Happiness is A Plethora of Hugs

It's amazing how I've gone from suicidal to filled with joy in, what, four months? I mean, I haven't really had a group of friends that I love since before Christmas last year. And now, going to my school picnic today, I've not felt so loved in a very, very long time. I can't tell you how many hugs I got today!

Today was a dress-down day, so, you could wear normal clothes if you payed five dollars to the seniors. Which sounded good to me. So, I chose to wear my very favorite outfit to school, and everybody seemed to make a mental sigh and go, "Oh, good, she's normal!" 'Cause, you know, I have glasses and look beyond dorky in my school uniform. I mean, otherwise, I can work the look; but when you're wearing khaki pants and polo shirts tucked in? You hardly have a chance.
People were talking to me more than usual today (probably because of my outfit and looking not so loser-esque) and I actually got around to telling Hannah and Rachel that I was bullied last year. They looked at me like that was a totally foreign concept to them. Yes, girls, welcome to the real world - kids like me get pushed around out there. It's not pretty. I still didn't mention the fact that I have 4S to anyone, but I'm sure they'll all learn sometime.

After school, we had a picnic at a park and participated in a relay race, a cake walk, tug of war (over a river! It got a little wet), and I had to eat a doughnut on the end of a string; but only because I'm a first-year student. It was kind of sad, because I didn't get to participate in the relay race because everyone volunteered for roles before I was able to. But, what was nice was that Willis was kind of distressed that I didn't get to play. I wasn't upset about the fact, but I was touched that he'd cared enough to ask if I was okay with that and that he was sorry.
Between events, I was able to hang out with my new friends. Mainly Hannah, Rachel, and Jake; but with the other guys, too. And while we're all different from each other, I think that it's kind of cool that nobody is ever alone. Everyone's included in everything.
The juniors ended up winning the relay, and the tug-of-war, but altogether it was really fun. What really touched me was at the end, Hannah and I were walking and she asked, "So, are you liking Bird Watched High*?"
The other girls had left and she and I were walking behind some of the guys.
I smiled, "Yeah," I said, grinning ear to ear, "I absolutely love it here!"
She tackled me in a hug. "Good! Because I love having you here!"
"I love having you here!" I exclaimed.

When I was leaving with my mother, I kind of called over my shoulder, "Good-bye, everyone!"
So, Jake flings his arms open and was like, "Byyye!"
I hugged him, even though I felt quite awkward about it because I don't think I've ever hugged a guy before. It was okay, though, and it was really quick anyway, so I got over it and hugged Hannah, this girl named Holly, and Nathan.
But wanna know something? Hugs are amazing. My self-esteem has sky-rocketed.