorite maidservant, Daisy, helped me dress. At 23 minutes after eight, I headed downstairs to breakfast, which was served in the dining room. Because today was my brother’s birthday, we celebrated with a special dinner just for him. He is turning 18 and is soon to be wed to an extremely awful second cousin of ours- gross! As we are a high-class family, obviously we need to keep our bloodline clean. Because my brother is 18, he is the eldest and therefore must not lower our standards. Meanwhile, my younger brother shouldn’t have a problem. He has very little inheritance (although I have even less: none) and can marry whoever he wants. That’s quite far away, though, as he is only the young age of five. After breakfast, I headed upstairs to freshen up before my tutor arrived. I studied my French, as well as English literature, the Bible, and, best of all, music. My music teacher is different than my tutor. I absolutely adore piano lessons. I’m also learning the harp, which sounds beautiful but is quite hard to play. After French for two hours, I took a small refreshment lunch. I had some delicious chicken salad sandwiches made by our cook, who we endearingly call Cook. After this, I resumed studying my English, and then the Bible, and then, of course, as I mentioned earlier, my music lessons. At 6:00 pm, we took our tea, where my etiquette tutor tried to teach me proper manners at a tea party. Alas, I can never quite remember what exactly I should say in specific scenarios. Oh well, I should learn in time, if only I apply myself. After tea, my art teacher came. I proceeded to learn about an amazing artist, whose name I unfortunately forgot. At dinner, we ate another delicious meal. It was followed by a scrumptious chocolate cake that was covered in the thickest, richest chocolate frosting EVER. I had to limit myself to only one piece, which may have been the hardest thing I have ever done. Cook is quite well-known for her delectable cakes, and it’s always a struggle not to overeat. Finally, the day ended with me practicing my script in you, my journal.

JWC Daily 6! Song lyrics explained.

“Don’t wish, don’t start. Wishing only wounds the heart.”

This is part of “I’m Not That Girl” from the Wicked movie. This line from the song articulates how the main character Elphaba feels that if she lets herself start to wish or hope that she will only break her heart. 

Elphaba likes the prince (they obviously have chemistry but of course she denies it) but feels that she’s not a good fit for him, and that she’s not good enough. So she tells herself by it not being an option that she’s saving herself from hurt in the long run. This song also speaks to anyone who’s had the situation of liking someone you know likes someone else.

A year ago when I got the chance to see Wicked on Broadway I was going through a similar experience in my life. And both times (at Broadway and in the movie theatre) I have teared up with the true potency of this song. It makes your heart hurt with just how true it is. It talks about how it feels to want someone, but it’s pointless in your mind because they like someone else.

I can tell you from experience that loving someone but thinking you’re not good enough is definitely a way to wound the heart. And sometimes as humans we’re selfish and put ourselves, ending things, or stopping them before they even get started so that we don’t have to feel the pain, or ‘wound the heart.’

I have this line written down in my notes app and everytime I read it it strikes a cord in my heart. One that understands the feeling of not being good enough. Thinking you’ll never be good enough for someone. And maybe, even if you were good enough, that you wouldn’t do it anyway in fear of getting your heart broken.

Everyone feels the fear of failure. Of trying something and it not working out. Of falling flat on your face. That is the same with love. You can fall so fast you lose all sense of caution and then you realize to late that that someone you fell for doesn’t feel the same. So you fall. And fall. And fall. And no ones there to catch you. To protect your heart that you put out there from hitting the ground and shattering into a million little peices.

The pain of a broken heart is like no other pain. And so most people think like this. To not wish, to not even start, because in the end that little bit of hope, will hurt you. And no one wants to get hurt.

Total: 431 words!
Please don’t judge I didn’t edit this so I might say the same thing multiple times…..

Critique for Skylar:

This critique is only for your app, not your answers <3

First of all, start with the app theme, I wouldn’t say it’s the most unique, but I wouldn’t say it’s too common, as I’ve seen people already do a theme with career options, but maybe you could add something in it to make it unique, like little drawings of each career, or a little animation! Another note is that your next and last buttons are a bit simple, and since you do have some time before apps are due, I think it would be great if the button instead could be solid and change the text to the same text you did for each career, just so that it blends in with the other aspects of the app. Next, the buttons for the careers and answers, though they are very pretty, the app really doesn’t have too much for the eye to enjoy, as all there is is background images, buttons, and text, again graphics or drawings of each career would be pretty nice to have here! Other than that, everything looks pretty good!

188 words

Daily 7 (Lyric is “she gave me a reason” from He Could Never Love you by Henry Morris) :

She gave me a reason, a reason for everything. For breathing, for blinking, for loving. Does that make up the fact that I buried his body? That I know all about ghosts since I’m one, my love?
It was in a dark room that I first saw you, an ethereal vision. With him though, your glow was dimmed by the darkness that he emitted. I had to do it, right? What would you think if you heard my helpless pleas? Would you spurn my touch, or would you pull me into a hug?
I don’t know if I want your touch, because once you do, I’ll never be able to let go. You’re all that I have, and though you’ve never talked to me, never glanced my way, I have hope. I have a reason to have hope, and it’s because of you. If I tell you that, would you look my way finally?
What would you think of what I’d done to your lover? No, I don’t want to think about it. He never looked at you the way I do, and I know, because I do. He doesn’t deserve it, you love him and he doesn’t. He’ll leave you like everyone’s left me. You’ll be alone, waiting for me to come, and now, I’ve just made him leave a bit faster. Is that so wrong of me to do?
With blood on my hands, I walk home, happy and satisfied. Am I a monster, to do that? You would never say that I’m wrong, you’d be happy that I’m doing this, you’d be glad that I’m doing this. You’re my reason to live. You’re my reason to love. Anything that I do, it’ll be because of you. I’ll never be selfish again after this, because I’ll have you, and that will be enough, at least for me. I hope it will be for you too.
Let’s run away, somewhere far away where no one will be able to judge us because they don’t understand. They don’t understand me, and when you tell them you love me, they’ll be upset because they don’t understand. You’ll understand me, right? Right? Right?
Please do. Tell me that I’m your reason to live, that you’d never stop loving me, that you’d protect me from everyone else. Everything I do, I do for you, and maybe someday you’ll do the same, after all, you’re my reason.
403 words

App:

Starting off with gushing, your app idea is so unique and cute! I love the idea of talking about your purpose in life, and the hosts are always excited to see more parts of the people who may become potential leaders! One note would be, though annoying to fix, the fact that the text for your answers is a bit small compared to your handwritten notes, and it’d be great if you could perhaps enlarge it! Also, I really like your handwriting and though you don’t need to handwrite everything, maybe find a font similar to your handwriting just to make it look more cohesive and similar. Other than that I don’t have any notes if you have some extra time and want to just make your app look the best it can, maybe add some more details for the background of your app, maybe more skeletons, or just a little field of flowers to tie into the flower theme of your questions. This really reminds me of those little black papers you could scratch off and it would be rainbow if you’ve seen those before. You’d use a toothpick and the parts where you scratched would be a line. XD Anyways, the app looks amazing, moving on to your answers!

Answers:
First note, in your About Me, it isn’t very necessary to say that the NZDT timezone is 12-13 hours ahead of UTC, though it is useful information to know, we’re here to read about yourself, not about the timezone. It’d be best if you removed that part! “INFP-T - meaning” change the hyphen in between t and meaning to a comma. All your traits about yourself, the things you like, they’re fascinating and I think it would be great if you were to elaborate more on your hobbies, maybe talk more about moments you’ve had with cross-stitching, or why you like Shawn Mendes so much.
“Nov 24 - Co-leader
I’ve co-lead once in Nov 24, helping to run Sci-Fi” in participating, this is unnecessary as I’d suggest adding which cabin you were in each session to show more uniqueness about you, as anyone can participate in sessions, they want to see what specific cabins you were in. Change the quoted part to “Nov 24 - Co-leader - Sci-fi” and do the same with all your other sessions, stating the cabin would be amazing! It would also be great if you could talk more about what you experienced co-leading in sci-fi, maybe one of your favorite moments, or how you felt co-leading because that again shows more personality than just listing down being a camper a few times and then co-leading once.
For your preferences, you state that you don’t have a certain preference, which is never the best, you should always have at least a top 3 cabins you’d want because it shows that you are organized and have a good idea of what you’d do as a leader if you got in, which hosts take into account. Since you mentioned you’d like to lead Adventure or Fantasy, maybe put those as your top 2 and another one as your third. You should have a certain idea established for each cabin you’d like to lead instead of an idea you could use for multiple cabins. You should also state cabins you wouldn’t want to lead.
Going on to dedication, “Timewise March is a school month for me”, this sentence doesn’t really make sense because timewise is just unnecessary as March is just always a school month, and you’d be fine without timewise and just say March is a school month for me. Since you do say you’re going to be inactive for a bit over March, you should state what you’re going to do to make sure your cabin is prepared in time for camp to show that you know what you’re going to do even when you’re inactive.
Nothing too big in skills and shortcomings in time management that’s wrong, but I’d recommend an introductory paragraph to the question, and adding ways you can fix your weaknesses as hosts like it when you actively try and figure out how to combat parts of yourself that aren’t the best. There is the same issue in Collaboration and Assets too. Remember to also include the assets that you have as a leader so as to not forget a part of the question!
In One Quality, I would say to add why respect is more important compared to other traits that you could’ve chosen to embody, but aside from that it all looks good!
When you’re answering what you’re going to do if you’re inactive, you should add something talking about making sure that your co-leaders are fine without you and that your cabin will be fine without you instead of just telling them that you’re going to be inactive.
That wraps it up! Thank you for letting me critique your answers, and I hope they were helpful!

825 words

“Songwriting is a form of writing that is a big part of any culture, and most authors have often overlooked it. Today, we want you to include a lyric from a song of your choice, and write 350 words around the meaning of that lyric for 300 points. Get an extra 100 points if you share your daily <3”

Words: 368

After a lot of procrastination and indecisiveness about what lyric to write about for this daily, I ended up settling on a line from the chorus of “Fast Car”, which is a country song by Tracy Chapman that came out in 1988. The lyric I chose is “I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone”. I feel like to me this lyric is relatable especially as I’ve begun to get older. I feel that way with a lot of music to be honest. There are so many songs that as a younger kid I liked because of melody or tune, but looking back on them now I can really appreciate a lot of these lyrics. I think as a child you’re not able to appreciate the nuance and deeper meaning of a lot of songs, probably due to just pure lack of life experience. But now there are so many times I’ll relisten to a song and just, wow, the amount of symbolism and relatability that I just missed is honestly astonishing sometimes.
Now, specifically about “Fast Car”, and the lyric from it that I chose, I can relate to the idea of wanting to “be someone”. I’ve often struggled with the idea of what I’m meant to do here, what can I do to make my life meaningful to myself and other people. Especially as I approach my senior year of high school and all around me people ask what I’m going to do, essentially asking who I’m going to be. It’s a hard question to answer for me, it always has been, and I doubt that it’s going to get any easier as time goes on. The idea of having to pick one thing to focus on in college and my career after high school, the idea of picking who I’m going to be is stressful in so many ways. I feel like there are so many people I could be, different versions of me based on what I end up deciding to do with my life. I wish I could know exactly who I wanted to be, but most of the time I know that I just want to “be someone”.

Critique for Cat:
Hey Cat, I’m super excited to start critiquing your app! The critique will be separated into a critique of your app and answers.
App: Start off strong, I love how you made a specific cursor for your theme, and I also love your theme because it’s so unique! One note would maybe make the starting screen stay on for a bit shorter because I was confused as to whether I was supposed to click the screen to make the thumbnail go away or if I was supposed to wait for it to go away. Another note is that with the cursor sometimes you are unable to click, and you have to keep trying to go to the next slide. You should also make an option for being able to go back using the left arrow and going forward using the spacebar and left arrow.
Last note is just that since your app is very text-based, I’d recommend maybe adding little graphics or doodles that you drew, or that you just found to spice things up and make sure that it isn’t too boring.

Answers:

Moving onto your answers and starting with your about me, there’s nothing grammatically wrong that I would point out, but it’d be great if you could elaborate more on your favorite songs, or books so we can know even more about your personal experiences with some of those. Anyways, I’m so jealous of you being able to lucid dream, I wish I could do it so badly!
Same with your experience, though you state that you’ve been in cabins in SWC 3 times, you don’t state any key moments that you really enjoyed, which would show that hosts a bit more about yourself and the fact that you love SWC so much, which is important. “I’ve also obviously been able to (co)lead four cabins, which has influenced me greatly” you already know you’ve stated this already, so this isn’t necessary as it doesn’t provide new information, and is just a filler that you’d be better off without. Listing all of your experiences leading or participating in scratch camps is not necessary, and I’d recommend only listing your experiences in SWC, and for the rest you can just give a short summary so it doesn’t seem so boring and make your experience just feel like a list devoid of any emotion.
You’ve got a lot of great ideas for your preferred cabins, but I’d say to make a ranking of them, or maybe your top favorite one as it just makes planning who leads which cabin a lot easier, and just shows the hosts that you are organized and have a good plan for what you would choose out of all the ideas that come out of your head. You should also choose just one idea for each cabin as it shows, again you are organized and you have a good idea of what you’re going to do though it’s good to brainstorm about different ideas, the hosts don’t want to see that, they want to see your final idea for each of your preferred cabins so they know what it’s going to feel like if you were leading that certain cabin.
In time management, you say “Oops, sorry about the rant!” though it’s great to be silly sometimes, this question is not one of those questions, and since I don’t think you really ranted in that part and I was actually really into learning about your own personal experience, that kind of just cut me out of it and I felt like a fish out of water, so it’d be best to remove it!
Your first sentence in collaboration is a strange way to start out the question, and I’d rather you have a better introductory sentence before continuing with that one just to make it sound better. Your weakness is also very varying because you don’t always collaborate with people that are older than you, for example, though I don’t know your birthday XD I’m also 13, and I’d rather you talk about a weakness that is consistent than talk about a weakness that depends on whether your co-leaders are older or younger than you, if you understand what I mean. “Ok, that was a lot.” again, even if I would recommend you to change your weakness, I didn’t think it was too much, and again this is unnecessary as collaboration and time management are the 2 questions I’d say to be serious about, and though it isn’t too silly, it’s just not needed. “On less of a personal basis, I think I bring some assets to the team.” I feel like the assets that you have are personal, and so I would remove that, and you shouldn’t say you think you bring assets, you either do or you don’t, try your best to be confident in what you say!
Nothing too worrisome about your One Quality, just make sure to mention how you yourself would embody this trait as a leader, like would you check in every day, would you make sure everything is done, would you take charge to do something, etc.
And that’s it! Though it may seem like I was pretty nitpicky, I promise you there were so many amazing parts of your app that I didn’t comment on, but I want to tell you they are there! I really hope this helps as I tried to include as much as I could, and good luck with getting in <3

924 words

Critique for Lora:

Hey Lora, I’m excited to start critiquing your app answers! First off from the start, I’m assuming it’s an aesthetic choice, but when you turn in your app and the deadline passes, I think people would rather see properly capitalized answers instead of all lowercase because it just shows your care and dedication to SWC. “honesty i have realised”, realized is spelled wrong here, you used an s instead an z. I also think it’d be great if you elaborate a bit more about your answers, maybe talk a bit more about why you love writing and how you discovered SWC because everyone likes to hear stories, especially ones that are unique and that they’ve never heard before!
Going on to participate in “march’22” I don’t believe this is the correct way to abbreviate, I believe you need to leave a space between march and ‘22 so it’s like this “march ‘22”. I also think it’d be awesome if you shared some of your favorite moments co-leading, or maybe how it felt when you first joined SWC because it makes the reader of your answers feel closer to you, like they know about a little memory that connects all of us together.
In time dedication, you say “, haha. moreover, i plan to be very free on saturdays!!” I think you should remove the “haha” since it’s not very necessary and also remove one of the exclamation points as it just makes it look more professional and less like a text to your friend.
You don’t exactly state a certain strength you have in time management, though you do assure everyone that you will manage your time well, so I’d say to perhaps zero in on one skill you feel that you’re particularly good at when it comes to time management, for example scheduling, or efficiency, etc.
You also combined the assets you would bring to the team and your strengths in collaboration and I would say to separate them, as they are two separate questions. Assets include being good at graphic design, being able to draw well, being imaginative and creating a good storyline, things that would be helpful when creating a cabin (for example being good at graphic design means you can create a thumbnail for the cabin) while a strength in collaboration would be open-mindedness or flexibility.
Next, in your one quality, you call it “listening to others”, which I wouldn’t call a quality. I’d recommend you find a one word definition to ‘listening to others’, for example, open-mindedness instead of just calling it “listening to others”.
Other than that, your app looks great! Thank you so much for asking me to critique your app, I had a lot of fun, and I wish you the best of luck later on this month when results come out!

(472 wrds)

Word war #2 (with Skylar ^^)

Time: 8 minutes
Status: won

I stared into the unicorn’s eyes. His obsidian black eyes.
“I want to make a deal.”
“So you do agree to the terms, then?”
“Yeah, sure.”
His eyes glittered. “You don’t know what you’re signing up for. Don’t you know what happens to those who don’t complete their side of the deal?”
My hands trembled, but I fixed him with a solid stare. “Of course I do. And I’m ready for it.”
“Oh, well. Come in now, if you must.” He sighed.
I stepped into the room, the floorboards creaking under my feet as I went. It was a dark, cold room, dimly lit by the flame of a candle, a candle with fire dancing at its tip, but then he blew the flame out. The light faded.
I felt a shiver creep up my spine. I hated this place already. It felt so cold. So dark. So lonely. So quiet.
“Oh well,” I said. “I guess I should get going, then.”
I turned to look back at the unicorn — but the door banged shut! On the other side, I heard the sound of a latch. Then quick footsteps. Or hoofsteps?
“Huh?” I shrieked. “What? You can’t do this! How am I supposed to get out of here?”
“You can figure it out,” he replied, sounding rather annoyed. “I’m sure you will. In the meantime, try to make as little noise as possible.”
“Why? You said there aren’t any people here,” I said, steeling my voice.
“Oh!” he said. “Yeah, there aren’t. Still, your screaming gives me a headache. Just keep your volume down.”
I screamed. I shrieked. I pounded at the door. Its hinges rattled, but it didn’t budge.
“Please! Just let me out! Please! Please! I’m begging you,” I shouted. “Please! Let me out! Let me out!”
“I’ll tell you how to get out, if you stop screaming,” the unicorn responded.
“How do I get out, then?”
There was a pause. “You can figure it out by yourself.”
“You said you would tell me!”
“Fine,” he sighed. “You have to keep your side of the deal. Then I’ll let you out.”
I stayed silent.
“But I highly doubt that’s going to happen.”
“What’s my side of the deal?” I asked.
“You have to bring me cookies.”
“What kind of cookies?’
He sounded surprised. “Chocolate chip cookies.”
“Wow! How nice!” I exclaimed. “I actually do have chocolate chip cookies with me right now.”
“But that’s impossible!” he said. “Yet… if it is… will you give me those chocolate chip cookies?”
“How do I give them to you if the door is closed.
“Good point. I’ll open it.”
And then

word count: 440 words

Critique for Mousey:

Mouse! I’m so honored to bestow this critique unto you, I hope you don’t mind me being a bit harsh here, but that’s what you asked for so it’s definitely fine for me to go psycho mode on this <33 Super excited to hear your ideas for the session, and honestly I’ll stop stalling and start critiquing!
Starting off with your About Me section! “I go by they/any pronouns, but I will happily respond to any of them” you can remove the “but” here since I’m assuming that if anyone goes by they/any pronouns, they would respond to them, and it isn’t an exception that you do? Correct me if I’m wrong XD Also ooh punk music? Never would’ve expected that from you Mouse! (obviously a nice surprise hehe) Trapeze is such an interesting sport and I’d love it if you could explain it a bit more other than you talking about the lessons it taught you because it’s so unique and honestly even if it doesn’t matter anyone would just want to know about it <3 Last note Mouse, we are not going back to last session! I still see the hearts >:0 they’re a lot less than last time, but I’d still say to cut back on them as much as you can since they’re just a filler because we all know that you love us (/j) Anyways other than that, your about me is amazing!
I feel like I’ve been telling this to everyone who’s asked me for a critique, but experiences are so personal and unique that everyone’s are so different, so I think that your experience section would benefit from a story about the first time you led, or the first time you camped in SWC! We all love stories, since this is a writing camp, and you get a chance to show off your individuality! It’s a win-win!
If you’re getting in as a leader, you’re probably going to get the Spiderverse themed cabin, but I always like to have a backup, especially since fandom themed cabins aren’t always the cabins hosts choose for leaders to lead (aside from themselves because apparently they can whenever they want), from experience, that’s what it seems and you could totally get it, but I think you could include a second and smaller option that if you don’t get your Spiderverse cabin, they can see what ideas you have for another one. It’s always good to have more than one plan.
XD Dealing with the excerpt later- so real! Time dedication is perfect, maybe just add a spiel about how you’ll always prioritize your health and irl stuff before scratch as since it’s in the realm of dedication and it’s just like why not, I’d recommend you include it! Maybe add something talking about how you’ll still be physically and mentally healthy even with SWC going on and so many things you have to do!
Time management looks perfect, one small thing is when you mention the fact that whenever you listen to this specific song you start writing, so you’ll use that to your advantage whenever you don’t, it throws me off a bit because I feel as if you’re saying that writing is a chore when it honestly should be a passion in SWC? Unless you’re talking about cabin planning, which in that case I 100% agree with you, but it’d be great if you could just explain that in more detail so we get more confirmation on that.
For your strength of being extroverted in collaboration, I don’t really know if I could call it a strength, well it can, but the points you bring up, as an introvert, I’d be fine doing. Maybe add some things that only extroverts do sometimes (ex: interacting with your co-leaders outside of planning a lot, talking to them about stuff that doesn’t involve SWC) instead of talking about just seeing new viewpoints because to me, that’s awesome too! Oh my gosh Mouse, 4 “3”s in one heart? (<3333) New record! I love your assets, but could you provide some examples as to show how those assets would be useful while leading? Just nice to know!
Last note, in your checkboxes and more, you answer the question of what you’ll do if you’re inactive. What always annoys me the most is when all people do is just say they’ll be inactive and inform everyone, because ugh responsibility (which btw is my favorite trait) please please please include something about no matter what, trying your best to see if you could check in, even if it’s once every few days, or asking your co-leaders if there’s anything they might need help with before you become completely inactive since getting in as a leader means that you have signed an invisible contract saying you will take the responsibilities of one, which means doing the work you have to as a leader! Of course this is an imaginary situation, but I would just add that since it’s a pet peeve of mine not to.
Anyways, that’s it! I hope that you got some good critique from this and that you can improve your app even more because Mouse this looks absolutely amazing I can’t wait to possibly see a Spiderverse themed cabin it’s going to be so cool I’m already hyped please inform me of new changes please please please talk to me throughout the months cause you’re such an awesome person thank you for letting me critique your app good luck <3

927 words

dailyyy number…. 8???

July 11, 20XX

At least, I think that’s the date.

There’s no clock in the room, and I have no idea how long I slept for, or how little. Knowing me, it’s most likely the 11th, but I have no way to tell. Normally, I’d be glad that there’s a window in the room, but it’s not helping. It was night when I got here, and it’s still night. The stars are still out, and they’re brighter than I’ve ever seen before.

Maybe I’m dealing with the fae, or something like that, I don’t know. Whoever lives here is obviously far from what I can consider human. I don’t like it here. I regret wishing that I wanted to stay in the forest. As much as I hate home, it’s better than wherever here is. The air is heavy here, in a way I can’t explain. It’s that melancholy air, the thick one, where it feels like everything’s weighing down on you. Like you can’t breathe.

I don’t like it here. I want to leave.

I don’t think I can though. The door is unlocked, and there’s nothing blocking it. I tested it earlier. But the monster who lives here told me that he thought that I was smart for not running away from him. I think that was a hint. Don’t try it. The window’s too high for me to jump from, and there’s no tree close enough to jump or grab onto. And the walls are smoother than the outer walls are, meaning I can’t climb them.



July 12, 20XX

I think that’s the date.

I slept again, shocking I know, I never nap, ever. But, I don’t have much to do. The monster brought me a sandwich and a glass of water. I was a little suspicious of it, but I was too hungry to care. That’s the first real food I’ve gotten in a while, I think. Better than peanut butter cups that’s for sure.

Not much happened. Oh well. I still want to leave.

(339 words)

JWC Writing Dare: From Luna
Write story where two of your characters have a dispute and write it from both POVs

KAT’S POV

I look up from my reading when I hear the click of the door unlocking. I tuck my bookmark into my book at sit up so that I can glare at the person entering the room. 

“Hey Kat, listen—“ Bree stops when she sees me waiting for her. Her eyes narrow and she groans. In silence she shuts the door and throws her backback down to the floor. 

Bree walks over to her bed and sits down, she crosses her arms and blows a stray peice of hair out of her face. “Seriously, you’ve been waiting for me?” She says it incredulously, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, sorry Bree that I can’t do something on my own free will.” I say letting the words be sharp as knives so she feels what i’m saying.

“I never said you couldn’t— ugh! You never listen.” I can tell she’s trying to control her anger, but she’s never been good at masking her emotions.

We had been fighting since last night when she had been nonstop trying to boss me around. And then whenver I confronted her she put it on me saying that I never told her anything anyway. And then it just went downhill. Me upset that she didn’t trust me to make decisions and her because she’s just angry.

BREE’S POV

Kat was just angry. I tell myself, trying to not let her yelling get to me. Even though every sharp word felt like a stab. We were arguing because apparently I couldn’t give her advice and she wouldn’t tell me about what waas going on with her. All I wanted was her to tell me what was going on with her.

“Of course I listen, maybe you need to listen!” She wasn’t even trying to control her emotions. It was almost ironic how she contained all her thoughts all the time but the moment there was an issue she was poring out all of her emotions.

“I always listen,” I say taking a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. “But maybe if you told me stuff i’d have something to actually listen too.” I point out, wishing she would see reason and just back off.

Kat clenches her fists, “have you ever thought for a moment that maybe… just maybe, no one wanted to talk to you?” As soon as the words leave her mouth I feel like i’ve been slapped.

My face blushes red and I don’t know what to do. Do I run? Hide? Or do I stay and act unbothered? Yell back at her? My mind is reeling and I don’t know what to do.

KAT’S POV

Watching her face I see the emotions flying across her face, and for split second I realize I might’ve actually made her mad. She had stood up in anger when I said it. And now she just slumps back to sitting.

“Bree…?” I ask, feeling guilt start to override my other feelings that are wrestling in my stomach.

My best friend just hangs her head, and I realize what i’ve done. I took an argument and then went beyond that. I had hurt her. And suddenly I feel like slapping myself, I sometimes forget how sensitive Bree is. She hides it behind attitude and other big emotions, but she was still a feeling person. And i’d completely ignored that.

“Whatever,” she whispers. She stands up slowly and pulls back her covers.

“Bree,” I try again, I needed to fix this fast before she made it worst than it was. “Listen I’m sorry, I should’ve thought before saying that.” I try and get a look at her face as she starts to tidy her desk and put things away.

“It’s fine, Kat. Do whatever.” Bree turns to me, gives me a smile, but it looks painful. “I’m fine, just…” she sighs, “fine.”

And then I watch as she walks into the bathroom and closes the door gently, and for some reason that’s so much worse than her slamming it. Dread fills me as I realize I just hurt my best friend, just because I was mad for a small stupid reason. How do I fix this?

I lay back down in bed and stare at the ceiling, she takes longer than usual to get ready. And when she comes back into the room i’m ready.

BREE’S POV

I stand in the bathroom, I had turned on the fan so she couldn’t hear as much. I wipe away my silent tears, trying to control the urge to just sob on the floor. She’d hear that.

What do I do? I ask in my head, she had been mad and lashed out. We needed to fix what was going on otherwise we would break our friendship. I was hurt and I didn’t want to let it go, but if I didn’t would she stop caring? Did she even care at all?

Setting down my toothbrush I look in the mirror and take a deep breath, when I enter back in the room I won’t make eye contact. Then she can’t change my mind.

I open the door and Kat’s standing there, shock fills me as I realize that maybe… I cut that thought off.

“Bree I’m sorry, please don’t blow me off. I’m sorry I wasn’t telling you things before. Sometimes I worry that if I tell people everything that maybe they’ll use it against me…” I watch her face and I see the underlying fear in her eyes.

“So I just don’t… talk? And I know that’s what you want in a friendship. I’m sorry I said all those things, really I am. So please forgive me, and we can restart?” I see the hope in her eyes. And I think about what she said.

My heart melts and I jump into her hug, “I’m sorry for being mad Kat. You’re truly the best and i’m sorry if you felt like you had to talk to me. I should set more boundaries.” She squeezes me back and I smile.

We break the hug and Kat wipes a tear from her eye. “Let’s agree to forget this fight? That it never happened and now we understand each other better?” I nod my head and we shake on it. We hug again and I feel so much better now.

The rest of the night is full of talking, whispers and muffled yells. Laughes, giggles, and snorts. And I realize how lucky I am to have a friend like Kat. Even though she lashed out she had realized it instantly, and now we both knew better.

Total: 1,105 words!!
This was fun and I enjoyed seeing both POVs which helped me write it!

Word war! 636 words!

In the quaint village of Eldergrove, autumn had always been a time of magic and nostalgia. The arrival of the Whispering Wind ignited a sense of wonder among the villagers, who would gather in the town square each year to share stories of the peculiar phenomenon. As the vibrant leaves danced from the trees, they would listen with bated breath, trying to decipher the faint sounds carried by the gentle breeze.

This year, eighteen-year-old Clara sat on a bench in the town square, her heart heavy with loss. Her grandmother, who had filled her childhood with tales of the Whispering Wind, had passed away just a few weeks prior. Clara remembered the way her grandmother’s eyes sparkled whenever she spoke of the mysterious whispers—how they were said to connect the present with the past, allowing villagers to hear the voices of loved ones who had long departed. With tears welling in her eyes, Clara closed them and wished desperately for one last message from her grandmother.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the first hints of the Whispering Wind began to stir, rustling the leaves overhead. The villagers held their breath, their eyes scanning the treetops. Clara felt a chill ripple through her, a familiar sensation that made her skin tingle. The wind picked up, and soon, soft murmurs floated through the air, weaving in and out of the sounds of rustling leaves. Clara leaned in closer, hoping to hear her grandmother's voice among the whispers.

“Clara…” The wind seemed to call her name, wrapping around her like an embrace. Startled, she sat up straight, her heart racing. “Clara, my dear…”

Could it really be her grandmother? Clara’s heart soared as small fragments of memories began to swirl around her mind. She remembered sitting at her grandmother’s knee, sharing secrets and laughter as they crafted makeshift kites from twigs and paper. The thought of that simple joy brought a smile to her face, even as the sorrow lingered in her heart.

Suddenly, she heard clearer words cutting through the whispers: “Look to the east, my sweet.” Confusion mixed with curiosity as the whispers faded. Her grandmother’s voice lingered long enough to plant a seed of intrigue within Clara. The east? What lay beyond the familiar hills of Eldergrove?

Driven by a sudden impulse, Clara rose from the bench, determination flooding her veins. The whispers had ignited something in her—an adventure waiting to unfold. She recalled the old stories of a hidden glade, a sacred place where time stood still, supposedly revealed by the Whispering Wind itself. Many believed it was just a myth, but Clara was willing to find out for herself.

As she trekked through the winding paths of the forest, the sun cast a warm golden glow, each leaf shimmering like jewels in the fading light. The air was filled with the smell of damp earth and the promise of rain, and the wind seemed to guide her steps, swirling around her as if urging her forward.

Finally, she reached a clearing, where the trees opened up to reveal a serene pond reflecting the deepening hues of dusk. At the center, a solitary willow tree swayed gently, its branches like arms welcoming her. Clara felt a sense of peace wash over her. She approached the water’s edge, peering into the depths.

“Grandma?” she whispered, her voice echoing in the stillness.

The wind rustled the branches overhead, and for a fleeting moment, Clara thought she could hear her grandmother’s laughter mingling with the whispers. In that sacred space, she realized that the connection to her loved ones was never truly lost; it resided within her heart, waiting for the Whispering Wind to call it forth. Clara smiled through her tears, embracing the magic of Eldergrove and the unbreakable bond of love that transcended time.

JWC Daily 7 No Time

Lyra steps out of her spaceship tapping her oxygen gauge to make sure that it was working properly and would provide her with clean oxygen. She had been about to find her old traveling group when something broke in her engine and she needed to land as soon as possible. And that meant landing on this planet.

The planet is yellow, the ground feels almost squishy under her feet as she walks, and she can’t help but feel like she’s walking on cheese. Suddenly she hears an alien yell and she spins around.

“Who’s there!” She yells, checking her screen on her wrist and making sure her translator was on.

“Sorry if we frightened you,” comes a very thickly accented voice. Lyra spins around and sees a small bright blue alien with a watch in its hands.

She thinks this is strange but tries to ignore the weird feeling she’s getting. “No worries, you’re all good. Just trying to fix my ship and i’ll be gone.” 

“Fix your ship! Well, why don’t you come into town too! We can give you a tour and a place to stay!” Lyra shakes her head kindly.

She can’t afford to lose any time, “sorry but I can’t.” But the little alien was very convincing and so Lyra went with him. They walked for what felt like forever, but everytime she checked her watch it wasn’t working so she’d ask the little alien. Time progressed slowly as they went until finally they made it to the city. It was small and underwhelming.

And as she stood there Lyra knew something was wrong. The alien must be lying to her because it felt like she had walked for hours with no stopping. But he insisted it was just a couple minutes.

So Lyra trusts the alien and stays and when she finally goes back to find her ship repaired she smiles to herself with gratitude. But as soon as she’s in space that all changes. She looks down to see if her watch is working and is astonished and angry to see that a whole week had passed on that planet. Even though the aliens insisted it had only been a couple hours. But instead she had spent days on that planet and now couldn’t find the signal. She felt utterly lost.

Time, what an odd construct. She thought, if you don’t know for yourself what time it is it could be any time. What an odd thing.

Total: 413 words
This was really rushed!! And I don't like it! But i'm getting the words!!!!

-Daily 01/08/2024-
Word count: 575
Notes: I think this is kind of a letter to someone in the outside world?? idk guys

Time doesn’t exist here. It’s enough to make someone go insane. Many have, and many are destined to. But my goal is to stay sane long enough to get out. Just one more year…

Hello there, whoever’s reading this. I hope that this finds someone who can help us get out of this prison. Maybe you can help- please.

I’m Annie. Deemed a public enemy by the government, I’ve been sentenced to 3 years in the worst prison known to our country- Lostlock. The name is quite fitting, actually. The people here are usually forgotten by everyone- even their family and closest friends. And we’re locked here, trapped, until we finish our sentence or go insane.

The latter happens to most people here, sadly. But I guess that should be expected from our government. I’m assuming you don’t know much about it. I, or at least I used to, live in what was known as the United States of America. Obviously, though, when I was born, that country was long gone. Hundreds of years ago, a government agent decided to overthrow the government. Ever since then, we’ve lived in a strict dictatorship where anything that you do involving free thought will almost certainly get you thrown in jail.

However, you’ve got to do something pretty bad to get thrown here. Unless you’re me.

Turned in by my older sister, I was thrown here for doing the unthinkable- at least to the people here. Sensing that something was fishy with my parents, I spied on them late at night. I heard them discussing government secrets (they’re both government agents). My sister caught me and decided to turn me in to the police. They’ve already blasted those secrets from my memory, of course, but they had to teach me not to eavesdrop again. So now I’m here, the most unhumanitarian prison that you could think of.

It may seem like a piece of cake, living without the constraints of time, hours, minutes, seconds, days and nights. Here’s the thing: living without time makes you extremely disoriented. By the first week someone is here, they’re usually huddled on the floor, shivering, shaking. They don’t know what time it is. They don’t know how long they’ve been here.

The way the guards stop us from figuring out what time it is, or how long an hour is, is by never turning off the lights and giving us meals at irregular intervals. I don’t even know whether it’s day or night right now- the only thing I know is that curfew is soon. They even change what time we go to bed.

Also, the bright lights are a problem. They’re so bright that it’s hard to sleep. Most of the people here have vivid hallucinations almost 24/7 from lack of sleep. And it’s no surprise that that’s another main reason people go crazy here.

Almost everyone goes insane by their first year here. Luckily, I managed to smuggle in a clock. Now, the clock doesn’t tell me whether it’s day or night, and it doesn’t tell me when the minute or the hour changes, but it does tell me what day it is back home.

This clock, the only connection to my home and my sanity, is what’s keeping the hope of me finishing my sentence alive.

The guards are coming. I need to go.

I hope you can save us. Please. Help us.

Annie Cavallo, classified public enemy

Daily #9 - Jan 9 2025 - Cereal before milk or milk before cereal?
Word Count: 298

I believe cereal should come before milk. It is easier, more efficient, and you will not get soggy cereal.

The cereal should come before milk because then it is easier to get only the amount of cereal you want to eat. When you put cereal first, it is easy to measure how much you want based off of how hungry you are. For example, if I am very hungry, I will have a whole bowl, but if I'm only a little hungry, I'll have a half bowl. If you add milk first, you have to add the cereal accordingly to the amount of milk. Milk is a lot harder to get an exact amount of, in my opinion. That's is one reason why it is best to add cereal first.

Secondly, if you put cereal before milk, it will never get soggy. Like my last point, adding cereal first guarantees you will have the right amount of cereal, and then you can add milk accordingly. If milk is added first, you will often get too much, and then when the cereal is added, it will become soggy. Personally, soggy cereal is disgusting, and I think many other people feel similarly.

Lastly, combining both points, adding cereal before milk is more efficient. It allows you to quickly get the exact amount you would like to eat with no or minimal measuring and you will rarely ever get soggy cereal. If you add milk before cereal, it is harder to get the exact amount and can become soggy very easily.

I strongly believe cereal should come before milk for many reasons. It is easier to get the right amount, it will not get soggy, and it is overall easier and quicker. That is why cereal should always come before milk.