AN: Hey everyone! I know I haven't updated in a few weeks, and I wasn't even grounded this time. Sorry. I can only hope that this chapter works out as well as I'm hoping it will. And there is a pretty heavy reference to Infinite Realms in here, so if you're missing some of this, I suggest going back and watching that episode. The link will be in my bio. Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 24th:

Hey, Journal!

I'm still ungrounded, so that's good news. My anger is even lessening.

And I've got more good news! We're doing a group project in one of my favorite classes- Ancient Civilizations. And I'm partnered with Danny and Tucker. The project is simple enough: make a poster about a Roman god of your group's choice. Most Roman gods are interesting to me, from Jupiter to Mercury. But there's one that's particularly interesting to me: Vladius Plasmodius.

He is so different than most Roman deities, or even deities in ancient history at all. Myths say he showed up in Rome out of nowhere, clothed in all white, possessing fangs, and flying. The Romans hailed him as a god, and started erecting statues and everything. Then, three more strangers from a distant land showed up, two young men and a young lady. Vladius tried to feed them to the lions, but one of them was a spirit, and saved them. He then took on the form of a knight, which I didn't even know existed in ancient Rome, and challenged Vladius. Vladius was winning, but during the fight the god accidentally set the town surrounding the Roman Colosseum on fire. The people were angry, and tried to attack the god, but Plasmodius left, the spirit and his two friends soon after.

What a weird myth, huh?

But it sure is an interesting story, and with Tucker and Danny helping me, there's no way we can fail. With Tucker's resourcefulness (he can find anything on that PDA of his), Danny's artistic skills, and my work ethic, there's no way we can fail.

It feels good to be apart of a team,
To not work alone.
It feels good for someone to come up to me
And ask if I'd like to join their group.
It's much more preferable that having
To ask for permission to work by myself
The companionship is ten times better than silence.
It's nice not to be alone in the corner,
I like having friends.

That's all for today,

Sam.

Tuesday, October 30th

Well, we've finished our project. It looks... interesting.

I think I might have overestimated myself and my group members a bit. I have much less work ethic when I'm busy having a good time with some friends. Tucker can't use his PDA in class, so we have to look up everything in a book. And Danny is definitely better at drawing inanimate objects than he is at people.

We got a B Minus.

All three of us are straight A or B students, so a B Minus didn't make us particularly happy, but judging from Danny and Tucker's looks, they're used to getting lower-than-usual grades on group projects. I don't mind the lower grade either really. Like I said, being able to not work by myself made it all worth it.

And even if our poster didn't turn out as well as planned, I still learned a lot about the myth.

We read a more detailed version of the story and learned a few things. Apparently the spirit and the two strangers came from a "land of swirling green". I can only assume that it means Greece. And that the spirit has the power to "fall into solid objects", whatever that means.

But the strangeness isn't the only reason I like the myth. I like it because, unlike most myths, the hero- and since Plasmodius set the city on fire, I can only assume that the spirit is the hero in the story- actually has friends that go into danger with him. I mean, can you imagine having to be a hero all alone?

See you next time,

Sam.

Thursday, November 8th

Hey Journal,

I have a lot of deep thinking to do, and writing in you always helps me think.

So, the stereotypical middle school drama is in full swing. And because teachers don't like that crap any more than we do, our English teacher had us all write something that we're struggling with in life. Then she took all the papers and read all of them to the entire class, without telling who wrote them.

I myself wrote down 'Parents who want me to be something I'm not.'

There were a variety of answers. I'll write down the ones I can remember.

Family has financial issues. Death of a relative. Alcoholic brother. Bullying. Best friend is moving. Mom has cancer. Depression. Parents getting a divorce.

I am an idiot.

I never really thought that I was the only one in my grade that has problems, but I never thought that other people in my grade had problems this bad. I mean, what if Leah, whom I avoid because she's way too perky, is depressed? I hate stereotypes, yet I have fallen into the habit of stereotyping other people. I think that, since someone is happy and popular, everything must be great in their life. But this "experiment" succeeded, and now I need to stop the stereotyping. Stop the hypocrisy inside my own mind.

Everyone has problems.
I never really thought about it all that much
But I should've, I should've been less selfish.
Everyone has their own issues they have to deal with
Everyone has their own inner thoughts they have to face
Everyone has problems,
It's not just me.

Well, goodbye for now.

I have a lot of deep thinking to do now.

Sam.

AN: That list of problems Sam's classmates have wasn't made up. Those are actual problems, actual people have. Maybe not that exact thing, but everyone has a problem they have to deal with. It's not just me, and its' not just you. But that's enough deep thinking for right now. Don't for get to leave a review!

See you guys next time,

InsanityIsClarity.