Finals week is a very powerful week at Psyhigh! Oh my. It is true that the campus becomes a bit "crazy" and unstable, with many students losing control of their various abilities. It can be quite harrowing. Yes, very much.

It seems that it is one of those well known things. But the reason things get so unstable is because we are all under a lot of stress! A big lot! Finals are very serious at Psyhigh. You are asked to do things that you have only just learned, and maybe you don't know them that well yet.

For instance, in Space Folding, one portion of our test involved our demonstration of our mastery of the intra-spatial hexaflexagram. Each student - for the teacher - must create an intersection with the 9 cardinal points, then very carefully fold them in until you have a kind of "revolving door" between the primary dimensions. We are only able to make small ones, but must demonstrate them by manipulating a red ping pong ball back and forth through the revolving door - passing the red ping pong ball between this reality and another.

But you see, this is not so easy. If not done just right, there is tremendous stress and strain on the entire shape, and it can be crushed somewhat violently, tearing a reality-strong rent into the fabric of the fold.

In my class, many students had difficulty. As one student's manifold slammed shut and ripped itself in half, her hair was caught in it, and yanked her head in like the spinning blades of a Yukazef (which is a yard tool on my planet). It slammed her cheek into the intersection. But it could have pulled her entire head in!

I have heard that in some cases students have had various limbs, heads, and appendages caught in such a collapse, and in most cases they can be reattached.

And this was just one part of one test for one class! So you can see why some students' minds begin to crumble a little bit.

But thank goodness that is over! And I very much enjoyed attending the "After Party" at the commons tonight. I am not use to so many people being so close together! But I like it. It seemed almost every student was there. Many were brought in wheelchairs and hover stretchers, but everyone had a good time.

The commons are both indoor and outdoor - the sliding glass doors are opened and there is a band inside but you can walk out into the courtyard. That is where I found the dodgeball team! Go you Freaks! I was very proud of the team, though their season was short. Ha ha! Short! Get it? But I got to talk with @Makako Jones, who I think is the captain of the team. It was very wonderful to talk to him and see him grow big and small and get to know him.

S.N.

Yes, that is a lot to do with it! Here, everyone likes to "rise above."

I have made it a point to sit with people from your planet for lunch. Instead of with the other Visiting Students. Many students from far away like to keep together in their own group, and I am first-rate friends with many of them. None of them read the student journals, I don't think. It is too alien.

For me, however, your journals here are one of the few things that remind me of home. Because it is like our Jouls. We share a communal mindspace with our Joul, which means there is always the chatter of our Joul. We might not see each other for many days, going about own business in our separate parts of the hive compound. But we stay in touch with everyone within 100 hexes. We keep up with each other.

Our hive is ground level - or lower. That is, all of our buildings are what you call "one story." We of course don't have a word for it! Of course, once in awhile someone may build a "cat box" on the roof of the hive, but with so much room, there is never a need to build "up."

Here, you have "greatest buildings." That by itself is very strange. We have the hive. And your buildings grow wildly tall! I have been to the third floor of your library and that was quite enough for me! I came right back down.

And at lunch. It is like a contest between all of you, all of the time, to see who can "be on top." Every conversation is a daredevil climb on top of words piled on words that you stand on tiptoe on! It is really amazing. I have sat with the dodgeball team before and they really want to be tall, I think.

I am honored to be the Student of the Month at Psychic High School!

This week, everyone is coming up to me and "high fiving," and I am everyone's "bro!"

It is a great feeling. People here like to make everyone feel special. It is like I am a "celebrity" now!

Again, I think this is related to your "stars." You have always had a sky full of stars (and yes, I love that song!) and you see many things in the stars. Stars are your "heavens." Stars are where some of your gods and goddesses live.

Where I come from, there are our three moons, and the four planets. And that is all. Every one of their relative positions each night is particular, powerful, and predictable. They are all diagrams of just one story.

That is what we live under. There is no room for "stars." So this is a very strange feeling, being your "celebrity" now! We do not have them.

S.N.

For beginning, one very big thing that having stars helped you with was navigating.

We have big oceans, just like you. Bigger maybe. But getting around them at night, with just seven things in the sky that are always moving and turning back and forth... this was much more difficult for our ancient people.

On your planet, your stars move too, but slowly, and maybe not so much. You have "the north star" in the north, and other things in the south. When you can see them, you find your way.

This meant you could find your way across the oceans much more quickly than we could. Maybe one thousand years more quickly!

But we spent our thousand years finding out other things.

S.N.

Many people ask me: "Starlis, how are things different where you come from?"

It is a very big question.

For beginning, our "week" is very different, but that is just because of the moons. We have a 37 day work week. But then we have a 19 day weekend, so it's not so bad. Maybe we get more done, even.

But the stars. Or, the "no stars." This is a much bigger question.

S.N.

I am very happy to be at your school. Everyone I have met has been extremely helpful as I continue to get acquainted with your culture.

As some students know, I was accepted to Psyhigh on an Exo-diversity visa. Which means I've come a long way. ;) In my case, from somewhere between the galaxies you call Dwingeloo 1 and N6503. And when I say "between the galaxies" I really mean that.

My planet orbits an orphan star. One little star way out between galaxies. Nothing around for a long, long way. We're so distant from other stars, we can't even see them. In fact, before I came to this school I had never seen "stars."

Here, your stars have been part of everything. In my dark sky, we had seven things. Our three moons, and four planets.

This has made us very different people. Though on both planets, there are many people who never look up at night at all.

I am going to look at your sky now.

S.N.