Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

North Carolina was really fun. We went ziplining and we went on a cool rock that grew algae, so it was a giant natural water slide. It didn’t hurt; it was just super smooth. I wasn’t afraid of ziplining at all. There was a really long one. It was 1,550 feet long and 220 feet high. I’d been going on this one zipline that’s really short and in a circle, and I decided to do the bigger one this year. It’s above the trees. Now I’m going to try and do that everywhere I go, all over the world.

DCIM100GOPRO

Tutor Time

Being a big sister is really fun. I get to teach my sister all I know, which can sometimes be a bit too much for her. We do something we call “tutor time” and she really looks forward to it because I make things fun for her. We do about 20 minutes a day and we do factorials and it’s a little challenging for her. She’s six-and-a-half.

In the Middle

I’m going into middle school, into sixth grade. It will be a new school. I’m going to know one or two people from my old school, and I have a friend who is going into seventh grade there. School starts mid-August, and because it gets out earlier than my other school, I’m going to look forward to getting picked up then getting to go pick my little sister up from her school. Mine’s a performing arts school, so I get to be with more people like me. More people who don’t know what art they want to participate in all the way, but know that they want to be in it. I signed up for musical theater because I’m a guitar player and I’d also like to be an actress.

Starting Over

I’m a little nervous about school because the academics will get harder. That’s a little difficult for me. That and starting over. I’m just nervous to meet new people. I like math class because I’m a grade ahead in math. I don’t really like history that much because – I mean, I like it, I’m good at it – but I prefer math because in math you have a chance of solving a puzzle, but in history you just have to memorize something.

Hazel and her family

Two Moms

It’s really nice to have two mothers because there are two people I can always count on to know how I’m feeling, because they’re both girls and I’m a girl. At one point, the only male being in our house was our pet fish. I knew it was male because females can lay eggs without a male and it’s a beta fish, so we can’t put two in the same tank because they would eat each other.

I think it’s great to have a family of all girls because everyone in the family gets each other, so there’s no confusion, like “Oh my gosh, I don’t get you!” because we do. We all love each other.

I’m really close to Alice’s side of the family, even though I’m not technically biologically related to them. It’s good because even though I don’t know anyone on my father’s side, I still have two sides of the family that I can go to on summer vacations. I love having a little sister that’s not completely related to me, so I can say, “Whoa, that craziness isn’t me as well.” It’s the same dad, thankfully. My moms worked really hard to get that.

Clean Slate

We are starting on a new process where if we mess something up, we have to clean it up right away, so nobody’s fighting. Nobody’s fighting about “Pick this up!” “No, I don’t want to!” and it’s nice because we have a very clear environment. I think it’s nice to live in a family that’s so understanding.

Hazel lives with her moms, Alice, who she calls Mommy, and Jillian, who she calls Mama, and her little sister Heloise. Hazel loves to draw and paint and craft things. She particularly likes sewing, and she likes to make outfits out of ratty old T-shirts. She only watches a little bit of TV, but when she does, she watches Jessie.