Diary of a Teenage Time Traveler

Diary Entry August 22, 2066

Yesterday, I went with Dad back to 2033 to witness the first comet probe. Total Yawns-ville. I guess it was kinda cool when I really think about it. I mean, I do like that stuff, but I’ve had chemistry experiments that were more exciting. But cool I got to meet some famous astronomers. We were in Chile, at the space observation station, and talk about space geek-dom! Anyway, they were there because of this comet, called McFarlin's Comet, that was discovered in 2017 and reappeared 5 years later. They predicted it to return again in five years, and built a missile probe launched via satellite to bring back samples. It was this huge scientific breakthrough that no one really knew about til much later, which is why we went. Dad had this majestic idea that being there would register as some groundbreaking moment in time.

Well, it was, but there were no earthly tremors, if you know what I mean.

Picture this--a bunch of giddy astronomers staring at the sky with their megascopes. Yeah. Now you’re quaking with excitement, right? My thrill-o-meter was off the charts. But Dad breeched a bit of regulation by explaining to the astronomers that we were time travelers, and they were super interested to hear about that, which completely caught me off guard, because it's a huge violation if we get caught. I’ve never heard Dad tell anyone we were time travelers. Ever.

He said if anyone could understand, it’s other scientists. Truth is, they weren’t interested in our purpose there at all without that tidbit of info. So Dad explained he'd need them to stay in the strictest of confidences and hung all our laundry out right there on their time string. Not like any of them hadn’t heard of time travel before, but regulated time travel doesn’t come out for another few years for them. In 2033 it was still under government review.

Dad offered them a digi-card anyway and told them where to find us in Alaska.

Okay, so now I have to rant. I know I'm this super lucky person and all because my parents own a time travel agency, and I've been places and seen things many grown-ups haven't, but truth is, I feel like an outcast any time I'm around other people. Not counting my parents and Kayla. But even Kayla doesn't really get it. She's not allowed to time travel, her parents won't let her.

I have my webbie friends I see online in chat rooms every day, and in the virtual classroom, but it's so easy to just turn all that stuff off. Sometimes it doesn't seem real. But then, if I don't plug in for a few days, I miss it. Mom and Dad say my generation will never know what it's like to be lonely because of all our social networks and virtual visits--like eShopping at the holo-mall, or being right in the middle of a live concert holographically. And when you get of age, there’s always the eRomance exchange for made to order love holograms.

But I’m talking about me right now, and I keep getting these empty feelings of loneliness. And frustration. Because sometimes it feels like I live three different lives. Bianca here and now, who's never loved anyone but her parents, Kayla, and old dog Nivarre; Bianca the time traveler who has to always pay attention and who isn’t allowed to make mistakes; and Bianca the Web presence, where I can add or delete anything I want to my profiles, which seems totally phony and manufactured.

This is the world I live in. Is this who I am?

That's it for today. I'm feeling depressed now. I'm gonna go see if Mom has any chocolate covered cherries left. They always make me feel better.

Signing off.