So next week is finals, and so following next Saturday, I'm going to finally be heading home to Michigan after spending my first semester of university down here in Oklahoma. I've had a lot of really great experiences here, a lot of not-so-great ones, and definitely more than a few teachable moments. I'm really excited to finally get back home and see my family and all again, but unfortunately I'm thinking I'll probably need to pick up a job the second I come back up >~> Money is a little more of a problem in The Big Bad World than it was in high school.

On the whole, though, I just wanted to give a general update noting that everything is wonderful, and I also look forward to starting my next semester this January. :> Good times, wholesome times~

So I realized I never exactly wrote out an update about how things were going over here once I'd gotten to university!

To rectify that, I just thought I'd do a quick little follow-up to let everyone know that I'm surviving and all. :> I haven't had any real academic troubles just yet, and with the end of today, I've made it through all of my midterms alive!
While the Oklahoman heat isn't something I'm terribly fond of, my experiences here have been pretty top-notch so far. I've managed not only to survive, but to thrive out here on my own. I have a pretty extensive social life in the campus pre-law and queer communities, I've been at the top of my Arabic class -- frankly the most challenging course I've taken in my entire life -- and I'm not too far behind that in most of my other ones! I've even been going to the gym lately! Good for me, right? :>
It gets a little lonely sometimes when I think about the fact that most of my friends and family are a thousand miles away, but I've been in the most wonderful, wonderful company down here~

Anyway, that's the gist of it, I think! I'm doing good, everything is okay, I'll survive! c: So here's to the rest of the semester!

I'm actually leaving for college in Oklahoma on the fifteenth, so I'm spending the entirety of this week selling off things I won't be taking with me and going out with friends as much as I can muster since I'm not sure -exactly- when I'll see them all again. Or, you know, if I'm gonna see them too much at -all- after this in the first place.

So I'm just kind of in a constant state of both primal terror and optimistic enthusiasm for the opportunities to come! I'm more than a little anxious about this whole "surviving on your own" business, especially since I'll be half a country away from most of my family, but I'm confident that I'll be rolling along the path pretty smoothly! Eventually, at least!

Well, I mean, it's been a while since I seriously touched FA, and now that I'm of age and can see all the good stuff, it's probably only reasonable for me to return, right? :v Right?

Anyway, just as a minor catch up: things are going swell! Going to university this fall on a five-year full-tuition-paid scholarship. Working at a laundromat, hopefully soon at a coffee shop instead. Life gets a little dull every once in a while now that this whole school thing is kind of finished with, but I'm finding ways to alleviate that~

But yeah, I'm alive and cool things are happening! And! Stuff! Cheers!

AHHHHHH. I AM A SENIOR NOW. SHIET. WHAT THE HELL. //continued shrieking/

Okay. Breathe. All right. Good.

So today was my last day as a high school junior, and now I'm movin' up the line! How, er, terribly terrifying. So now I actually have to start worrying about university stuff, how lovely.

Okay, so how about a little update? Woo-woo! Here are some exciting highlights from lately:

-So with an ACT score of 31 and an SAT score of 1910, I was already pretty content with how my academic record was looking, but I was recently informed -- through my principal because he didn't know he wasn't allowed to say so -- that my PSAT score puts me eight points above this year's state requirement for the National Merit Scholarship program. So, I mean, best case scenario, I can get a hell of a lot of money for university. It's just very exciting. >w<

-We've been practicing with the showtunes of next season's shows, which are both gonna be musicals. VERY exciting! The shows in question are Godspell, a rock musical that is basically the gospel of Matthew in the sixties, and Mary Poppins, obviously a pretty well-known one. Supposedly this will, again, be the biggest set of shows yet. And with good reason, of course, we can't afford to stop making the kind of money we did last show. :v So this is gonna be great!

-The family's got some real plans for this summer, gosh. We'll be in the mountains of Pennsylvania for about three weeks, hopefully with, you know, internet? We'll see. Afterward, we're going white water rafting in West Virginia. We did it two years ago, and it was tons of fun then, so I'm sure it'll be just as great another time! Besides that, I'll be taking some tap classes for Mary Poppins, that sounds a little imposing. >u> Like, egh, dance. I have to work on my audition over the summer, 'cause we're running auditions a week after school starts.

Anyway, that's what's new over here! :v Charming stuff, thanks for being such a lovely audience!

Okay, so I just got back from the Michigan Youth in Government late conference of 2015 today, and golly, did I have an interesting time. For those unaware, this is a program through the YMCA that helps politically active students to have a larger voice in their state. During these conferences, students are formed up into committees, Senates, and Houses of Representatives and submit bills to be be run through this simulated process, going from committee to Congress to governor to judicial review. Once a bill passes through the YIG government, it can be potentially presented to Michigan's actual congress. Exciting, right?

Okay, so the highlights of this year's YIG conference are as follows:

--I was assigned the wrong room and was stuck with crude boys the entire time. Was not as bad as I first expected.
--My committee was full of some of the most amazing people at YIG. Ever. Hands down. Love them. Love them all. <3
--You can access FurAffinity from the Senate Chambers using the Senate's wi-fi? It blocks a lot of other sites? What?
--I wrote a bill banning what is called the "gay panic defense"* in the state of Michigan. It was one of the bills that passed! Huzzah!
--I spent more time lobbying against my friend's conference bills(a copy of the RFRA** and an anti-abortion rights one) than for my own.
--Thai food is so wonderful. Especially Thai food from sketchy-looking restaurants. Thai. <3
--I was voted Outstanding Senator of the Green Division of 2015, and I now have a lovely award and everything.
--I kicked major ass in the Senate for that award; I was told everyone appreciated my charming mixture of "factual arguments and sass."

So yeah, YIG was a wonderful experience as always! ^^ If any of y'all are politically-inclined students, you should see if your state has a similar program, usually titled YIG or YAG. Great stuff! Thank you for reading, etc, etc. I'm back and will be more than happy to catch up with all of you lovelies. ;^;


*-- The "gay panic defense" was outlawed in California(love you Cali) in Sept. 2014 and is legal elsewhere in the U.S. By claiming that a defendant suffered from a temporary case of pathological aggression through "homosexual panic disorder," said defendant can greatly reduce his or her sentence for committing a hate killing if the proper circumstances are met.

**-- The Religious Freedom Restoration Act(RFRA) has been in the news a lot in regards to Indiana. It's a thinly-veiled anti-LGBT law signed by Gov. Pence which allows individuals to refuse to offer services or products to patrons on religious grounds. This has caused pretty awful discrimination to go on in the state of Indiana already.

Okay, so as you folks on my Skype must have caught onto, I recently returned from Lansing's Shuto Con! I had a fantastic time, but I won't bore y'all with the details unless you wish -v- Anyway! For any of you fluffs following me on Tumblr, I posted all of my pictures to it under the tag #shuto_con_2015, so feel free to check out all of the cosplayers(and occasional fursuiter, apparently!) on my blog.

Okay, so I recently opened up my email to find that Oklahoma University -- recently in the news for that scandal with the SAE fraternity, in which case I stand strongly with president Boren's decision, by the way -- has made me an offer concerning my college years if I manage to become a National Merit Scholar, which is veeery likely at this point(with a first-time ACT score of 31 and a composite PSAT of 210 and all~). In a $120k package, they're offering five years of waived tuition, as well as stipends set aside for studying abroad, textbook payments, research, housing, and several other such things.

That recent offer, as well as the letters I've received from fairly notable schools like Brown, Duke, Stanford, and now even Harvard regarding pre-collegiate programs, I think it miiiiiight just be safe for me to say that I'm not a complete and utter idiot. :v

So here's to hopefully not drowning in student loan debt in the near future!

In other news, which those of you on my Skype are already aware of, my laptop of two and a half years, Gregory, has passed away. His death was a noble one, and I hope to hold a ritualistic warrior's funeral pyre just for him. Maybe. If I can get the files on his hard drive first. And then not give in to my brother who wants the rest of it. Or just not sell it for spare parts to begin with. >w> Tempting.

I recently replaced him though, with a beautiful Dell Inspiron 15, who I have decided to name Ronaldo. Rondaldo is a bit sensitive, and his touchpad sucks colossal balls. Ronaldo has reminded me why I buy HP. I hate Ronaldo.

This has been an At-Two-in-the-Morning Broadcast with none other than everyone's favorite sergal! Over and out!

Okay, so I -wanted- to do a cover of "Home" from Beauty and the Beast -- because it's my favorite, as those on my Skype are well aware -- in honor of the show finally closing, but it sounded dreadful and has left me wondering what the hell you people talk about when any of you compliment my voice. What in the world are you all on? >w>;

It sounded really nice while I was singing it, though. I have no idea why I was cast as the Beast and not Belle, I would have been a fucking gorgeous Belle.

Anyway, you get the picture! Beauty and the Beast is over with. I already miss the hell out of it. I feel the need to run through the halls and sing at the top of my lungs, but apparently that's not socially acceptable outside of the opera house. What jerks, right?

I'll probably be free more often than not now, but I'm still going through a bit of emotional turmoil as of late. You know what they say: when it rains, it pours. I tend to get really sensitive and emotional when this kind of stuff happens, so I apologize to you all ahead of time for that.

Anyway, my new agenda for the next little bit! Our theater department generally does a small spring musical, but this year, we're doing a bunch of one-act plays. Except with a bit of a new inclusion, or rather exclusion: only middle schoolers and elementary students will be able to act in them. Students such as I, on the other hand, will be acting as production staff. Specifically, I plan to direct one of the plays personally. -v- Exciting!
Afterward, I plan to attend Shuto Con with my friends. What is Shuto Con? Glad you asked! It's an anime convention! Yayyyyy! If my friends' pictures from the last year are any indication, there are plenty of furs around, too. I dunno if I'll be able to get away from IRL folks long enough to go meet some new fuzzies, though. >w>;

Besides those, there aren't a lot of big events in the near future. I look forward to having pleeeenty of free time; can't wait. Looking forward to talking to all of you beautiful people a bit more. <3

Okay, so I'm sure all you lovelies are dying to know how opening night went. -v- Well, I have great news for you! The opera house was sold out. More people came to this one show than they had any of our rival school's. We got a standing ovation before the curtain even started going down for us to get ready for bows. Our cast meet-and-greet lasted three times its general length because almost everyone in the audience came down to congratulate actors personally. This is literally the best way opening night could have ever gone.

Plus my beloved co-star from our last musical production, Seussical, came to visit, and she got me this really cute Horton the Elephant card and said she was so impressed with how far I'd come in both my singing and my acting, and I was just so proud of myself that I thought I was gonna start crying little happy tears. ;u;

So last night was beautiful. Thank you so much for supporting me, all. I love you folks. ;w; Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh-and-also-my-computer-is-fried-bye

Uuuuugh. Such tired. So exhaust. Wow.

Okay, so tomorrow night is opening night for our production of Beauty and the Beast! Exciting, right? Well, these past few rehearsals have been beyond hellish. Partly because of an incompetent chorus, a slew of tech problems, costume crises, and the director getting himself WAY too in over his head.

Tonight was different, though. Tonight's rehearsal was absolutely fantastic. If we can replicate this kind of show for our audience tomorrow, I know we can really pull this off.
Nonetheless, I'm just under a lot of stress and pressure as of late. After last night's rehearsal, all I wanted to do was sob my eyes out for hours on end. This troupe has so much money resting on this musical. Thousands. We need to be able to earn all of that back, and the director has been sure to carve that into our skulls. As one of the leads, I'm really feeling the pressure.

So, ah, time to break all the legs, eh? I hope tomorrow will work out. uwu;

Ahhhh, gosh, I've gotten loads and loads of birthday messages over FB and Skype already, and I just wanted to say that I appreciate it all >~< I feel so increeeedibly loved, y'know? :v

Anyway, plans for today: hopefully my brothers and I will be the new owners of a PS4; we might be going to a Michigan/Ohio hockey game; and we'll be seeing Into the Woods some time tonight, so I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to that.

Love you all, appreciate all of the lovely birthday wishes. >w<

Happy holidays, all of you, regardless of whatever you're celebrating. >w< *throws confetti*

Okay, so this journal is about something a little more serious than just any plain old Christmas journal. :v Bear with me, any of you folks who actually read these things.
Every year, we endeavor to make ourselves better people than we were the previous one, right? That's the whole point of resolutions and such, I mean. uwu Anyway, we all know how notorious resolutions are for crumbling to bits within the first few weeks of the new year. One main reason that a lot of these resolutions fall through is because we don't actually have our hearts in them, because we didn't make these resolutions for ourselves.
Resolutions to lose more weight or to act like a better person or to be more social are mostly fueled by the things that people around you say. It's hard to keep a resolution when the thoughts fueling it are situated in a head that's not yours, eh? :v

So I've decided to really resolve to do something important this coming year. I've always been a bit of a doormat of a person, and it's always taken a major toll on me as a whole.
So no more! *strikes pose*
Yes, I've resolved to not let myself get walked all over this year. -v- I think that's something I can stick to.
The problem is that it starts with blowing off the folks that have been doing it to me for ages, and I'm not good at that? ;v; So, ah, here's to hoping this doesn't turn out to be an utter flop!

Well, gee, the season for giving is coming 'round again right about now, rightright? >w< Of course, that can mean only one thing around FA, and that would be all of those lovely Christmas rafflllles~! *throws confetti*

I mean, who doesn't like free stuff, amirite? :v

Speaking of rafflllles, though, here is one being conducted by a lovely artist: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6352260/

If you'd like you can check out some of his work on his Tumblr, because why in the world not, yes? -v- http://dragonslash.tumblr.com/

Sergal out~!

Okay, so big news, guys.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

All right, so, I officially came out on my Facebook as bisexual today. In case you're curious about it, I'll copy-paste the actual (rather lengthy) content of the post at the bottom of the journal.

I ended up getting a lot of support on it, and when I went to school the following day, no one had anything negative to say. Granted, it's not like I have the whole community on my Facebook, but progress is progress, eh?

Just wanted to share my personal victory with you all, or at least anyone who comes across the journal~ -v- Love you all. <3


'Eyo, anyone reading this, this is an important service announcement and such, ahem, ahem. :v
Do I have your attention? No? Yes? Good, then let's begin.
For the umpteenth time, the first thing that my brother, as a jock, said to me as he came home was that my sexuality was again a hot topic for the wrestlers at practice. He's come back with the same thing to tell me from track and field events and football ones, too, so, don't anyone start pointing fingers at other teams.
Now, generally I try not to give a damn what others think about me, because frankly it's rather hazardous to your health when the opinion of someone you don't even know becomes more valuable to you than that of yourself. However, I have had to hear Joe talk on and on about this -every- week of every month of every school year since I was a freshman, and yes, I got rather sick of it.
Let's start off with my actual problem with this.
Is my sexual orientation any of your business to begin with? You might say "well, NOW it is, Adam, since you're posting about it," but beforehand, was it ever supposed to be something to even cross your mind? No. It's not your business. Unless you have some kind of enormous crush on me, which is of course doubtful, it's not your business whether I like girls or guys.
Secondly, why in the WORLD are you asking my brother? I AM LITERALLY RIGHT HERE. You can find me just about any time in this building, God knows it's awfully small. Who knows more about myself than I do? I doubt you'll find a legitimate answer to that.
So, for those of you who have been DYING to know, I'm a bisexual. What does this mean? Well, I'm glad you asked! It means I can fall for a girl, I can fall for a guy, what have you. "Bi" means "two;" it shouldn't be too difficult to wrap your head around.
In the future, please ask -me- about questions on my personal life. No one knows it better than I do, I guarantee that.
Huzzah, rant over. <3 *throws confetti* Now go to bed, you heathens.

Well, golly gee whiz, I sure do post a lot of journal titles with tildes in them~! Maybe I should quit doing that. I have a problem~

Okay, so as far as the last play, I just wanted to tell you all that it went absolutely perfectly! >w< The audience loved us for each performance, and it was just an absolute delight to be a part of. Of course, I must admit that we all screwed up a few times onstage, but as the play was about us fucking up anyway, evidently it just made the audience love the show even more. xD

So I just wanted to post something about the new production, too. Our director is a bit of a pain in the ass, so we moved on to the next show within almost a week. We started up auditions, and the director pulled a new bit of asshattery out on everyone: instead of the normal, friendly atmosphere we have for our auditions, the room was blacked out. There were a set of spotlights shining directly onstage. The stage manager came up to the auditioners as they came in by themselves, acting oh-so-formal, and in the end, it was just really nerve-wracking.

I got a callback, though!

Callbacks were scary as hell too, though. The director had the same setup, but he also had chairs set up in the corner, each one with one of eighteen names on it. He had us all sit down and told us to quietly fill out some forms. Afterward, he had us each come upstage. First, he had us each individually give a speech on a topic based on our gender; females spoke about how they would act as a role model to younger cast members, males spoke about a time in which they were "wrought with emotion." When the time came, I got up in front of all of the actors and talked about my first time coming out. I was practically melting onstage, but when I finally finished, I had been approached by one of the actresses, a good friend of mine, and told that I apparently made her cry, so that's... a plus? QuQ
Afterward, we were told to sing a short cover of any song we knew. I hadn't really prepared, but I ended up singing the I'll Cover You reprise, from Rent. uvu I had a bit of a struggle with some of the notes, but it sounded excellent. Another one of the actors, apparently a huge fan of Rent, scolded me for choosing a song that brought to mind about the saddest scene in musical theater of all time. After the cover, though, we had to sing two of the songs from the musical we're actually doing.

So, I'm sure you're all quivering with anticipation by now, eh? :P

We got the cast list yesterday, and I am proud to say that I'll be playing the Beast in this production of Beauty and the Beast. >w< Such excite, right?

But that's all that's new with me as of late. Thank you for dropping by! Ciao~ <3

Nyaw, obviously it's been a while since I've posted any journals, but huzzah, huzzah, finally something important enough to be posted about is happening!

Okay, tonight is opening night for the drama club's fall production, a comedy called Play On!, which is about a theater troupe that's performing a newly written play. As if it wasn't hard enough to perfect a show, the overly eccentric author is constantly making changes, and the actors have a pretty obvious problem keeping up with it. They end up consequently screwing so, so horribly. >u> It's been an absolute delight to perform in rehearsals, and I'm looking forward to these performances.

Of course, opening night comes with new struggles. ;u; One of those, of course, is the amount of stress and anxiety on the cast. Nnnnh.

So wish me luck, I'm sincerely hoping the whole thing doesn't turn out to be an enormous travesty. ;u;/

I am so tired of vacations, as odd as it sounds. ;w;

This summer vacation has been a lengthy one, and a busy one at that. The family's been just about everywhere at this point. Travel has always been a major part of our summers, but it gets to the point that vacations are more tiring than what we're vacationing -from-. x.x We came back from a trip to a resort just tonight. It was interesting to say the least. We went up a ski lift around the end of our time there, and a thunderstorm came in just quickly enough to strand us at the top for a good while. Understandably, coming home at eleven at night instead of two in the afternoon would warrant a little break, yes?

Nope!

Starting tomorrow, I'll be unavailable again for around a week, vacationing again in Pennsylvania. qwq; Just wanted to drop a warning to everyone so that I can get to bed earlier than if I had to tell everyone individually. ;v; Sorry, not sorry, the sergal needs some sleep big time.

Good night, all, see you whenever I get the chance! >w<;

Okay, so school is finally over! Huzzah!

I would have posted a bunch of silly sentimental crap earlier, but because of some family fighting, I ended up... sorta without internet until the end of the school year. uvu;

Anyway, to make a quick summary of recent events:

-My parents decided to use some of the money that recently came to them to buy me and my brothers a car. Brilliant decision, since I'm the only one of us anywhere near capable of driving alone and yet the least trusted. We also don't have proper licenses. =w=;

-I'm planning on applying for a job at a nearby coffee shop! I love those places. Nya, so I might have an actual income of sorts soon!

-There's a gala tonight for the school's drama club, so I'm obviously going. I'll be back and free around nine. This also might lead to me posting a recording of some sort soon. ouo Mayyyybe.

But yes, all that aside, then! Just so glad to be back on the net. ;w;

Okay, finally back from the show, all! ^^ I had so much fun tonight. It was amazing to stand onstage and sing in front of people again. So nostalgic.

But anyway, on to the question I'm sure you aaaall have! What were the results? >w< Well, I may not have placed, but we had many talented performers who did.
However, I would like to complain about something. There was this one singer near the end of the show, and she did an absolutely amazing job. She performed Eleanor Rigby, by The Beatles, and she performed perfectly. Beautifully. During the rehearsal last night, I decided she HAD to earn first place. Her singing was breathtaking. But she didn't place. I really don't think it's at all possible that she could have not placed in a fair competition. She was astronomically better than all of the other performers, including the winners. ;~; I will NOT get over that!

After the show, though, I was approached by a lot of audience members who held the same sentiment, but about my performance. A lot of people told me that I really should have placed and all, and it was really encouraging and all. ;w;

Thank you to all of the friends that've supported me throughout this show. All, like, three or four of you that watch me here. XD Love you all. Thank you so much. <3

I feel like my journal titling could be up to par with Fall-Out Boy's song-titling skills. //slapped/ >w<

But anyway, the actual point of this journal! In my last journal, I talked about that whole regional talent show at all, remember~? ouo Well, we had rehearsal for that tonight. The actual show is tomorrow. Problem? Yes, see, I freaked out onstage and totally screwed up my song.
I started out an octave too low. I had to restart because my voice was too quiet from the start. I messed up the lyrics and totally blanked. I just could NOT sing the song in front of everyone like that, it just was not working. I ended up just hiding in a spare dressing room backstage and tried not to cry, gosh, that made me so upset. ;~;
So I changed the song that I'm doing! Instead, I'll be working with a song from the recent musical, since I'm so much more comfortable with it.

So wish me luck, guys. ;~; I'm really going to need it. <3 Love you all, thanks for reading!

So I've been a bit inactive as far as notes and PMs go as of recent, and I think it's about time I post something about a fairly important event coming up soon! Some of you know that I happen to be really into singing, and I was even recently in a lead role as part of a musical.

Feeling fairly confident in my skills and after being egged on by a few of my IRL friends, I ended up auditioning for this regional talent show put on in the local opera house! I flubbed up a bit, and I choked up. >~<; Nya, I was altogether disappointed with how it went. I'd heard some of the previous singers, and their voices had been astronomically superior to mine.

Somehow, though, I received a letter in the mail yesterday morning, a letter telling me that I'd qualified for the talent show. o.o; Nya, I'd heard that they turned away almost every single person who auditioned the first two days. And this is a REGIONAL show! ;A; The competition could be stretching out of state, even.

I'm so nervooous, there are less than two weeks until the show, and I still don't really have any clue what I'm going to sing. ;~; I could pull up an instrumental version of any song I know, I suppose, but I really want to make an impression, you know? I'm trying to find a song I could enjoy and a song that the audience would enjoy. Decisions, decisions...

Any ideas, guys? ;u;/

So, I suppose spring break officially starts today! And thus I finally find a reason to post a silly journal. >w< The page looked a tad bare, anyway. I really should add to that profile...

That aside, though! Yay! Break! No school and all that. I don't really have any plans for this little vacation, but on the top of my priority list as a whole is probably getting better. I've been ill since last Tuesday, and quite frankly, I'm sick of being sick! ;A;

Unfortunately, though, that's not all. >~<; During this weekend, I've been working home renovations with my family, and I ended up really hurting my wrist. Definitely doesn't help that I'm pretty much attached to my computer.

Under that, though, my priorities are pretty simple! Going into a nearby city to investigate urban life tomorrow. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away from where I want to attend university, too. Also checking out a Barnes and Noble, it's been forever since I had a book haul! >w< And speaking of books, I picked up some nice writing prompts, so expect -something- posted sometime. Eventually. Maybe. If I don't cry and delete them out of shame,

Iero out. >~<