Shopping from mall to mall on Saturday was a blast!  My second BFF Deeraiya and her parents picked me up at 11:30 a.m. and we headed to the Freehold Mall.  We shopped at the mall for hours.  Then Deeraiya’s mom suggested that we go to the Jackson Outlet, which was only 15 minutes away.  We walked around the outlet until sundown.  A short while after I came home, my parents loaded my brothers and me into the back seat of our car to travel to the Woodbridge Mall, so my brothers could get their haircuts.  While the hairdresser cut and shaped their bushy hair, my dad and I went to Starbucks to get Mocha Fraps and other treats.  I also took the opportunity to do a little window shopping.  We left after the mall closed.  I think I’m becoming a shopaholic.

I rarely post my poems because most of them are so personal,  but lately my poetry has been about the beauty of nature.  There is something about autumn that inspires me to see the beauty around me in a profound, even spiritual, way.  Here is a short poem I wrote a couple of weeks ago about what this season means to me:

Autumn, A Natural Beauty

by Zaharah Zaidi

Opening my door,
I face the calm, faint winds.
The blowing winds whistle a soothing tune
While the cold tickles the back of my neck.
The swaying rainbow trees shimmer
With their vivid quilt of gold, red, and orange.
The rainbow gradually diverges as the leaves gently fall
And scatter in the soft, rich soil.
The light blue sky and the misty air stretch like a stratus cloud.
At my doorstep, I breathe in the homey smell of the thick air
And the sweet smell of the leaves.
I can even smell burning firewood from a neighbor’s house.

As I stroll past the trees, I crush leaves
And make a loud “crunch!”
Picking up and stroking a few leaves,
I feel their silky, oily texture.
If only I could taste them!
They are ripe, so they have developed a sweet taste.  
The leaves melt on my tongue.
Autumn is a natural beauty,
A precious gift sent from the gods.

Yesterday was our 6th Grade Fall Harvest Dance.  Everyone had a lot of fun.  There was a DJ, snacks, drinks, and games, and all of the guests signed a large orange poster that was displayed in the hallway of our cafetorium.  There was a lot of dancing all over the cafetorium, but the highlight was a dance competition between the students and the teachers who chaperoned the dance.  I wish it was longer than 1 hour and 15 minutes, though, because the time flew by so quickly and we still wanted to party.

The Two Graveyard Ghouls and Me (Gothic Red Riding Hood)

On Friday, I went to my BFF Estee’s house for a pre-Halloween celebration.  Estee and her mother were kind enough to allow me to invite some of my classmates.  I had a great time at the party.  We had a DJ, played games, and ate lots of good treats.  Today I will only have a lousy 45 minutes to go trick-or-treating.  I have a Science and a Reading test tomorrow, so I have to review.  Meanwhile, my brothers’ homework assignment was to enjoy themselves on Halloween!  Something seems grossly unfair here.  Well, at least I had a great time at Estee’s on Friday.  Check out my brothers Arman and Arshad (The Graveyard Ghouls) and me (Gothic Red).

Last weekend was a lot of fun.  Aunt Sue, Uncle George, my baby cousins Lillian and Charlie, Grandma Jackie, and one of my best friends Ashleigh were over.  That’s a total of six kids and five adults under one roof!  My poor mom and dad.  Actually, they didn’t mind at all.  We love company at our home.  Besides, Ash and I were helpful; we cleaned up after ourselves and entertained my little cousins.  We enjoyed playing the Wii, watching movies, and playing basketball on the deck with our an innovative basketball hoop that we made out of my brother Arman’s plastic drum.  By Saturday night, everyone had left, and I felt a bit lonely and bored.  I was enjoying the crazy full house.  I can’t wait to hang out with Ashleigh again, and, hopefully, I’ll get a chance to visit Aunt Sue, Uncle George, Lillian, and Charlie at their house in Connecticut soon.

My schedule was packed on Thursday.  Of course, I went to school.  Then I stayed after school for my play rehearsal, which ended at 4:15 p.m.  My mom picked me up after rehearsal with my brothers, Uncle George, and my baby cousins– Lillian and Charlie.  We all quickly rushed off to a fundraising event for a national anti-bullying campaign We’re Kickin’ It (KI) at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.  The event was super-crowded and loud, but  I had a great time.  To my surprise, I even got to meet  Jake T. Austin, who plays Max on Wizards of Waverly Place.  J.T. is also a supporter of the campaign.  My family and I left the Hard Rock at 10 p.m., and we got home at around 11:15.  I did my homework and went to sleep.  Luckily, I only had one small assignment, so it wasn’t a big deal.  Check out my pic with J.T. and my brothers.

This past weekend was perfect.  The weather was serene and my BFF Estee came over for the entire weekend.  Her mom, Ms. Karen, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Alex Cole, and she allowed Estee to stay at my house while she and the baby were still in the hospital.   We were both really excited to spend time together.  We hung out most of the time but were forced to study over the weekend for a test on integers… not fun!  Otherwise, we had a cool weekend together.  I can’t wait to meet Alex.  Her baby pictures are so adorable.

Yesterday, I ran against 19 other candidates for 6th grade rep at my middle school.  Unfortunately, I was the last student to make a speech for the position.  I hate being last because you have so much more time for your anxiety to build up, but I did my best to control my nerves and to a good last impression.  Everyone in the 6th grade class was examining us closely.   I ended up losing to a close friend, but I’m very proud that I was able to hold it together.  I truly enjoyed the experience.  Congratulations, Lori, on your victory!

Two years ago one of my closest friends, Ashleigh, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  Her life has changed somewhat since her diagnosis, but Ash, like most kids who have juvenile diabetes, is determine not to let it slow her down.  On Sunday, I accompanied Ashleigh and her entire family on a 5K Walk to Cure Juvenile Diabetes, sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  The walk, which took place along Avon Beach in Monmouth County, NJ, drew a large crowd of supporters and, hopefully, raised a significant amount of money for diabetes research.

At first, the weather was perfect for the walk.  It was sunny and clear but not steaming.  Midway through the walk, the sun started to get intense.  I could tell that Ash was growing tired, and her blood sugar level was starting to drop.  She and I stopped and rested while her dad got her some juice.  After Ash’s sugar level recovered, we continued and completed the 5K walk.  I am so proud of Ash.  She is an inspiration to me and to everyone she knows.   We plan on walking every year until a cure is found for diabetes.  When you have a moment, please visit JDRF.org and find out how you can get involved in the fight against juvenile diabetes.   Together, we can find a cure, treat, and prevent type 1 diabetes!

From Tuesday to Thursday, we had our first rehearsals for my school play!  The first two days were technically read throughs, so we could get familiar with the script and our directors could decide how to assign our parts.  The script is interesting but really long because it is a medley of six plays.  At the end of Day Two, we got our parts.  I get to play two characters: Cyberus, a three-headed bloodhound, from Orpheus and Alestria from Arachne and Athena.  To be honest, Cyberus is a bit creepy and weird but actually interesting to play.  I love Alestria because her name reminds me of a star, and her character has a funny combative relationship with Arachne.  Unlike most of my cast mates, I have rehearsals twice a week– Wednesdays and Thursdays– because I’m in two different scenes.  A lot of my friends play ghosts in Orpheus.   There are only a few people in the cast of Arachne and Athena: five girls, including me.  All of the girls are really nice and fun to hang out with.  I can’t wait for our next rehearsal!