Why I Write

As a homework assignment, I was told to talk about why I write. This was something I had to think about for a while. The first answer I could come up with was that I write because I have to, whether for English class or Journalism. The fact is, the only time I ever write is when I do have to, even though I dislike being told when to write or what to write about. However, when I was younger, I had my own diary. I honestly thought the diary was silly when I first got it, but either from extreme boredom (I live on a farm, had no cellphone, and facebook didn’t exist yet) or because I truly wanted to write but never had any motivation, I began to document how my day went every night.

A few years later, I found my old diary in my cedar chest. As I flipped through the pages and read what my 11-12 year old self wrote about, I noticed how many quirky little sayings and quotes I had come up with. I made my life sound like a movie, with good guys and bad guys and love interests. (I hadn’t realized it, but in the 5th grade I had the hugest crush on an 8th grader. The weirdest thing is that when I started high school and he was a senior, we started to date!)

So whether I would admit it or not, just like my younger self, I enjoy writing. I usually have to be in the mood to start, but once I do, ideas flow. I’m pretty sure I didn’t answer the question quite the way I was supposed to, but I got a background-story in so I think that’s good enough. :)

Short Story

The Suitcase

A short story by Katie Showalter :)

          Shifting her glance to the side of the chair, she noticed a small, shiny, green suitcase. It seemed so out of place tucked in the corner of the dingy attic room in the creepy manor. In fact, it was the only thing in the entire house that wasn’t covered in an inch of dust. Seventeen-year-old Abby Taylor quickly glanced behind her before advancing forward, certain that she was being watched. Of course, it was completely possible that her three best friends were watching her. It was they who dared her to sneak into the old, abandoned mansion on Halloween night, and even though it was the last thing she wanted to be doing after dark, there was no way she would turn down a dare. After all, she wasn’t a chicken.
          But there was just something about the little suitcase that seemed out of the ordinary. If it had been there since the 1940s when the owners of the house were supposedly driven out by ghosts, then why wasn’t it covered in dust? Why did it look as though it were made out of modern synthetic material instead of something more old fashioned? And most importantly, what was it doing here?
Abby leaned forward, slowly moving her hand toward the suitcase. With her fingers just inches away, she paused. Did she really want to know what was inside?
          “Well duh,” she whispered, surprising herself by how loudly her voice projected throughout the room, despite the fact that she spoke so quietly.

          At that moment, the floor creaked. Abby’s heart skipped a beat and her stomach swooped as she spun around. Seeing nothing, she quickly walked back to the doorway and out to the grand staircase. Her gauzy skirt rustled and her heels clunked against the wooden floor. Again the volume that was produced by such subtle sounds startled her. She paused again to listen. She could hear nothing but the tree limbs scratching against the window panes and her own pounding heart.
         Despite her growing anxiousness, she couldn’t help but marvel at the detail and beauty of the manor. She stood at the top of the staircase eye level with an enormous glass chandelier and peered down at the huge ballroom, the floor at least 30 feet below. It must have been an absolutely spectacular sight to behold in its prime. Why would anyone abandon it?
          Just then a feeling of extreme cold washed over her and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The wind died and goosebumps appeared all over her body. She shivered.
          Suddenly, a large, dark figure fell from the ceiling with a bloodcurdling scream, taking with it the chandelier. Glass shattered everywhere as five more figures flew out of the rooms of the house, including the one she exited moments ago, banging into walls with crashes louder than thunder, dissolving into nothingness.
          Two more appeared, this time on either side of her, advancing menacingly. They were human shaped but then again oddly not, dark as though shadows but yet oddly solid. They were at least twice the size of a human, growing larger every second. Abby screamed and rushed back into the room, realizing too late that they were driving her there. She slammed the door and shoved the dresser in front of it, glancing frantically around the room. She spotted the green suitcase and felt as if it were calling to her. She raced to the corner, knocking over boxes and pushing books out of the way. Without a second thought she unfastened the metal clasps and threw open the lid.
            Inside was a photo. It was an old fashioned Polaroid bearing a single headstone. The inscription read Abby Taylor, beloved daughter, sister, and friend. June 17, 1994 - October 31, 2011. Suddenly she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. It was one of the black figures.


ALTERNATE ENDING!!!!
(Just because I think the first ending was too scary and I don’t like sad endings.)



          Inside was a photo. It was an old fashioned Polaroid bearing a single headstone. The inscription read Abby Taylor, beloved daughter, sister, and friend. June 17, 1994 - October 31, 2011. Suddenly she felt a cold hand on her shoulder.
          “Scared yet?” her best friend Rebecca Robinson asked with a grin.

Heaven is for Real

Soooo if you've never read the book Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and his wife Sonja about their son's trip to heaven...... you need to.

That's all I have to say about that. <3

Football!!! :)

Sooooo this weekend five of my most favorite football teams in the whole wide world won!

The first win was by our high school team the WPHS Bobcats for their fourth consecutive win! Also last friday Lacrosse High School (with their super uhhhmazing quarterback Taylor Stull! :) beat Salina South for their fifth win.

Saturday I watched K-State beat Baylor in an upset win which was extremely exciting to watch. The Baylor quarterback is probably the best in college football right now (and a LOT better than a few professional quarterbacks I know). However, with K-State's awesome defense, the Baylor quarterback threw his first interception of the year which the Wildcats later converted into a touchdown.

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs got their first win of the season. It was probably the most boring game I've ever watched on TV and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep at least twice. Granted,  they were playing the Minnesota Vikings, but a win is a win and I'll take it. The New York Giants also came out with a win on Sunday. Yay Eli Manning! (Hmmm... I've kinda noticed that I pick my favorite teams based on how their quarterbacks look..... Oh well!)

The End! :)