Hello, Internet! Welcome to the launch of The Storm Project, which, if you haven’t figured out already, is a blog. My blog, specifically.
What happens at a blog launch, I’m not entirely sure, but feel free to make a cup of tea and mingle among the, er, crowd. Take notice of all the twinkle lights I put up earlier, glittering in the low light of the early 1900s theatre against varnished wood, and the artfully stacked books, and the bean bag chairs by open fires so you can talk about your favourite books with a fellow book lover. Everyone is wearing beanie hats, even Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde. So please, be welcome, be merry, and try not to spill tea on any of the books. You will suddenly become the target for a hundred literature-protective bookworms.
Now, you can take your seats — leave a bean bag chair for Ms. Rowling, please! — and we’ll begin.
The Hippie Life
I was born into a family of hippies, all with typically chaotic and nature-inspired names: Mica, Moonflower, Sepia, Fern, River, Daisy, Echo. The seating plan for my cousin’s wedding looked like a blueprint for a flower garden.
My name is Storm Rose Bennett-Clark, and I’m a seventeen-year-old student living in a little story book Canadian town, and you’re probably thinking this is all a lie. No joke, guys. My twin brother’s name is Mica James, and we have two younger sisters, Sepia Caroline and Moonflower Rebecca. Our parents, whose own names are Bracken and Moss, thought that giving us normal middle names was only fair in case we decided to go by them instead.
All four of my grandparents were hippies in the States, and they became friends through protests and things like that…so my parents had the cheesy love story of growing up together and falling desperately in love in their teen years.
Are my parents hippies? Not in the same sense my grandparents were. We don’t go to protests as a Saturday afternoon family outing, wear peace symbols, or promote the usage of any variety of substance, legal or not. We don’t even use Tylenol. We call ourselves eco-hippies. (Is that a term?) A few years ago we were strictly using renewable energy sources to power the house, but that proved too expensive with Dad’s income as a history teacher and Mom’s as a part-time yoga instructor, so we reverted to regular electricity, but with aware restrictions. Everything in our home is on a timer, even the hot water. We don’t watch TV, but couple years ago Mica and I pooled our money on a DVD player so we could actually enjoy the magic of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Pride and Prejudice, and Toy Story without going to a friend’s house.
I’m less of a stickler to some of our extreme-green ways of living. Mica and Mom are firm vegetarians, but Dad, Sepia, Moon, and I settle for an organic diet. We like meat too much, and when I go to a friend’s house I never make them go out of their way to accommodate my eating habits. I tried a hamburger from McDonald’s once (don’t tell Mica; he’ll have an aneurysm). It was so disgusting I’ll never do it again.
When weather and distance permits we bike or walk to wherever we want to go, and all of our personal products are either handmade by Mom and Sepia or bartered for at the local farmer’s market. Soap, shampoo, even what little makeup we own is all as eco-friendly as possible. It’s tricky going shopping, especially for Sepia and Moon, who are 14 and 12, but there’s no other way I would rather live.
Mica and Hanna
I have the two best friends a girl could ask for. I know some people think that twins, especially twins of different genders, don’t get along, but Mica is fantastic. We’re as different as two people can be in matters of neatness and hobbies, but we’re practically telepathic we know each other so well. It kind of freaks our parents out sometimes. He’s as nerdy as I am, but everyone thinks he’s cooler, and I have to agree: the bugger is both an artistic genius and a talented musician, as well as a giant chick magnet. Ladies, stay away from my brother. You can’t have him. Thanks.
Hanna is pretty much my other twin. We’ve been friends since the first day of preschool, and she’s the most beautiful person I know. Over ten years of sleepovers, adventures, middle school drama, and mischief have resulted in my firm belief of kindred spirits and a permanent drawer in my dresser full of her stuff. She’s a package of fun, wisdom, insanity, geekiness, and strength all wrapped up in one gorgeous young woman.
I’m sure they’ll insist on saying hello at some point.
Me
I’m a nerd, and I love it. I geek out about Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, biology class, Star Wars, ancient history, bracelet-making, Jane Austen novels, dressing in funky clothes, and basically all books that don’t involve vampires and bad grammar. 😉 It’s difficult to function without my tattered old notebook, peach yogurt, beanies, chamomile tea, and my favourite pair of baggy overalls.
My siblings and I share 2 cats, which by popular vote were christened Darth and Vader, and 4 geckos called Hermione, Vincent, Wanda, and Felix. Mica is one of my best friends, and I’m fervently glad my sisters were always responsible enough to never require me to babysit them.
I plan to attend university in a year and a half to study journalism. I already run the school paper with the help of an English teacher from Quebec, Mademoiselle Rousseau (anyone else see the irony?), and I’m hoping for a position at the local newspaper when summer starts up. Until then, I’ve started this blog; I hope to hone my writing skills, share details about my life, convert you all to nerds (if you aren’t already), and maybe try something new and scary. I’ll be posting 2 or 3 times a week — photos, songs, links, terrible sketches to illustrate my point, recipes, rants about people in my life, and the flaws in society.
Thank you so much for attending this rather experimental blog launch! I hope you enjoyed your tea and the chance to share a love seat with John Green and Louisa May Alcott. It is a dear wish of mine that you’ll continue to stick around, leave comments, and spread the word! Feel free to tell me a bit about you and what you would be interested in reading about!
Feel free to post this anywhere and everywhere!
The Storm Project 