The subject of this blog post might not be about a subject everyone would want to read about: religion. I've never really talked much about religion on here or other places of the Internet other than the occasional comment about church or something. My religion is a large part of my life though, and I feel like I should talk about it in at least one post. I don't want this to start a debate over religion. This post is more about how religion affects my life than my actual religion (which is Catholicism if you're interested).
I've been raised Catholic my whole life, and my family attends church every week. We'd probably be described as a pretty religious family. My dad is currently studying to become a deacon. (To learn what that is, you can go here. Essentially, they're part of the clergy, but they're not a priest. I'm not quite sure how to describe it.) A lot of my extended family is also Catholic, but not my whole family. The Catholic Church has been a large part of my life. Up until high school I also attended a small Catholic school.
Like every person, I've questioned Catholic teachings before, but it's never gotten to the point where I've actually considered leaving the Catholic Church. I'm just a person who always questions things. (Here's one of those obvious reasons I'm a Ravenclaw even though I don't want to admit it.) I don't think you can honestly believe something unless you've questioned it and figured it out for yourself, and I do that a lot. I have several books on Catholic teachings, I look stuff up online all the time, and of course, I read the Bible every day.
There's a lot of prejudice against the Catholic Church, and I believe most of it us unfound. I've seen a lot of people believe things about the Catholic Church that are completely untrue. For instance, we don't have to do everything the Pope says. There are only certain times he exercises papal authority. We don't worship Mary. Catholics don't worship anyone other than the Holy Trinity. In the same light, we also don't worship statues. As someone who's been Catholic my whole life, I've never understood why some people believe we do. I've never bowed or prayed to a statue in my life. I've bowed in front of an altar, which had statues on it, but I was bowing to God, not the statues and I wasn't even directly in front of a statue. I've always seen the statues as more of decorations than anything else. And here's one that may come as a great shock to a lot of people: Catholics don't hate gay people. Or Muslims. Or any religion or group of people for that matter. If they did, they wouldn't be following God's teachings.
That became even more religious than I was planning. Like I said, I don't want this to turn into a debate over religion. I think I've said this somewhere before, but I love learning about religions. It's one of my favorite things to learn about. It's always interesting to see what different people believe about God, creation, an afterlife, etc. My religion is very important to me, but I'm always open to people with different beliefs.
As I've already stated many times, I don't want the comments to become some big (especially hateful) debate. I would be interested in knowing what your views on religion are though. Just be nice about it. I don't want there to be any insults. Also, I've considered writing more blog posts or even filming videos about different religious things. I don't know if I'm brave enough to do it though. I'm not sure how it'll go. What do you think?
Saturday, October 29, 2011
My First Shakespeare Performance
Today was our field trip in AP English (along with the English 12 Honors class). This was the first field trip I can remember being on since middle school (unless you count the character trip I went on to Nashville sophomore year), so I was excited about it.
We did have to go to our first class, so I spent AP U.S. history trying to prepare for the debate we're having next week. My group and the group we're debating against are debating over Indian removal. It had to be a subject that we had learned about so far, and we were currently on the chapter about Indian removal and the Trail of Tears. The group we're debating against wanted slavery, but we were able to get them to agree on something different. I'm in charge of writing the conclusion for my group, and I have no idea what I'm doing since I've never participated in a debate before. It should be interesting. We're the cons side, and I'm hoping it'll be easier since I think that's the side most people are already on. I just don't want to screw up the conclusion.
After AP U.S. history, we all met to get ready to leave on the field trip. Haley and I were surprised to see that the bus we were riding on was the bus we both used to ride. (We ride a newer bus now.) It was weird being back on that bus.
Hamlet was interesting. It was the first time I'd seen Shakespeare performed live, and Hamlet is one of the Shakespeare plays that I haven't read. I was impressed that I was able to understand most of what they were saying. Some of the actors were really good and a few weren't as great. I was impressed with some of the younger kids they had. Some of them were really good for their age. Most of the adults were good as well.
Not knowing much about Hamlet beforehand, I was a little surprised by the play. Because it was a tragedy, I wasn't expecting it to have as many jokes as it did. I'd heard enough about it that I knew Hamlet went crazy, but I didn't know that he became an amusing type of crazy. I always thought of it as a darker sort of crazy.
Although I enjoyed the play, it was definitely noticeable how long it was, especially after the intermission they had. I think most of this came from the fact that I was really tired, and there were several times I almost fell asleep. Still, I learned today that Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play, and that was definitely obvious today.
Overall, I really appreciated the experience, and I enjoyed it. It was really fun to see Shakespeare performed for the first time.
After the play we stopped to eat lunch. We had a choice between several different restaurants, and I went to Taco Bell with some friends. We didn't have a whole lot of time to eat before we had to be on the bus again to head back to school. We got back about half an hour before school ended. A large portion of my government class had been on the field trip, and we decided we just weren't going to take our books or anything when we went in. It was a good choice because they were watching TV when we entered, and we basically spent the rest of the day talking.
Of course, I had play practice after school today. Nothing huge happened there. It's gotten to the point where pretty much all of the "big" stuff is finished. I'm just doing random things. I had to paint this banister, find some coats for a costume, wash glasses, and other things.
The field trip made today go by really quickly. It actually feels really weird because it doesn't really feel like I went to school today but yet it does. I'm not complaining about it though. It was an awesome field trip.
We did have to go to our first class, so I spent AP U.S. history trying to prepare for the debate we're having next week. My group and the group we're debating against are debating over Indian removal. It had to be a subject that we had learned about so far, and we were currently on the chapter about Indian removal and the Trail of Tears. The group we're debating against wanted slavery, but we were able to get them to agree on something different. I'm in charge of writing the conclusion for my group, and I have no idea what I'm doing since I've never participated in a debate before. It should be interesting. We're the cons side, and I'm hoping it'll be easier since I think that's the side most people are already on. I just don't want to screw up the conclusion.
After AP U.S. history, we all met to get ready to leave on the field trip. Haley and I were surprised to see that the bus we were riding on was the bus we both used to ride. (We ride a newer bus now.) It was weird being back on that bus.
Hamlet was interesting. It was the first time I'd seen Shakespeare performed live, and Hamlet is one of the Shakespeare plays that I haven't read. I was impressed that I was able to understand most of what they were saying. Some of the actors were really good and a few weren't as great. I was impressed with some of the younger kids they had. Some of them were really good for their age. Most of the adults were good as well.
Not knowing much about Hamlet beforehand, I was a little surprised by the play. Because it was a tragedy, I wasn't expecting it to have as many jokes as it did. I'd heard enough about it that I knew Hamlet went crazy, but I didn't know that he became an amusing type of crazy. I always thought of it as a darker sort of crazy.
Although I enjoyed the play, it was definitely noticeable how long it was, especially after the intermission they had. I think most of this came from the fact that I was really tired, and there were several times I almost fell asleep. Still, I learned today that Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play, and that was definitely obvious today.
Overall, I really appreciated the experience, and I enjoyed it. It was really fun to see Shakespeare performed for the first time.
After the play we stopped to eat lunch. We had a choice between several different restaurants, and I went to Taco Bell with some friends. We didn't have a whole lot of time to eat before we had to be on the bus again to head back to school. We got back about half an hour before school ended. A large portion of my government class had been on the field trip, and we decided we just weren't going to take our books or anything when we went in. It was a good choice because they were watching TV when we entered, and we basically spent the rest of the day talking.
Of course, I had play practice after school today. Nothing huge happened there. It's gotten to the point where pretty much all of the "big" stuff is finished. I'm just doing random things. I had to paint this banister, find some coats for a costume, wash glasses, and other things.
The field trip made today go by really quickly. It actually feels really weird because it doesn't really feel like I went to school today but yet it does. I'm not complaining about it though. It was an awesome field trip.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sorting: Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff?
For years I avoided sorting myself into a Hogwarts house. I'm not sure why. I saw everyone else in the fandom doing it, but I just never did. I don't know if it was because I was unsure about which house I belonged in or another reason. I know I dreamed of being a Gryffindor when I was really young, but I grew out of that as I got older. (Brave isn't exactly the best word to describe me.) Still, I avoided actually putting myself in a house.
At some point I began taking sorting quizzes whenever I happened to stumble upon them. I was always sorted into either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. In fact, it was always pretty evenly split between those two houses. I can't remember being sorted into Slytherin or Gryffindor even once. (Except the WBsorting quiz that put me into Gryffindor, but anyone who's taken that quiz knows it's definitely not accurate.) This made me realize something that would have been obvious anyway if I'd thought about it: I was definitely either a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but I began becoming extremely conflicted over which house I really was.
Eventually, I decided I was a Hufflepuff. This wasn't a simple decision though, and it took years for me to actually say I was a Hufflepuff without second guessing myself. The main reason I decided this was because one of the Hufflepuff traits is loyalty. After an experience in eighth grade, loyalty became one of (most likely the number one) trait I value most in a person. I always try to be loyal, and I can't be good friends with a person unless I believe they'll be loyal to me. For this reason, I believe it was at some point during freshmen year that I firmly decided I was a Hufflepuff.
That was about three years ago, and over those three years there were numerous times where I'd sometimes still second guess my decision. Everytime I asked someone I knew what house they believed I was, they'd answer Ravenclaw. Always. Because of this, there was always that underlying doubt. I knew it was incredibly possible that I was a Ravenclaw. I love learning, and you'll almost never find me without a book in my hands. (Although I'm sad to admit that I've found myself without a book more and more recently.) I stuck with Hufflepuff though, and I became a very proud Hufflepuff.
When we began learning about Pottermore, and we found out that we would be sorted, I was excited but also really nervous. This sorting quiz would be created by J.K. Rowling. If there was one person who could come up with an accurate sorting quiz, it would be the person who created the houses. I was so scared that I would be sorted into a house other than Hufflpuff, and although I didn't want to admit it, I knew that chances were high that I would be made a Ravenclaw.
If you've watched my sorting video, you know that I was in fact sorted into Ravenclaw. While this wasn't really a surprise, you can tell I'm not jumping for joy in the video. It was slightly disappointing honestly. There's nothing wrong with Ravenclaw, and I'm really proud to be a Ravenclaw. Still, there's a large part of me that feels a really strong connection to Hufflepuff. I completely understand why Pottermore sorted me into Ravenclaw, and I've almost come to terms with the fact that I really am a Ravenclaw. Yet I don't think I'll ever come to a point where I'm completely satisfied with that. There's always going to be a part of me that's going to be conflicted between the two houses.
At some point I began taking sorting quizzes whenever I happened to stumble upon them. I was always sorted into either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. In fact, it was always pretty evenly split between those two houses. I can't remember being sorted into Slytherin or Gryffindor even once. (Except the WBsorting quiz that put me into Gryffindor, but anyone who's taken that quiz knows it's definitely not accurate.) This made me realize something that would have been obvious anyway if I'd thought about it: I was definitely either a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but I began becoming extremely conflicted over which house I really was.
Eventually, I decided I was a Hufflepuff. This wasn't a simple decision though, and it took years for me to actually say I was a Hufflepuff without second guessing myself. The main reason I decided this was because one of the Hufflepuff traits is loyalty. After an experience in eighth grade, loyalty became one of (most likely the number one) trait I value most in a person. I always try to be loyal, and I can't be good friends with a person unless I believe they'll be loyal to me. For this reason, I believe it was at some point during freshmen year that I firmly decided I was a Hufflepuff.
That was about three years ago, and over those three years there were numerous times where I'd sometimes still second guess my decision. Everytime I asked someone I knew what house they believed I was, they'd answer Ravenclaw. Always. Because of this, there was always that underlying doubt. I knew it was incredibly possible that I was a Ravenclaw. I love learning, and you'll almost never find me without a book in my hands. (Although I'm sad to admit that I've found myself without a book more and more recently.) I stuck with Hufflepuff though, and I became a very proud Hufflepuff.
When we began learning about Pottermore, and we found out that we would be sorted, I was excited but also really nervous. This sorting quiz would be created by J.K. Rowling. If there was one person who could come up with an accurate sorting quiz, it would be the person who created the houses. I was so scared that I would be sorted into a house other than Hufflpuff, and although I didn't want to admit it, I knew that chances were high that I would be made a Ravenclaw.
If you've watched my sorting video, you know that I was in fact sorted into Ravenclaw. While this wasn't really a surprise, you can tell I'm not jumping for joy in the video. It was slightly disappointing honestly. There's nothing wrong with Ravenclaw, and I'm really proud to be a Ravenclaw. Still, there's a large part of me that feels a really strong connection to Hufflepuff. I completely understand why Pottermore sorted me into Ravenclaw, and I've almost come to terms with the fact that I really am a Ravenclaw. Yet I don't think I'll ever come to a point where I'm completely satisfied with that. There's always going to be a part of me that's going to be conflicted between the two houses.
Debates, Yearbooks, and Inductions
Next week we're having debates in my AP U.S. history class. I'm pretty excited for this because I've never actually participated in a debate before. Being a very quiet person, I'm a little nervous, but I hope it will be fun. We went to the library to work on it today. My group with debating Indian removal. We're on the con side. Today I got put in charge of our conclusion. I'm a little worried about it because I have to have something written down, but I also have to be able to change it a bit during the actual debate so it relates to what the other team argued. I'm really worried because I'm not great at coming up with things on the spot. If you take out that little bit though, I'm extremely excited about this.
Today was also our second day of watching the movie A Few Good Men in AP English. Our next paper is going to be about obedience to authority, and we're able to use the movie in the paper. I'm definitely not complaining about watching a movie for a few days in that class.
We're making some decent progress on the yearbook this week. We looked at a template for the pages today, and it looks so cool. I'm really excited for this yearbook. I have hopes that it'll be pretty great.
I'm not really sure why, but our economics (which is the same class and teacher as government from last quarter) teacher had us form our desks into a circle during class today. We had a discussion about economic stuff (descriptive I know) like minimum wage, Social Security, etc. Then we watched a video about China's economy (and how it's tied to the U.S.).
I stayed after school today (just like every day the past few weeks) for play practice. We didn't do a whole lot today. I sorted through the makeup and picked out some of the older, used up stuff, and I helped paint just a little bit. It was actually a bit funny because she asked me to paint because I'm left handed, and she couldn't paint this one bit because she was right handed.
After practice, my sister and I came home for just a little bit before going back to school for the Beta Club induction. My sister was inducted into Beta Club tonight, and I was taking pictures of the induction for the yearbook. I didn't get that many good pictures unfortunately. I stayed in the back because there was no way I was going up to the front, and I had a bit of trouble with the camera (it refused to take pictures at one point). Still, I think I could enough pictures for us the use for the yearbook. Ji and I actually have the Beta Club page, which we should start on since we now have pictures from several things.
Today was also our second day of watching the movie A Few Good Men in AP English. Our next paper is going to be about obedience to authority, and we're able to use the movie in the paper. I'm definitely not complaining about watching a movie for a few days in that class.
We're making some decent progress on the yearbook this week. We looked at a template for the pages today, and it looks so cool. I'm really excited for this yearbook. I have hopes that it'll be pretty great.
I'm not really sure why, but our economics (which is the same class and teacher as government from last quarter) teacher had us form our desks into a circle during class today. We had a discussion about economic stuff (descriptive I know) like minimum wage, Social Security, etc. Then we watched a video about China's economy (and how it's tied to the U.S.).
I stayed after school today (just like every day the past few weeks) for play practice. We didn't do a whole lot today. I sorted through the makeup and picked out some of the older, used up stuff, and I helped paint just a little bit. It was actually a bit funny because she asked me to paint because I'm left handed, and she couldn't paint this one bit because she was right handed.
After practice, my sister and I came home for just a little bit before going back to school for the Beta Club induction. My sister was inducted into Beta Club tonight, and I was taking pictures of the induction for the yearbook. I didn't get that many good pictures unfortunately. I stayed in the back because there was no way I was going up to the front, and I had a bit of trouble with the camera (it refused to take pictures at one point). Still, I think I could enough pictures for us the use for the yearbook. Ji and I actually have the Beta Club page, which we should start on since we now have pictures from several things.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Book Review: The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer
ISBN: 1461179939
Published: May 12th, 2011
Publisher: self-published
Read from August 16th to October 2nd, 2011
Synopsis from Goodreads:
I really enjoyed The Dark Wife. I've always been interested with Greek and Roman mythology. I'd heard of the myth of Hades and Persephone before, but I didn't know much about it. I found myself looking up things about the original myth as I was reading The Dark Wife. It was very interesting.
I really loved the way this was written. I imagine it could be hard to write about gods, since you typically imagine gods to be perfect, but I thought all of the characters where written really well. They were gods and not like normal humans, but many of them, particularly Persephone were relatable. Zeus was infuriating, but I've never liked him anyway. (Freshmen year, we had to research a Greek/Roman god that was assigned to us. I got Zeus/Jupiter, and I pretty much started hating him from the very beginning.)
I also loved the way the underworld was described. I found that a really interesting aspect of the story. It was very interesting to read about. When Persephone was first entering the underworld (I don't think that is really a spoiler.), I couldn't wait to read about what the underworld was like.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Greek mythology. It's a great book.
I recieved this book for free from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.
Note: I usually post a link to buy the book on Amazon, but that doesn't seem to want to work at the moment. I'll try to fix it later.
Published: May 12th, 2011
Publisher: self-published
Read from August 16th to October 2nd, 2011
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Three thousand years ago, a god told a lie. Now, only a goddess can tell the truth.
Persephone has everything a daughter of Zeus could want--except for freedom. She lives on the green earth with her mother, Demeter, growing up beneath the ever-watchful eyes of the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. But when Persephone meets the enigmatic Hades, she experiences something new: choice.Review:
Zeus calls Hades "lord" of the dead as a joke. In truth, Hades is the goddess of the underworld, and no friend of Zeus. She offers Persephone sanctuary in her land of the dead, so the young goddess may escape her Olympian destiny.
But Persephone finds more than freedom in the underworld. She finds love, and herself.
The Dark Wife is a YA novel, a lesbian revisionist retelling of the Persephone and Hades myth.
I really enjoyed The Dark Wife. I've always been interested with Greek and Roman mythology. I'd heard of the myth of Hades and Persephone before, but I didn't know much about it. I found myself looking up things about the original myth as I was reading The Dark Wife. It was very interesting.
I really loved the way this was written. I imagine it could be hard to write about gods, since you typically imagine gods to be perfect, but I thought all of the characters where written really well. They were gods and not like normal humans, but many of them, particularly Persephone were relatable. Zeus was infuriating, but I've never liked him anyway. (Freshmen year, we had to research a Greek/Roman god that was assigned to us. I got Zeus/Jupiter, and I pretty much started hating him from the very beginning.)
I also loved the way the underworld was described. I found that a really interesting aspect of the story. It was very interesting to read about. When Persephone was first entering the underworld (I don't think that is really a spoiler.), I couldn't wait to read about what the underworld was like.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Greek mythology. It's a great book.
I recieved this book for free from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.
Note: I usually post a link to buy the book on Amazon, but that doesn't seem to want to work at the moment. I'll try to fix it later.
Breast Cancer Walk
Today there was a breast cancer walk in a city near where I live. One of the teachers at my school was diagnosed with breast cancer the summer before my freshmen year. She was my Spanish teacher for three years, and she is an amazing person. She was walking today, and a group of people from school decided to get together and surprise her today.
We picked up my friend Haley at about 1:30, and we drove to where we were all meeting. We weren't entirely sure where everyone was going to be, but we ended up finding everyone pretty easily. In fact, we almost drove right by them, but we noticed them at the last minute.
We were along the route they were walking, and we had to wait for the walkers to come by. Someone had painted some of the breast cancers survivors faces on this wall, including our teacher's. It looked awesome. We all wrote our names in pink chalk on the ground in front of it.It took the walkers longer to get there than we thought it would, so we spent some time sitting around talking. Finally, the few people who were running began passing us. Mrs. Deweese, our teacher, was pretty close to the front. She was walking with some of her family. She looked so shocked to see all of us there. She even stopped walking for a bit and put her head in her hands. We should her the wall, and we took pictures with her in front of it. It was really emotional. She started crying, and I was really close to tears. She gave each one of us a big hug and talked to us a little while before continuing walking.
Haley and I had to wait for my mom to come pick us up, so we were some of the last to leave. There were two teachers there other than Mrs. Deweese, and they were the last ones to leave other than Haley and me. One of the teachers actually stayed with us until my mom showed up.
After we got picked up, my mom wanted to go buy Lowes quickly to buy a new stove. (This makes me really happy because our current stove is crap. Most of the burners don't work, and the oven bakes things really unevenly.) Haley and I spent the whole time looking at cook books and a dog training book. There was this seriously cool cupcake book there that had absolutely adorable cupcakes. I definitely would have bought it if I thought I could make something even remotely similar to those pictures.
Overall, I didn't really do much today, but it was a really nice day. I had a lot of fun.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Harry Potter Pick Me Up
Do you have books that you constantly find your self picking up whenever you want to feel better? I do. Harry Potter. I can't even tell you the number of times I've picked one of the books up and have instantly felt better.
I think I've mentioned this somewhere online before, but my sister and I used to play this game whenever we had severe weather. (She's not a Harry Potter fan, but I practically forced her to play with me.) One of us would open a Harry Potter book to a random page and read a quote, and the other would have to guess which character had said it. Regina, having never read the books, had a lot harder time with this than I did. After a while, she'd get frustrated and start giving me one word quotes becuase she didn't want me to guess them. This game always helped me keep my mind off the severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings/watches.
Harry Potter's cheered me up in a lot of other ways as well. I always do something related to Harry Potter when I'm feeling down. It doesn't even have to be one of the books. I may listen to wizard rock, watch one of the movies, read fanfiction, or anything else that's related to Harry Potter. When I'm feeling really low, I definitely pick up one of the books because nothing will ever beat them, but there are many other ways Harry Potter helps me at other times as well.
How do you make yourself feel better during scary, sad, etc. times? Do you have a book (or books) that always makes you feel better?
I think I've mentioned this somewhere online before, but my sister and I used to play this game whenever we had severe weather. (She's not a Harry Potter fan, but I practically forced her to play with me.) One of us would open a Harry Potter book to a random page and read a quote, and the other would have to guess which character had said it. Regina, having never read the books, had a lot harder time with this than I did. After a while, she'd get frustrated and start giving me one word quotes becuase she didn't want me to guess them. This game always helped me keep my mind off the severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings/watches.
Harry Potter's cheered me up in a lot of other ways as well. I always do something related to Harry Potter when I'm feeling down. It doesn't even have to be one of the books. I may listen to wizard rock, watch one of the movies, read fanfiction, or anything else that's related to Harry Potter. When I'm feeling really low, I definitely pick up one of the books because nothing will ever beat them, but there are many other ways Harry Potter helps me at other times as well.
How do you make yourself feel better during scary, sad, etc. times? Do you have a book (or books) that always makes you feel better?
Thursday, October 20, 2011
A Change of Writing Habits
It's time for another blog post about writing! Writing hasn't been coming so easily to me lately. In a past blog post, I mentioned that I usually write at night after I take a shower. For some reason, that's just when I write best. Lately though, that hasn't been happening.
The little bit of writing I have managed to do recently all happened at school. Usually I take a book to school with me to read during those times you aren't allowed to talk (or are but I'm having one of my (many) anti-social moments) and I have homework and things done. However, the books I've been reading recently aren't exactly books I can or want to take to school (ebooks, larger books, or books I don't want damaged), so I've resorted to writing during these moments.
If you read my fanfiction, you know that many of my A:TNG one-shots were written at school. You also know that I've posted two more of those in the last month or so (even though I hadn't really planned on posting more for a really long time). Yet it's never been easy for me to write when others are around. It's too distracting, and sometimes I feel like people are reading over my shoulder, which bothers me. These one-shots have always been super short, and I think this is the main reason why. I can't focus on writing anything longer when there are so many people around me.
This semester however I've gotten an abnormally large amount of writing done in class. I've mentioned before that I'm currently working on this story (but I haven't said much more than that). Literally every bit of it I've written in the last three or four weeks has been written at school. What do I do in the evenings when I sit down to write? Type what I wrote down on paper earier that day, and then sit there attempting to write more but nothing ever comes.
I don't know what is up with me lately. It's so weird because I've never been able to get this much writing done at school. I don't know why that's suddenly the easiest place for me to write. I think it might be the whole distraction things flipped though. When I'm writing at school, it's usually because my friends aren't in that class, so I don't really have anything to take my mind off writing, but at home I'm getting a lot more distracted. I don't get much time to do things at home anymore, so I'm wanting to read or get on the Internet or anything but write. I expect this will change once the play is over.
The next four days are my fall break. Maybe I can make some progress.
The little bit of writing I have managed to do recently all happened at school. Usually I take a book to school with me to read during those times you aren't allowed to talk (or are but I'm having one of my (many) anti-social moments) and I have homework and things done. However, the books I've been reading recently aren't exactly books I can or want to take to school (ebooks, larger books, or books I don't want damaged), so I've resorted to writing during these moments.
If you read my fanfiction, you know that many of my A:TNG one-shots were written at school. You also know that I've posted two more of those in the last month or so (even though I hadn't really planned on posting more for a really long time). Yet it's never been easy for me to write when others are around. It's too distracting, and sometimes I feel like people are reading over my shoulder, which bothers me. These one-shots have always been super short, and I think this is the main reason why. I can't focus on writing anything longer when there are so many people around me.
This semester however I've gotten an abnormally large amount of writing done in class. I've mentioned before that I'm currently working on this story (but I haven't said much more than that). Literally every bit of it I've written in the last three or four weeks has been written at school. What do I do in the evenings when I sit down to write? Type what I wrote down on paper earier that day, and then sit there attempting to write more but nothing ever comes.
I don't know what is up with me lately. It's so weird because I've never been able to get this much writing done at school. I don't know why that's suddenly the easiest place for me to write. I think it might be the whole distraction things flipped though. When I'm writing at school, it's usually because my friends aren't in that class, so I don't really have anything to take my mind off writing, but at home I'm getting a lot more distracted. I don't get much time to do things at home anymore, so I'm wanting to read or get on the Internet or anything but write. I expect this will change once the play is over.
The next four days are my fall break. Maybe I can make some progress.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Book Review: Abe Lincoln Grows Up by Carl Sandburg
ISBN: 0156026155
First Published: 1944
Publisher: Sandpiper (Harcourt)
Read from August 9th to October 13th, 2011
Synopsis from Goodreads:
First Published: 1944
Publisher: Sandpiper (Harcourt)
Read from August 9th to October 13th, 2011
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A redesigned issue of the beautifully told story of young Abe Lincoln, drawn from the early chapters of Carl Sandburg's original biography, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years.Review:
The End of Finals and a Losing Streak
Today was the last day of our finals at school, so I'm definitely relieved that it's the weekend.
Yesterday we had a lockdown during 4th block. Today there were police officers walking around school today. No one (apparently even teachers) know what happened. There are various rumors, and the biggest one seems to be that some janitor at a local elementary school threatened to kill someone or something. I definitely don't know if this is true or not. I just wish they'd tell us what's going on instead of letting rumors spread. I mean, we saw all of the police officers today. We know something's going on, and I'd like to know what.
I got the pleasure of starting off the day with an AP U.S. history final. It wasn't that bad, but it was still a relatively challenging test. I had a particularly tough time with the essays. It was harder to come up with specific details when you had to think back on eight chapters instead of just one. Let's hope I could remember enough.
I'm lucky that our AP English teacher doesn't give us a final. (They're not really required for AP classes.) Instead, we spent the class working on our comparative critique papers. Honestly, working on that paper is probably more challenging than any of the finals I took the past two days. I had such a hard time focusing on it today though. I think I wrote about two sentences today. I spent the longest time trying to think of what to write (and drawing a blank), and then I kept getting distracted by various things. I think it was because it was a Friday, but I could not focus in that class.
I was in yearbook for about five minutes today before Ji, Alyssa, and I asked to go to our computer application's teacher so we could work on our finals. Our computer application final consisted of completing twelve applications (which were various types of word documents) and a written test. I managed to get all of the applications done during what's normally my yearbook class, and I worked on the written test during my actual computer applications class. I'm glad we went in there because I don't think I would have gotten done on time otherwise. This class is right before lunch, so seniors get to leave five minutes early (and get lunch first). When I left early, almost everyone was still working on the written test and this isn't including the applications at least some of them still needed to get done.
After lunch I was off to peer tutor at the middle school like usual. When I got to the first room I'm usually in, the teacher told me that there weren't going to be any kids in there today, so she sent me over to the classroom I usually spend my second half of peer tutoring time in. I really didn't do anything today. For the first half hour or so there were only two kids in there, and they were studying for a health test they had later. When the next period started, all of the kids took a multiplication test and then spent time doing math stuff on the computer.
We had our government final yesterday, and we're done with the class (Economics starts on Monday), so we did basically nothing. They but a movie on that was about Gettysburg, but I spent most of the class reading Dear Mr. Potter, which almost had me in tears several times. It's such a beautiful book. Towards the end of class, they started popping popcorn in the concession stand right next to the government classroom. I hate when they do that because it smells so good and instantly makes you want some. We did get to eat a little bit just like last time they were popping it while we were in there.
I stayed after school for play practice, something I do every day now. We didn't do a whole lot today. I helped paint a "closet" (and got paint on my jacket and got a painful splinter) in the process. I was surprised how quickly practice went by considering I did nothing for about half of it. We got our shirts at the end of practice. I like them, but I'm not to fond of the colors. They're green with the design in yellow. Yellow is my least favorite color, but I dislike it even more with green for some reason. I think it reminds me too much of John Deere...
My sister stayed at school for the football game, but I decided to come home. My school's football team played our biggest rival tonight. I'm not a huge sports person, and I'm too anti-social to go to games to hang out. (Football games have never seemed like a good place to do this anyway.) I should tell you that we hadn't beaten this school in 21 years. I haven't been to a game this year, but from what I've heard our team isn't any better than they have been the past several years. (I'm not saying our team is bad. They just don't particularly stand out.) Because of this, I really wasn't expecting us to win. Apparently I was wrong. Facebook exploded early about how we beat the other school for the first time in 21 years! Congratulations Rebels! I may not act like I have school spirit most of the time, but I really do. I just don't feel the need to go to sporting events or dress up crazily to show it. So, even though I wasn't at the game, I'm very proud of my school right now. I can bet that school will be fun on Monday.
Yesterday we had a lockdown during 4th block. Today there were police officers walking around school today. No one (apparently even teachers) know what happened. There are various rumors, and the biggest one seems to be that some janitor at a local elementary school threatened to kill someone or something. I definitely don't know if this is true or not. I just wish they'd tell us what's going on instead of letting rumors spread. I mean, we saw all of the police officers today. We know something's going on, and I'd like to know what.
I got the pleasure of starting off the day with an AP U.S. history final. It wasn't that bad, but it was still a relatively challenging test. I had a particularly tough time with the essays. It was harder to come up with specific details when you had to think back on eight chapters instead of just one. Let's hope I could remember enough.
I'm lucky that our AP English teacher doesn't give us a final. (They're not really required for AP classes.) Instead, we spent the class working on our comparative critique papers. Honestly, working on that paper is probably more challenging than any of the finals I took the past two days. I had such a hard time focusing on it today though. I think I wrote about two sentences today. I spent the longest time trying to think of what to write (and drawing a blank), and then I kept getting distracted by various things. I think it was because it was a Friday, but I could not focus in that class.
I was in yearbook for about five minutes today before Ji, Alyssa, and I asked to go to our computer application's teacher so we could work on our finals. Our computer application final consisted of completing twelve applications (which were various types of word documents) and a written test. I managed to get all of the applications done during what's normally my yearbook class, and I worked on the written test during my actual computer applications class. I'm glad we went in there because I don't think I would have gotten done on time otherwise. This class is right before lunch, so seniors get to leave five minutes early (and get lunch first). When I left early, almost everyone was still working on the written test and this isn't including the applications at least some of them still needed to get done.
After lunch I was off to peer tutor at the middle school like usual. When I got to the first room I'm usually in, the teacher told me that there weren't going to be any kids in there today, so she sent me over to the classroom I usually spend my second half of peer tutoring time in. I really didn't do anything today. For the first half hour or so there were only two kids in there, and they were studying for a health test they had later. When the next period started, all of the kids took a multiplication test and then spent time doing math stuff on the computer.
We had our government final yesterday, and we're done with the class (Economics starts on Monday), so we did basically nothing. They but a movie on that was about Gettysburg, but I spent most of the class reading Dear Mr. Potter, which almost had me in tears several times. It's such a beautiful book. Towards the end of class, they started popping popcorn in the concession stand right next to the government classroom. I hate when they do that because it smells so good and instantly makes you want some. We did get to eat a little bit just like last time they were popping it while we were in there.
I stayed after school for play practice, something I do every day now. We didn't do a whole lot today. I helped paint a "closet" (and got paint on my jacket and got a painful splinter) in the process. I was surprised how quickly practice went by considering I did nothing for about half of it. We got our shirts at the end of practice. I like them, but I'm not to fond of the colors. They're green with the design in yellow. Yellow is my least favorite color, but I dislike it even more with green for some reason. I think it reminds me too much of John Deere...
My sister stayed at school for the football game, but I decided to come home. My school's football team played our biggest rival tonight. I'm not a huge sports person, and I'm too anti-social to go to games to hang out. (Football games have never seemed like a good place to do this anyway.) I should tell you that we hadn't beaten this school in 21 years. I haven't been to a game this year, but from what I've heard our team isn't any better than they have been the past several years. (I'm not saying our team is bad. They just don't particularly stand out.) Because of this, I really wasn't expecting us to win. Apparently I was wrong. Facebook exploded early about how we beat the other school for the first time in 21 years! Congratulations Rebels! I may not act like I have school spirit most of the time, but I really do. I just don't feel the need to go to sporting events or dress up crazily to show it. So, even though I wasn't at the game, I'm very proud of my school right now. I can bet that school will be fun on Monday.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Some Awesome Stuff
Guess what came in the mail today! My signed copy of The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, and it came with some awesome magnets and a pen. It's so awesome! The magnets were really amusing and full of jokes that you would only get if you follow Maureen on Twitter. For example, one of them is a picture of a jar.
Also, I can't forget to tell you about something else awesome I got today. I got a form thing about this writing competition for students in the area I live in. To enter, you have to write a non-fiction or fiction short story about social media and how it's affected you or someone elses life. I already have an idea on what I'm going to do. Considering I'm currently typing a blog, editing a video, and have twitter up to check it every so often I think this is a subject I should have a fairly easy time writing about.
A lot more happened today, but that's basically the two most note-worthy things. I'm never sure how to end these blogs. They end up jumping around a lot. There's no flow. Oh well, I don't have time to worry about that right now.
Also, I can't forget to tell you about something else awesome I got today. I got a form thing about this writing competition for students in the area I live in. To enter, you have to write a non-fiction or fiction short story about social media and how it's affected you or someone elses life. I already have an idea on what I'm going to do. Considering I'm currently typing a blog, editing a video, and have twitter up to check it every so often I think this is a subject I should have a fairly easy time writing about.
A lot more happened today, but that's basically the two most note-worthy things. I'm never sure how to end these blogs. They end up jumping around a lot. There's no flow. Oh well, I don't have time to worry about that right now.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wizard Rock
I love wizard rock. I mean, it's music about Harry Potter. How can that not be awesome? I don't think I've ever really talked about wizard rock on here, so I thought I should write a post about it. The thing is, I'm not entirely sure what to think about it.
If you're a Harry Potter fan and don't listen to wizard rock, you should really check it out. There are some really great bands out there that have absolutely amazing music. Just some of my favorites are Ministry of Magic, the Moaning Myrtles, The Remus Lupins, and Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls. There are so many other awesome bands out there though. I've become almost obsessed with Wizard Love by Meekakitty and heyhihello recently. There's no telling how many times I've listened to it over the past couple of months.
Do any of you listen to wizard rock? If so, what are some of your favorite bands and songs?
If you're a Harry Potter fan and don't listen to wizard rock, you should really check it out. There are some really great bands out there that have absolutely amazing music. Just some of my favorites are Ministry of Magic, the Moaning Myrtles, The Remus Lupins, and Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls. There are so many other awesome bands out there though. I've become almost obsessed with Wizard Love by Meekakitty and heyhihello recently. There's no telling how many times I've listened to it over the past couple of months.
Do any of you listen to wizard rock? If so, what are some of your favorite bands and songs?
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Pokemon Lectures
Today seems like it was packed with stuff that I could mention in a blog, but I'm having trouble actually remembering things. This seems to be happening a lot lately, and I don't like it.
Our English teacher wasn't there today, so we had a sub. This sub just happened to be one of our past English teachers who retired this year. It was nice to see her again. Another awesome thing about English: We took a vocab test, and the name Hermione was on it. I'm not at all exagerating when I say that made my day.
Yesterday, we got our yearbook shirts that I meant to post a picture of on twitter but never did. (I would now except it's kind of in the laundry since I wore it today.) The fit of them seemed kind of weird when we first pulled them out of the box, but mine turned out to fit okay. The design is really cool too. My friend Ji actually drew up the design. I'll try and post a picture at some point in the future. (We all know that I'll completely forget, and a picture will never really happen. Just know that they look awesome.)
Also in yearbook, we had our training over how to use the site/software to design the yearbook today. It was all pretty much the stuff I learned at the workshop I went to over the summer, but it made me excited for designing the pages all over again.
This is random, but it's awesome, so I'm going to mention it. I got a brownie in computer applications. Alyssa made them for yearbook, but we didn't have time to eat them (because of the training). Ji and I are lucky enough to have also have computer applications with Alyssa right after yearbook, so she gave us each a brownie then. It was an awesome brownie.
My grandma, brother, and three of my cousins picked me up from play practice today, and we all went out to eat for supper. It was so much fun. I always have some hilarious conversations with my family. Just a small portion of our conversations were about: jokes (mainly Chuck Norris and blonde jokes), flying snakes, Pokemon, riddles, and so many more. When it comes to Pokemon, I just want you to know that they taught me a lot tonight. I was surprised how much my brother and all three of my cousins know about Pokemon.
There was a lot more that happened today of course, but those are the things that come to my mind first.
Our English teacher wasn't there today, so we had a sub. This sub just happened to be one of our past English teachers who retired this year. It was nice to see her again. Another awesome thing about English: We took a vocab test, and the name Hermione was on it. I'm not at all exagerating when I say that made my day.
Yesterday, we got our yearbook shirts that I meant to post a picture of on twitter but never did. (I would now except it's kind of in the laundry since I wore it today.) The fit of them seemed kind of weird when we first pulled them out of the box, but mine turned out to fit okay. The design is really cool too. My friend Ji actually drew up the design. I'll try and post a picture at some point in the future. (We all know that I'll completely forget, and a picture will never really happen. Just know that they look awesome.)
Also in yearbook, we had our training over how to use the site/software to design the yearbook today. It was all pretty much the stuff I learned at the workshop I went to over the summer, but it made me excited for designing the pages all over again.
This is random, but it's awesome, so I'm going to mention it. I got a brownie in computer applications. Alyssa made them for yearbook, but we didn't have time to eat them (because of the training). Ji and I are lucky enough to have also have computer applications with Alyssa right after yearbook, so she gave us each a brownie then. It was an awesome brownie.
My grandma, brother, and three of my cousins picked me up from play practice today, and we all went out to eat for supper. It was so much fun. I always have some hilarious conversations with my family. Just a small portion of our conversations were about: jokes (mainly Chuck Norris and blonde jokes), flying snakes, Pokemon, riddles, and so many more. When it comes to Pokemon, I just want you to know that they taught me a lot tonight. I was surprised how much my brother and all three of my cousins know about Pokemon.
There was a lot more that happened today of course, but those are the things that come to my mind first.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Favorite Disney Animal Sidekicks
Time for another Disney post! This one is about some of my favorite Disney animal sidekicks. As usual, these aren't really in any order, and there are probably some awesome ones that I'm completely forgetting.
1. Rafiki from The Lion King. Rafiki probably wouldn't be on here if I hadn't recently seen The Lion King 3D in theaters. I'd forgotten how awesome and hilarious he is. I'd be incredibly annoyed with him if I was Simba when he first meets Rafiki (besides as a baby), but I love him as a character.
2. Zazu from The Lion King. I love him even more than Rafiki. He has some great bits in the movie. Something I'd completely forgotten about the movie until I saw it a week or two ago was the bit where Zazu begins singing It's A Small World, and Scar says something about him singing anything other than that horrible song. I love how Disney is making fun of their own song there. This has next to nothing to do with Zazu, but I just wanted to share that tidbit.
(Also, it's weird classifying Rafiki and Zazu as "animal sidekicks" when everyone in The Lion King is an animal, but the do fit both animal and, basically, sidekick. The same goes for a couple of others on this list.)
3. Abu from Aladdin. I just think he's so cute and adorable!
4. Sebastian from The Little Mermaid. He sings Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl. That alone makes him awesome.
5. Flounder from The Little Mermaid. I don't have an exact reason for him to be on this list, but I'm still putting him here.
6. Mushu from Mulan. I think he's hilarious.
7. Dory from Finding Nemo. This is a Pixar film, which I don't usually include, but I'm making an exception for Dory. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim, swim, swim." Yeah... Plus, she can speak whale.
8. Crush from Finding Nemo. We'll include Squirt (who's adorable!) in here too. They're both awesome.
9. Benzai, Shenzai, and Ed from The Lion King. They may be evil, but the hyenas are hilarious, especially Ed.
10. Percy from Pocahontas. He's so cute.
11. Meeko from Pocahontas. He's also really cute.
I think this is one of my longer Disney lists. There are just too many awesome animal sidekicks in Disney movies. I know there are a lot more than I even put on this list.
1. Rafiki from The Lion King. Rafiki probably wouldn't be on here if I hadn't recently seen The Lion King 3D in theaters. I'd forgotten how awesome and hilarious he is. I'd be incredibly annoyed with him if I was Simba when he first meets Rafiki (besides as a baby), but I love him as a character.
2. Zazu from The Lion King. I love him even more than Rafiki. He has some great bits in the movie. Something I'd completely forgotten about the movie until I saw it a week or two ago was the bit where Zazu begins singing It's A Small World, and Scar says something about him singing anything other than that horrible song. I love how Disney is making fun of their own song there. This has next to nothing to do with Zazu, but I just wanted to share that tidbit.
(Also, it's weird classifying Rafiki and Zazu as "animal sidekicks" when everyone in The Lion King is an animal, but the do fit both animal and, basically, sidekick. The same goes for a couple of others on this list.)
3. Abu from Aladdin. I just think he's so cute and adorable!
4. Sebastian from The Little Mermaid. He sings Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl. That alone makes him awesome.
5. Flounder from The Little Mermaid. I don't have an exact reason for him to be on this list, but I'm still putting him here.
6. Mushu from Mulan. I think he's hilarious.
7. Dory from Finding Nemo. This is a Pixar film, which I don't usually include, but I'm making an exception for Dory. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim, swim, swim." Yeah... Plus, she can speak whale.
8. Crush from Finding Nemo. We'll include Squirt (who's adorable!) in here too. They're both awesome.
9. Benzai, Shenzai, and Ed from The Lion King. They may be evil, but the hyenas are hilarious, especially Ed.
10. Percy from Pocahontas. He's so cute.
11. Meeko from Pocahontas. He's also really cute.
I think this is one of my longer Disney lists. There are just too many awesome animal sidekicks in Disney movies. I know there are a lot more than I even put on this list.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sleep Deprived Car Rides and College Visits
Waking up at three a.m. is never fun. It's even less fun when it's followed by a day of being in the car. With your younger sister. Do I need to say anything else about my day today?
My mom, sister, and I drove about four hours today to get up to Indianapolis to visit Marian University. It was a long car ride that took place mostly in the dark. I'd hoped to sleep the whole way through, but instead I only managed about an hour of sleep while in the car. The rest of the time was spent attempting to sleep or trying to find things to do that didn't involve light (which unfortunately meant no reading). In my sleep deprived mind, I somehow began thinking about the Declaration of Independence at one point and how beautifully it's written. So, what did I do? I looked the Declaration of Independence up on my phone and read all of it at about four in the morning. Fun times.
The actual college visit was very interesting. I hadn't been very interested in going to Marian before today, but it seems like a really great school. I'll definitely be applying, and it's up higher on my list of schools I'd like to attend now. The only bad thing it really has going for it is it's location. Indianapolis is great, don't get me wrong, but I've really been hoping to go to college out-of-state. Other than that, it really does seem like it'd be a good school for me. Their education program seems really good. I just can't get over the whole in-state thing. I really want to try living in a different area of the country. Choosing a college is so difficult! I'm having the hardest time deciding what my top choice is.
My sister wanted to stop at this outlet mall on the way home. My mom and I were both extremely tired and stayed in the car while she shopped a couple of hours. After attempting to do homework (which didn't go too well because of sleep deprivation), I decided it would be a good time to take a nap. I think I was asleep about ten minutes before my sister woke me up when she was putting bags in the car.
Eventually, we started driving again, but it took us way longer to get home then it should have. This was primarily because we had a bit of trouble getting out of Louisville. Technically, we weren't supposed to be in Louisville in the first place. We were supposed to go around it. I'm not entirely sure what happened because I was in the back seat half asleep. The sad thing is I was attempting to pay attention to what was happening the whole time; I just can't remember any of it.
We finally made it home, and I haven't done much since. I would have loved to take a nap, but I figured it was too late for that by that point. I'm amazed I haven't already fallen asleep. I was actually feeling more awake until I started typing this post. Now I can barely keep my eyes open. I don't think I'm going to make it much longer.
My mom, sister, and I drove about four hours today to get up to Indianapolis to visit Marian University. It was a long car ride that took place mostly in the dark. I'd hoped to sleep the whole way through, but instead I only managed about an hour of sleep while in the car. The rest of the time was spent attempting to sleep or trying to find things to do that didn't involve light (which unfortunately meant no reading). In my sleep deprived mind, I somehow began thinking about the Declaration of Independence at one point and how beautifully it's written. So, what did I do? I looked the Declaration of Independence up on my phone and read all of it at about four in the morning. Fun times.
The actual college visit was very interesting. I hadn't been very interested in going to Marian before today, but it seems like a really great school. I'll definitely be applying, and it's up higher on my list of schools I'd like to attend now. The only bad thing it really has going for it is it's location. Indianapolis is great, don't get me wrong, but I've really been hoping to go to college out-of-state. Other than that, it really does seem like it'd be a good school for me. Their education program seems really good. I just can't get over the whole in-state thing. I really want to try living in a different area of the country. Choosing a college is so difficult! I'm having the hardest time deciding what my top choice is.
My sister wanted to stop at this outlet mall on the way home. My mom and I were both extremely tired and stayed in the car while she shopped a couple of hours. After attempting to do homework (which didn't go too well because of sleep deprivation), I decided it would be a good time to take a nap. I think I was asleep about ten minutes before my sister woke me up when she was putting bags in the car.
Eventually, we started driving again, but it took us way longer to get home then it should have. This was primarily because we had a bit of trouble getting out of Louisville. Technically, we weren't supposed to be in Louisville in the first place. We were supposed to go around it. I'm not entirely sure what happened because I was in the back seat half asleep. The sad thing is I was attempting to pay attention to what was happening the whole time; I just can't remember any of it.
We finally made it home, and I haven't done much since. I would have loved to take a nap, but I figured it was too late for that by that point. I'm amazed I haven't already fallen asleep. I was actually feeling more awake until I started typing this post. Now I can barely keep my eyes open. I don't think I'm going to make it much longer.
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