And several hours later, she's back in her room, brain all abuzz with everything she's done and the people she talked to and all the places she saw! Part of her almost regrets that she's probably not going to see them again for years maybe because she's going to go on a grand adventure and make friends with unicorns and angels and save a magical world from destruction and marry a dashing pirate that worked for the evil sorcerer but she turned him to the side of good and things and together they defeated the evil sorcerer with her friends and now she rules the magical world with him and they have two girls and a boy and... it might be more than a few months or years, really. And the adventure seems so much more grand than the one she's about to embark on here. But she doesn't want to give up her ambitions here either. She's gonna be an actress! 

She pulls out the notebook from her bag, safe and sound, where it's been all day except when she checked on it 27 dozen times or so. (It probably was only a dozen or two but she really really doesn't want to lose it even if the notebook says she can't.) 

I'm back! 

she writes by way of greeting. 

I hope you were comfy and okay and stuff! 

I was, don't worry! How was your day?

It was pretty great! I met so many new friends and saw like half the buildings and learned about the meal programs and am a little bit regretting the fact that I'm going to be leaving it all temporarily behind. It is temporarily, right? If I really really really want to come right back here one day I'll get the thing where this world pauses or moves really slow or whatever when I'm in the magical world? Because I don't want everyone to worry and I do really want to be able to come back and pick things up where I left off. 

Yes! If you really want to be able to come back like that, then you will!

Oh good! Then I think maybe possibly I should take notes on everything that happened to me today so I can come back and review my notes and pick up where I left off, because I might be gone for years and years and I just met the people here and might just forget everything. 

Is there a good spot in you to have journal entries or something? Maybe two different places actually, one journal for here and one for wherever I end up so they don't get mixed up. Also do I need to worry about running out of pages, by the way? I assume I don't because you're a magical notebook and stuff but just making sure that I don't use up all your pages and then can't even talk to you! 

I never run out of pages! And I can shuffle my pages around however I want, so if you want to keep two different journals it'll be really easy even if you write an entry in the wrong place by mistake!

Oh that's perfect!! You're a really great magical notebook, you know? Okay, so, I can turn to whatever page I want and just start writing? 

Yes, exactly! ♡ Go right ahead!

And so she does! She turns to a blank page and puts the date at the top (very important for journal entries especially if she's going to be traveling between magical worlds with different speeds of time or however it will end up working). 

Dear Notebook, 

Today was my first day of orientation at MTC, the school where I'm going to learn to be an actress! I'm a little sad that the next day I'm here is probably going to be really far away in my own future, but I'm really excited about the adventure I'm going to be going on!  But since I'm going to be coming straight back here, maybe at most a few hours later, I figured I should take really detailed notes about my day. So this entry may be more detailed than usual, but I bet you're going to enjoy that! 

We started off gathering with everyone else from our dorm room floor and did standard icebreaker games with everyone led by our RA, Cosette. Oh but before that she introduced herself (she's a junior, studying physics). She was pretty friendly! She's kinda tall but that might be because she's older than the rest of us, but she wants us to come to her with whatever problems we have which I think she's supposed to say but I'm pretty sure she meant it. And then it was ice breakers and things! I don't remember all of it even though it was just a few hours ago but we did two truths and a lie and the truth I tried to trick people into disbelieving was that I have been further from home than this (I visited my great uncle in NYC when I was less than a year old which I don't remember but it still counts!) and the lie was that I have five siblings but I don't! I only have 3. Carla got it but most of the rest didn't. 

Speaking of Carla: I talked with her a whole bunch over the course of today. She apparently comes from another nearby town and has a similar like, upbringing to mine but I think her parents aren't as strict because she's studying biology so she can do med school later, which my mom would never let me do. We don't have any classes in common but we are gonna go to church together on Sunday, which is an entire week away here but might be much much longer for me. But I'm writing it down here so I remember. Oh and she's kinda short and has dark hair and likes to smile though she was kinda shy about it in case I forget what she looks like. Hopefully that'll be enough! 

The other people I made friends with and hung out with (we mostly traveled together with people from our floor) are Fiona, who is doing CS and keeps asking me and Carla about our upbringing, which I think made Carla pretty mad after a while but I think she was just curious and I helped them make up, mostly. Oh and she's got curly brown hair and glasses and is kinda fat for a girl but oh well. And then there was Larissa who is also doing computer science and dresses in black and wears makeup and I'm pretty sure my mom would hate her for having tattoos even though they're pretty on her and also she's just really pretty for a girl! I might want to ask her about makeup tips (mom doesn't let me wear makeup) but I might be a little afraid to ask. Maybe I'll come back from my adventure with more confidence? And then there was Darcy who is red haired and shy and doing mathematics and apparently her truth was that she's 16 which is, wow, but kinda neat? She's obviously really smart. She was really shy though and did hang around with us and seemed happy to be included even though she didn't talk much. 

Other people of note: Erica is the only other member of my floor that's also in the acting program but she made friends with Alanna and Alanna doesn't really seem like she likes me much, sadly. I exchanged a few words with Erica but then she stopped talking to me when she started talking to Alanna. Which is really sad! Hopefully I'll figure out how to talk to her again or figure out why Alanna doesn't like me or want to talk to me. Oh, and Erica is blonde and short and wears glasses, and Alanna has like, black hair that's all curly and she's black and stuff. And she's in the music program, though I forget what thing she's doing in the music program. 

I think that's everyone important! There were a few other girls in the music program but I think they mostly stuck together and I don't really remember who they are. Though if someone else comes up I'll let you know. Anyways, after we all did intros and icebreakers and stuff we went to this field and sat in the bleachers and the president did this big speech welcoming us (honestly it was kinda boring even though I paid attention like I was supposed to) and then there were more people that talked about like, campus policy and tolerance and stuff. Which was also pretty boring and standard -- don't be mean to people! Don't exclude people just because they're black or asian or gay or whatever! You know, standard and basic stuff. And then after campus policy the rest of the people talked about like, various other campus events and things and where to go to find out information and stuff and all of that is in the pamphlet they gave us, which I'm going to leave on the desk so I can find it when I get back and reread it.

After that we split off into groups and some people went to lunch and other people went on campus tours. We did the campus tour stuff first, which left me kinda hungry, but that was okay. I have been on a campus tour before but only when I was looking at this college along with others closer to home that Mom wanted me to go to but I only half-remembered so it was good to see it again! We got to see all the buildings where I'm going to be taking classes (mostly just the Donner Arts Building) and also all the other buildings and then the tour paused at the mess hall and we had lunch and also they told us how the meal plan works which is kinda complicated but also my parents already paid for it so it doesn't matter too much -- basically I get some amount of money and some amount of meals every week on my meal card and the meals pay for specific things and the money on top of that can be used to buy extras. I think mom got me the one with the least amount of extra money so I won't spend it on frivolous things like extra brownies which is kinda a pity because I like extra brownies but dad sent me with some spending money so I should be able to get an extra brownie sometimes if I really want to. And plus in a bit it won't even matter if I eat extra brownies because of the hollow leg power thing. And then after lunch we did more tour stuff and then we were done! And now I'm back here! There's a movie in the lounge in an hour that Cosette is putting on which if I get back soon enough I might go see with my new friends but if I don't get back soon enough I might have to miss which is sad but I'll be having an adventure which isn't sad at all! I don't know that I'm going to get back in time, though. I probably won't because I have to review the notebook and stuff and figure out who I am when I get back and stuff which might take a while. Maybe I should go see the movie first? I might go see the movie first but maybe I'll talk to you a bit more in case you have any questions and go over my picks so I go down to things that don't take up too many points anyways, that's it for now, though I think I'll add some in a bit. Anyways, if you have any questions or anything like that feel free to ask, that way they'll be a part of the journal entry I'll read later in case they're important to remembering who I am. 

You're right, I really liked this! I love when people write in me about their adventures, and to me college orientation is just as mysterious and adventuresome as travelling through magical lands! I hope you get along with all your new friends when you're back from wherever you travel to. They sound like nice people!

I think going to a movie sounds like fun and you don't need to be in a big rush to have your magical adventures as soon as possible. Do you know what movie it is? I think you should go to it! Though I'm happy to talk to you in the meantime. ♡

She said it was some old comedy movie, I forget exactly what it was called, but she promised us it was really funny and a good way to let off steam after a long day. She says it's one of her favorites. We'll see. But yeah before I go I should probably run through my choices a bit more first to figure out what I want and stuff since I'm still a whole bunch of points over. And then come back and shower and change... do I need to shower and change, actually? I guess I don't, with the perks I took, but also do I show up wearing my current clothes? Should I go gather supplies and things also? My cell phone probably won't work in a magical world when it runs out of power, which is terrible, but it's not like it's going to get service... but I'll probably find everything I need when I go there right? It just feels like I should be preparing for this some. Do I need to prepare at all? 

I think the best way to think about whether and how much to prepare is: are you the sort of person who would prepare for this sort of thing, or the sort of person who would just set off with adventure in your heart? You can be the sort of person who would just set off with adventure in your heart, and you'll land somewhere that that will turn out all right! But if you're the sort of person who makes a packing checklist and takes a flashlight and a big bag of trail mix, then you probably land somewhere where it's useful to have brought those things. That doesn't necessarily mean it's better to pack things, though, because the sort of place where it doesn't matter how much you bring can be a better place to land than the sort of place where it matters a lot.

...did that help? I am not sure it helped.

I think it did help! I think I think I might be kind with adventure in their heart, and not so much the planning checklists kind. So all right, if you say I don't need to prepare, then I don't need to prepare! Though maybe I should take some trail mix and a flashlight just in case except I have no idea where to get those things. My cell phone is my flashlight most of the time. I can get some snacks out of the vending machine in the lobby, though! 

Anyways, I should maybe go over the rest of the options and stuff so I have everything set so I can head out when I come back from the movie! Though maybe I should sleep first, I'm not sure. Do you think I should sleep first? The problem with sleeping first is that then I don't have as much time to re-learn everything about myself but maybe I can do that before I return. Okay, sure, I'll sleep first probably. Anyways! Um, I should flip through you and scratch off some of the stuff I picked, right? Unless there's anything else you want to suggest?

Jenna might be getting a little bit nervous in addition to being excited. She's mostly excited, she's going on an adventure but also she's a little scared that maybe it won't be as awesome as she thinks it's going to be and also she's missing out on stuff here. But she's not, she gets to do both and everything will be okay. 

I don't think I have anything else to suggest. Go ahead and look through the list again!

And so she does! What did she not care too much about again? She might as well start from the top. 

The naming one was important because it will keep true name magic from hurting her and also is only one point, she's keeping that one, but most of the rest of the stuff in that line was silly. She'll scribble out Angelic Tones and Emerald Orbs (Perfect Hair still seems useful though) and then pause to see what happens with the stuff she scribbles out. Does all the ink just disappear? 

Yep! It sinks into the page and vanishes and now the checkbox is pristine again.

Awesome! Okay, on to the rest! Size Difference seems like it would be useful, but also if she remembers correctly the notebook said that having it and They'll Know might let people know that she has size changing magic which... on reflection, no, that's not a problem, she'll keep it. Moving on, Personal Hygiene was good but Like Roses is silly, she can toss that one. Inner Strength still seems useful, she'll keep that one for now, and... that's it from that category and she's hardly made any headway. Hopefully there's some good stuff to remove in the friendship section? 

There is surprisingly little that she wants to remove from the friendship section. Jenna is not into weird stuff, and removes GGG, and then removes Sense of Style and Bonus Style Points (which together were a lot), and now she's only a couple points over. Which... There's that one "drawback" that she hasn't picked yet, and so she picks Dramatic Damsel, which leaves her with a single point to spare. Almost perfect. 

It's okay if I don't use up every single point, right? I'm one short now but I'm not sure what I'd take to fill in that gap. The only thing left that's one point is Like Roses but I'm not sure if I really want to smell like something special though maybe I can use it like perfume somehow. What do you think? 

If you don't use up all your points, then the extra potential will wait until someday when you really, really need a power you didn't think of in advance, and then you'll get whatever you need in that moment! As long as it's something the Spirit can do. If you never end up in that kind of situation then you'll just have a little bit of extra potential forever, which doesn't seem so bad.

Like Roses will give you a signature scent that's distinctive and memorable and hard to change quickly, so it's pretty hard to use it like perfume. You could smell like your favourite perfume but you would always smell that way until you really wanted to smell like something else.

Oh that's really neat actually, the saving up points for things thing. Do you think I should free up a few more points then in case I need something bigger than a 1 point power in the future? Or should I go as-is? 

From her description of Like Roses given that she can't really change it she doesn't want it anymore. She wants to smell normal, not... like magic roses or whatever petrichor is or something. 

I think it'll turn out fine if you go as-is! People don't turn out to really need an extra power all that often.

Even so, the idea of suddenly manifesting a power she didn't have before to save things when the situation seems dire and all hope is lost sounds like when they're surrounded by the forces of the evil sorcerer and he's about to gain power at the planetary alignment or something sound really awesome and fun so maybe she'll find something else to remove. Is there anything else to remove that she doesn't really want? 

Inner Strength, while really strong... it doesn't really fit the way she wants to be in this adventure. She's here to solve it with cleverness and planning (with some amount of beating up badguys) and befriending people and redeeming the enemy and such and being strong enough to toss boulders isn't really what she's looking for. She scribbles it out. 

I removed one more just in case and because I don't think I wanted it that much. I think I'm done! That took much less time than I thought it would! Maybe I'll hang out in the common room and wait for the movie first and see who else is out there so I can make friends a little more before I disappear for however many years I'm going to be gone. And then I'll be back. It's okay if I leave you here for a few hours, right? Is there anything you think I'm missing or would suggest I do? Thanks so much for all your help by the way! 

Yes, of course! I'll be just fine. I'm glad I could help, and I don't think you're missing anything. Enjoy your movie! ♡

And a few hours later, Jenna is back, back with thoughts of movie and rebellions against the evil crown and extremely silly royal birthmarks and swordfights and magic and also friendship! Friendship is good. Jenna is sad she's going to be leaving her friends for a while but she'll be back and they won't even know she's gone. 

I'm back! 

How was the movie?

It was great! Very silly and definitely old but still a lot of fun! Do you want to hear about it?