December

1: two unexpected free periods the day back from break
2: a school day watching a movie in a dark theater (basically, free naptime)
3: headstands, handstands, and forearm-stands
4: heavy drizzling rain for six-and-a-half hours
5: being equidistantly flanked in front and behind by cars driving the speed limit
6: pay-as-you-go smartphones
7: sharing in the happiness of a dog who is finally going home
8: when your teacher decides to be straight up
9: "Neon Light" by Blake Shelton
10: when your best friend gives you a nickname for the day
11: in-class Jeopardy games
12: epic high-fives
13: turning the awkward job of bell-ringer into a chance to display your musical talent
14: composing all the pieces of a song and mixing it
15: all-day excitement to get home and IM someone
16: remembering lines of a movie from your childhood
17: upside-down-tree pattern of water streaks on the windshield
18: when a question on the final exam seems to be written just for you
19: 66% accuracy in remembering what you learned of French
20: my uncle's many faces (and hairstyles)
21: playing tug-of-war with a friend's dog
22: tapping into the laundromat Wi-Fi while at the post office
23: when you and your brother are up front while your parents take a ride backseat
24: everyone out at the store on Christmas Eve Day wearing yoga pants and Uggs
25: mp3 armbands (actually, one of the greatest inventions)
26: writing a satirical fiction about Putin
27: driving an automatic car for the first time in over a year
28: listening to a Top Songs of 2014 countdown on the radio
29: The Intouchables
30: the excitement of new gadgets
31: cinnamon hot cocoa with vanilla coffee creamer

November

1: by chance hearing somebody play an Einaudi song
2: hanging out with Kona while it's pouring rain outside
3: Einaudi covers on acoustic guitar
4: recognizing a song (that you like) on the radio
5: an after-school snack of veggies to try to counter the sugar of Halloween candy
6: "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not" by Thompson Square
7: using a day off from school to get some NaNo done
8: when a little kid tells you "you look handsome"
9: Kona and I going out for a walk for the first time in three months
10: a random pair of jeans in a bush
11: unintentional fashion success
12: sarcastic teachers that shame your classmates
13: bundling up when it's cold outside
14: when your friend makes you watch The Vampire Diaries
15: going into the "admin" computers at Lowe's and Home Depot and typing random messages
16: when a NaNoWriMo dictation gets you seven unexpected pages
17: listening to part of an audiobook
18: not falling asleep entirely while doing homework
19: beating the computer at chess
20: that person who comes to hang out with y'all and is just super chill
21: sprinting across the fields in your socks to get to class on time
22: cute kids at the store that remind you of yourself in your childhood
23: @BadAdviceRock
24: hanging with the crew (I have a crew?)
25: learning how to play Uno and becoming obsessed
26: Stu Larsen's Vagabond
27: playing two strategy games at once
28: when NaNo kind of just happens
29: showing off (not) buff arms in a (kind of) muscle shirt
30: going around and saying hi to all the dogs

October

1: black-market food dealings in class
2: organized marching bands (with feather caps, capes, and all)
3: kind of-sort of-maybe doing a climb-up (even if you hurt yourself doing it)
4: a "36 song golden collection" of Einaudi music
5: the game Flow
6: having a travel crew when you go on a trip
7: seeing how sets change from scene to scene and play to play
8: a restaurant breakfast of oatmeal and toast
9: sitting and talking with someone on a park bench
10: cafés that serve drinks in cups and saucers, with designs in the latte foam
11: exploring downtown, inner-city Portland
12: a home-cooked meal (after a week of restaurant eating)
13: National Coming Out Day posters at school
14: bio labs that make you feel like a doctor or chemist
15: narrowly escaping being tagged
16: finding Norma
17: a tenasketball tournament so brutal the askets snap into pieces and you get cut-up hands
18: half-napping while doing homework
19: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
20: cute crush stories
21: epic & awkward falls
22: "Due Tramonti" ("Two Sunsets") by Ludovico Einaudi
23: "Roots in a Parched Ground"
24: when someone backs you on your opinion when arguing with someone else
25: birthday parties with hiking, pumpkin carving, and card games
26: friends & birthday semi-parties
27: a crocheted, stuffed Ebola virus
28: watching a spider fight
29: Stevie and Sarah (on YouTube)
30: modern art with Cheerios
31: when somebody gets your costume

September

1: checking out house-like sheds at Home Depot
2: The Frames' The Cost
3: not getting drawn into the sequel of a dystopian book
4: Big Brother-/Survivor-type shows with a medieval twist
5: goofy laughing, grinning moods
6: when a dog curls up next to you and puts her head in your lap
7: solving more than half of the puzzles on NPR
8: dressing like a snappy little valet
9: homemade fried rice
10: guessing the right answer to a hard Pictionary word
11: empowering words
12: your best friend understanding, communicating, and being supportive
13: limo and tram rides
14: handsome brothers Zeus and Hercules waiting to get adopted
15: finding a shady place to read
16: standing up for Rosalind Franklin
17: giving to a friend, and your friend giving back
18: super lax auditions
19: an uncanny impression of Obama
20: pig pics
21: going crazy when the parents leave on Sunday night and doing the dishes
22: "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" in Russian (Это нет трубка)
23: pajama day!
24: condoned use of profanity in English class
25: creative writing for bio
26: being forever alone, riding a tandem bicycle
27: rooting for the other team at your homecoming football game
28: hiding out in Kona's kennel like a stowaway
29: you and your friend reading lines/acting out a play in English class with passion
30: waking up when you're cold so you can get a blanket

August

1: inner-city Seattle
2: barefoot walks in the surf
3: revisiting the same used bookstore you found six years ago
4: seeing glass-blowing in action
5: coming back from a big city to return to your ghost-town state
6: helping a neighbor's dog get back home
7: funny & friendly bankers
8: a stumbling toddler jumping into the foam pit after his mom and brother
9: a dog getting so excited to play fetch they chase the ball even if you only kicked it a few inches
10: friendly baristas at Starbucks
11: random people making rock & roll hand signals to you from another car
12: making a Jeep friend
13: videos of dogs playing on YouTube
14: "In a Station of the Metro" by Ezra Pound
15: watching documentaries and docu-dramas in class
16: a black widow eating a baby lizard
17: Ansel Elgort in The Fault in Our Stars
18: nobody seeing you epically trip
19: virtual evolution simulators
20: turning my HP into a TeaBook Pavilion
21: learning to play "Colorblind" on piano
22: el cortometraje "Cuerdas"
23: getting a dog prepped for the World Cup
24: Ludovico Einaudi's album Divenire
25: starting a part-dystopian, part-autobiographical story
26: when the new kid welcomes YOU in
27: that one kid in the class who uses Ubuntu
28: zucchini latkes
29: IQ and common sense tests on YouTube
30: feeding a pig carrots
31: Keira Knightley in Begin Again

July

1: writing on the whiteboard in the doctor's office
2: drawing interpersonal drama webs for soap operas
3: when books & movies make you shudder
4: putting smoke bombs in a bucket of water
5: winning Minecraft Hunger Games
6: dogs getting adopted
7: Dogs 101 clips on YouTube
8: a solid hour of heavy drizzling
9: the Extant premiere
10: Nintendogs
11: stride-and-jump practice
12: having the park to myself for five minutes
13: your parents letting you pick out two things exclusively for yourself when you're at Costco
14: making intense future-life spreadsheets
15: doing a somersault/front flip off the diving board
16: finding your way back home in survival (Minecraft)
17: helping out "the crew"
18: trying out toys at ToysRUs
19: when a dog successfully performs stay
20: the golden-honey triplets (Ivy, Toby, & Diego)
21: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
22: day trips and bike rides
23: making vacation plans
24: organizing papers in folders and file cabinets
25: Ben's tearful confession on The Young and the Restless
26: taming and naming wolf packs in Minecraft
27: when a dog gets so sleepy they start swaying and falling over on you
28: checklists for packing
29: writing directions to all your desired destinations within a city
30: balcony & window views of the water
31: navigating backward through an unfamiliar city

June

1: how the two halves of the sky glow in complementary colors at sunset
2: bushwhacking through the wilderness, carrying a bike over your shoulder
3: when an author puts a dog into a story without effort
4: Queen Latifah
5: killing the night beasts of Minecraft
6: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book
7: meeting all the shelter dogs and learning their names
8: finally drying/mopping up the two inches of water on your kitchen floor
9: the Tamagotchi fruit characters
10: melty-cheese nachos
11: glue-stick and marker projects
12: when the moon turns the clouds silver
13: returning to something you've been apart from for a long time
14: playing with and baby-talking to a dog
15: writing Russian Father's Day cards
16: flipping a tire without the teacher's help
17: watching people cry on Dr. Phil
18: The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
19: studying русский
20: designing party invites
21: being "that guy" & asking employees if their products have gelatin
22: watching World Cup games
23: watching New Mexicans compete in American Ninja Warrior
24: Dog Whisperer
25: Skyping a 12-year-old from New Zealand
26: The Cat Returns
27: seeing someone from your favorite TV show in real life
28: actually being put to work at a volunteer event
29: dogs coming over to say hi to you
30: finally being able to see (in sunlight) after an optometrist's appointment

May

1: a friendly acquaintance sitting by you and making friendly jokes
2: turtles smiling at you
3: having conversations and pretending to be valley girls
4: regressing to a past life
5: poem exposés on PBS
6: when friends make up a game but don't even know the rules
7: blowing so hard into a wind instrument that your teeth ache
8: "Traffic Racer"
9: the animations for "Goodbye Blue Sky"
10: hanging out with and talking to a friendly stranger
11: mini timelines
12: Tori Amos' "Crucify"
13: coming up with "life is precious" slogans
14: apathy with friends & true emotion with family
15: how Gordon Ramsay hates everyone
16: avenging your brother in Minecraft Hunger Games
17: playing with a balloon
18: alternating between Let's Be Still and Waiting for the Dawn
19: being a totally chill bro
20: trying to write a not-too-sentimental goodbye letter
21: a goodbye party for a good friend
22: drinking Earl Grey tea and writing
23: when a friend writes you a birthday card using mostly Beatles lyrics & song titles
24: Ian McKinnon's "S F-squared" acronym
25: Kona selfies
26: renovating your room for the summer
27: almost losing $300 but then digging through recycling and finding it
28: filling out a zillion job apps
29: finding out weird/cool facts that you never knew about musicians
30: exercise breaks to relieve the burning-chest feeling
31: playing pretend with dogs

April

1: Minecraft's April Fools' prank
2: sneaking into rooms to play piano
3: wearing Joker makeup nowhere near Halloween
4: Friday night junk food & movies
5: crying at Gravity
6: Mozilla Firefox
7: finishing a school textbook
8: easy sightreading
9: the character of the Joker in The Dark Knight
10: an award for loving Shakespeare
11: "Love is an Open Door"
12: used-book-sale treats
13: taco night
14: Monday night sitcoms
15: trying to ride a bike backwards
16: "waking up" during meditation & not knowing what you were just thinking about
17: patio furniture at CostCo
18: mini cheesecakes
19: filming in the rain
20: "Love is a Mystery"
21: cellentani pasta
22: the journey of a little bug (on the car window)
23: the Bard's birthday
24: being able to relate with a peer
25: waking up too early and getting to "sleep longer"
26: chillin' with a dog
27: reenacting "Let it Go"
28: giving yourself pep talks
29: cheering for your friends when they appear in the school slideshow
30: "City of Delusion"

March

1: seeing & greeting friends & classmates before & after a performance
2: chatting with peeps on Skype
3: hugs & reassuring words
4: "I'm About to Come Alive"
5: second-a-day video projects
6: making up imaginary words for a vocab test
7: early effects of a rebellion
8: formulating riddles to uncover someone's identity
9: relaxing by playing an instrument
10: writing by the light that filters through the blinds when you're in a dark room
11: experimenting with new gadgets & accessories
12: tea & cookies in class
13: Shakespeare's Sonnet 33
14: pi(e) day
15: dog training videos
16: "The Book Thief" movie
17: the fish eye lens
18: surprising teacher feedback
19: collaborative creativity
20: driving alone for the first time
21: blendin' smoothies
22: helping dogs do stuff they already know how to do
23: desert photoshoots
24: writing a movie script
25: going to a friend's house
26: spring break vacay to Santa Fe
27: "Discovery at Night" by Ludovico Einaudi
28: finally finishing homework that was due before break
29: dog kisses
30: songwriting Sundays
31: pretending to smoke with pretzel sticks

February

1: Moonrise Kingdom
2: Brian Crain's album "Piano & Light"
3: playing chess with your teacher
4: being late to class with a similarly lost/confused peer at your side
5: your teacher talking in an indistinguishable eastern-European accent to make everyone laugh
6: beating six-month writer's block
7: seeing both sides of a story
8: running in stride with a dog
9: playing Minecraft Hunger Games with a friend
10: hilariously adorable puppet shows
11: making that bold, interpretative statement
12: people flocking to anyone who has food
13: coming up with dance moves in the shower
14: when you lend someone your phone, and they take a selfie and set it as the background pic
15: long, lonely, & quiet dirt roads
16: (addictive) simulated reality games
17: an unreasonably merciful Hunger Games opponent
18: school "field trips" to Keva Juice
19: when a sub cares more about you than your actual teacher
20: being artistic outside of art class
21: an unexpected reward for a good deed
22: a new look (for Minecraft)
23: crawling through the maze in the pit
24: eerily accurate personality tests
25: pricking your finger & watching the blood bubble up
26: screwing with Siri
27: semi-awkward encounters with pretty much total strangers
28: not being incredibly nervous on opening night

January

1: learning French
2: rennet-free string cheese
3: wondering about Igor & Stephanie in Cactus Flower
4: all-day story-writing inspiration
5: using language-learning CDs while you're doing other things
6: reliving falling in love with John Lennon
7: strolling & talking with each of your friends
8: unexpected fan messages on Twitter
9: your bio teacher assigning "hug a tree" as homework
10: turning off the phone & tuning into nature
11: cats meowing at you
12: Love Actually
13: getting surprisingly good grades
14: when your band teacher arranges a round for scales, and lets everyone choose which group, and you're the only one to pick the first group
15: watching birds out the library window
16: enjoying all aspects of the day
17: turning gross things into scientific learning opportunities
18: responding to a dog's quirks & the dog responding to yours
19: building a horse ranch on Minecraft
20: remembering things in real life in reference to what you were doing/where you were in Minecraft at that moment
21: successfully getting things done when the computer screen graphics are upside down
22: not being the only one whose stomach growls incessantly at the worst of times
23: Billy la Bufanda
24: Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma! (1999)
25: bowl after bowl of Corn Pops
26: Isn't She Lovely? by Lauren Layne
27: pure-gold, sun-melting sunsets
28: twinsies Biden & Boehner (State of the Union address)
29: teachers helping you make a choice by giving advice and, above all, asking your opinion
30: seeing how others serve the community
31: friends imitating you