Dear journal;

      There was 3 groups of friends, the mean group who includes Veronica, Vanessa ( their twins), Alicia, Jason, Bee( short for Beyonce), and Katy. The normal people or you would say average people are Alycia, Trinidad, Sophie, Samantha, Hailey, and Jenna. Then there is the bandwagons; ( we the normal people allow anybody; anybody to be in our “group” but the bandwagons). The bandwagons sometimes  join the mean group, but come to the normal group starting drama or rumors, every other day.

Just kidding that’s how me and my friends imagined high school would go. Hi, my name is Alycia.  Come on y'all, ya’ll know I would never to to school with Alicia Keys, Jason Derulo, Beyonce, and Katy Perry. Although I wish. You know the “normal people”, that’s a real story. We are really friends. Best friends matter of fact. We are a weird group of friends, we all study together. We all get straight A’s just to make our parents happy.  Our parents are very strict. They were best friends when they were kids and they still are.  We really get our genes from them;  we are strange, they are also strange.

Our parents made each other their kids godparents, married each other, made each other bridesmaids, and groomsmen. We are all neighbors and grew up with each other. Our parents were the smartest in their school and we are the smartest at our school.

It’s very weird that I’m very excited to be going back to school; I am like that every year. I get excited to wake up every morning just to go to school. My friends and I at least try to get in the same classes. Which we got this year.

So far for the past 9 years our parents wanted us all in the same classes together, which would’ve been easier. So hey, did I mention we are geeks? I always wanted to go to Harvard, but our parents say, “Harvard bad, Princeton good.” But little do they know for my college application, I’m going to apply for NYC and Harvard.
 

I hate when I choose something great and my friends have to copy me; so that’s why I haven’t told them I wanted to go to school for business and art. Very weird right, only because we tell each other everything, but that is life. I actually like to keep secrets from them. For example, I told them I was going to the pool when actually I went to the library in this hidden closest that I decorated by myself.  It is so warm in there, especially in the fall. Y'all average folks would say that is a lie, but my friends and I call that a secret. Halloween is the best time to be in the library. So happy Halloween is tomorrow.

Today is Halloween, thank God. The thing is it’s the  end of the quarter and I have absolutely nothing to do, I am ahead of everybody and I am ready for the 2nd quarter to be here. Jenna has slipped and  did not finish her extra credit work or 3rd quarter work and failed a test. Her parents were yelling at her. I was laughing because she was supposed to be study with us, but she wanted to be all cozied up with her boo. While we went out to celebrate Jenna was at home studying. I sort of felt bad for her, but it  was her fault she didn't want to study. Honestly, I would rather be at home watching Gilmore Girls, but school is the only important thing our parents care about. I get where they are coming from. So I make sure to catch up my studies for the following year.

So when I’m at school I really don't do anything but look at my crush Oliver. Oliver has a girlfriend. She is annoying and is a brat, she can at bougie at times. She just has to be in all my classes especially mur, mum, french, spanish, arabic, and science. She is only in one of my classes.  Alright chill, I was only exaggerating only 10%. Anyways I don't like him anymore, and he is going to be in Dubai and Greece with us. Trinidad just has to invite 3 friends on the trip, only because the is the only male teenager going on the trip. So he decided to invite Oliver, Owen, and Lawrence. It should be an interesting trip, like another bachelorette. I just happen to like Oliver, Owen, and Lawrence. The flight is 16 hours to Dubai. That is enough time to sleep. We’re only in Dubai for a week and a half and Greece for 2 weeks and a half. That is  4 vacations in 1. I say that because we are gone for 4 weeks and that is almost a whole month, we also came in the best time of the year. They say May is the best time for Greece and Dubai. Talk to you when I get to Dubai.

We just arrived to Dubai and I am jet lagged. I have to get used to Dubai time. In order to stay awake we did a couple activities. First we went to the mall and Dubai’s mall is so BOMB. It has the biggest aquarium in the world.  When I come to Dubai I make sure I feed at least 150 sea animals.  I think it is fun, I get to see animals I don't see everyday. I just happen to share a suite with the “kids,” it is really big. There is 14 bedroom and 17 restrooms, it also has a lot of food,snacks, and drinks.

Its our 3rd night in Dubai and Jenna sneaks a camera in our parents room. When Jenna snuck the camera in our parents room, we heard what they was talking about. That's the night when my 8 friends found out that I applied to many colleges. Oh yea, did I forget to mention we are now seniors and this trip is right before we graduate high school. We were all in the 8th grade when we decided we were going to all apply for Harvard and not tell our parents. Well I applied for Yale, Brown, Stanford, Princeton, Clemson, A&M University ,NYC, Morehouse College and Harvard.  I found out I had got accepted into all 10 schools. Not only did I get accepted into all 10 colleges they gave me a full scholarship to all. No one knows that I go a full scholarship to the schools. I am very proud of myself. I also proved a lot of people wrong.  I had to tell me friends that I go accepted to Harvard, I’m just not going to tell them that I applied for 9 more colleges because I love to be independent, and I can’t be independent with them going to the 

 same college as me.  I am closest to Trinidad, Hailey, and Owen the most and I happen to trust them the most, but I don’t to tell them this very important thing in my life. It’s okay though.
While everyone was asleep Samantha, Hailey, Trinidad, Owen, Lawrence and I all snuck out to enjoy Dubai at night also to get away from our overprotective, sometimes annoying, and  college talking parents. Dubai is an amazing city. I enjoy the lights while i´m there. Everyone went back to the penthouse and Owen and I knew it was late but we are really interested  in Jazz music. I really love Nat King Cole´s music. We tried to find a jazz cafe or it’s similar to a poetry slam but with jazz music playing.  We had finally found some and they were in the middle of nowhere, but I guess that is normal.  Dubai’s jazz cafes are different. The jazz music  is so different, it is not the same language, I understand some of the words. I enjoy hanging out with Owen. We have common interest, so why not enjoy my interest with him?

I really enjoyed the café. Owen made it better. I’m just going to enjoy the last couple of days while I’m here in Dubai and the time I have in Greece.
 

I’m  back here in North Carolina trying to figure out which college I should go to. It’s a hard choice because those are some amazing colleges and I don’t want to regret not going to the right college. Many people can’t get in those colleges no matter how hard they try. Many people I know that grew up and live in North Carolina, their dream college is NC State, Duke, or Carolina. Mines is Harvard and to go to college for business. I want to own my own empire. A lot of colleges can’t offer what I am looking for. Tomorrow is the day my parents and my friends parents find out what college we decide to go to. It should be fun finding out which college everyone chooses. I really just want to know which college Owen chooses and see if we will be close.

I’m excited for today; today is the day that I found out which college all of my best friends choose. The party is only in a few hours and I have to get everything set up. The party will have all of the colleges we got applied to and that is more than 120 colleges. Your parents will try to guess what college you will go too, then you will pick up the hat that has the college logo your going to, it’s going to be sad and exciting.

Tonight was very sad for me. All of my friends decided to got to Yale. Our parents thought we were going to go to Princeton.  We really disappointed our parents but my friends and I don’t care. It’s our life now. We are adults now and we need to part from our parents.  They have controlled everything we do. Now it is our time to live and be independent.  Well, I will be independent I decided to go to Harvard for business and Morehouse for law. I went to summer school that way I could get all of my work done ahead of time and I’m doing both freshman and sophomore at the same time That way I can be done with college in 2 years and go to Morehouse to get law school out of the way.  My friends and I parted ways and I can now live. When I was leaving to go to college I drove by everyone’s house and cried because I am going to miss them and they are all together and get to figure out life together. They get to presume our parents dream. Where as I disappointed my parents and really disappointed them. I love each and everyone of my friends and even though I want to be independent,  I want to be independent with them. I will write again when I arrive at college.

I arrived at college a couple hours ago and my friends lied to me. I had just pulled up to the school to move into my dorm, and my friends are waiting outside ready to help me move in. It turns out that my friends all applied to Harvard and got accepted into Harvard. I knew I wanted to be all by myself and wanted to do college all by myself but I wasn’t to sure. I guess I could say my friends know me better than I know myself. I’m glad they decided to come but also I’m glad Owen is here. I forgot to tell you guys that Owen and I are dating. I had no idea how a long distance relationship would work. I am going to enjoy college with my friends. I’ll start writing again when my college days are over.

It’s been 5 years and I have finished both Harvard and Morehouse College. My friends and I have followed in our parents footsteps but not where we are too pushy. Owen had proposed at our Harvard college graduation, then we got married while I was in law school. I graduated and I have my own empire and I’m also the state senator. I have 7 kids, 4 boys and 3 girls. I love my life, I love my family, and I love everyone who helped me get to where I am now.