2013 Inspiration!

We're almost in 2013 and I think it's as good a time as ever to inspire with some quotes. Let's start the new year of right, shall we?

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” -Eric Roth

"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly"

"If it scares you it might be a good thing to try"

"At any given moment you have the power to say: this is not how the story is going to end"

"The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention."

"Be so good they can't ignore you"

"Smile. It irritates those who wish to destroy you."   

Have a wonderful and fantastic New Year! Let's rock it! 

 

Road Map to Your Dreams

There's that quote that goes something like"go confidently in the direction of your dreams" and that's great advice, but what if you're directionally challenged? I know I am. There are days when I know exactly where I'm headed, where I want to go and how I an going to get there, but then there are other days when I have no clue. I want to do everything and realistically I can't do everything I want to. I have to choose and that can be hard. Most of the time I just have to keep moving forward or more accurately, keep calm and carry on. It may be becoming overused and cliche, but there is truth to it. So to all of us who feel stuck and confused and lost:

New Year's Resolution(s)

I' going to be a little cliche and put down my New Year's resolutions for the entire internet to see. And maybe I'll go through with them. For once. Here we go!
1. Straight A's
2.Eat healthier
3. Drink more water
4. Exercise (hahaha, yeah right)
5.Participate in clubs/be more social
Yay for self improvement! Let's start this new year on the right foot and keep the positive energy rolling.

Party Impulses

I may live in America, but I want to have a Burns Supper. Haggis and all. I really love the works of Robert Burns so I see it fit to throw a classic Burns Supper. January 25 I will be throwing the classiest of parties. Where does one find haggis in America? Hmmmm...It's going to be so awesome that even Robert Burns would be proud.

I Feel Fine

The world did not end. Surprise, surprise. But it was a lovely solstice! Merry Yule and Happy Solstice to all!

That One Cliche

What is the one thing that we get told time and time again? Be yourself. And we ask ourselves, what exactly is my self? We create ourselves. Our likes, our dislikes, our wants and needs are all so very different and define us to make us different and unique. Our experiences also shape us and contribute to our identity. Some say that you should never change for someone else. I don't necessarily agree. That change could be for the better. But as for me I change for no one but myself.

Feeling Trapped

I never like to stay in the same place for too long. I guess it's because I never really feel like I belong. But it's also because there are so many adventures to be had! And though I love the friends I've made here at the university there are times when I feel that I need to get away from here. I have no clue where I would go, but I have some ideas. Saving up enough money to leave the country for a bit and explore the world. Get my passport and a visa and just go with only a vague plan. And most of the time imagining all the adventures that I could have is sufficient, but deep down I long to move forward.

A Light in the Midst of Darkness

Yes, there are lots and lots of awful things that happen everyday, but I feel that we shouldn't focus so much on the bad. Although we all need our time to grieve and we should never ignore the bad things that happen, we should not dwell on them. I was watching the Lord of the Rings while I was thinking about this and it came to the part at the end of The Two Towers where Sam gives his monologue and I thought, if everyone was more like Sam the world would be a better place.It's one of the few parts of a movie that's made me cry. For reference Sam says:
      "I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
By this point I am pretty teary eyed, but that's beside the point. Sam points out that there is bad in the world, that the journey can and will be scary and sometimes it seems like there is no good in the world. But people still keep moving forward. Why do we? Frodo asks Sam this and Sam answers:
     "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for"
We need to hold on to the fact that there is good in the world and that even in the darkest of times when it seems like there is no light we need to fight for that light because it's still there it's just a little harder to see. 

The Future

So the end of the semester is nigh, as in finals are next week. So let's panic and freak out! Except that's not what I'm worried about. I am terrified of the future. When I graduate what am I going to do? I have no clue. Some days it seems like I have no options for jobs after graduation and then other days it seems like the whole world is open to me and I can do anything. In reality it's probably some middle ground between the two, but it's still terrifying. The worst part. I still have three semesters left, plenty of time (I hope). Well, come what may and love it!

Evil Not So Evil Thoughts

There are those moments when you just want to say something, but knowing that it would be socially unacceptable or get you into a lot of trouble you don't. So instead you play out the scenario in your head. I do this all the time. Especially as the semester is drawing to a close and I have more research papers to write than I have time and my rage and frustration is just below the surface instead of miles deep in my soul like it usually is. Which has lead to some hilarious and interesting inner conversations.

For example I was at the library and needed a microfilm (please tell me you know what that is) and if you don't know what that is, it's kind of like a film with copies of journal articles and historic documents on them. Anywho, I asked one of the lovely library workers for help locating this microfilm because without his help I would not be able to find it without getting frustrated and giving up. And all he gave me was this death glare and a grudging "sure". So my rage and frustration boiled up. I wanted to say "I guess I could find it on my own, but I may 'accidentally' leave microfilms in random places, out of order. You wouldn't want that, now would you?" And then I would walk off and do exactly as I said.

Of course that's not how it went, he lead me straight to the microfilm I needed, I looked at it, did my research (man that makes it sound so easy) and then went on my merry way to work on my paper. But wouldn't it have been great if I had done what I imagined?

An Imagined Dinner Party

Sometimes I have the most random ideas. Especially when I'm trying to procrastinate. Today's idea: Who would I invite to a dinner party if I could invite anyone, living or dead? I think I could throw quite the dinner party this way.

First I would invite Kurt Vonnegut. Why? Because. Because he won a Purple Heart for getting frost bite. Because he gave his own works letter grades. Because he was an awesome writer. Because he was crazy. And I like crazy. If you ever get the chance you should watch an interview with him he says the greatest things. Or just take your chances and find some quotes by him (and assume that they are actually his). I am almost certain that this man was a genius, which probably says a lot about me, but what can I say, I'm crazy.

Second and third, the duo of C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien. Yes, I lumped them together because I feel like they'd come together they were friends in life anyway. Mainly because these two really shaped my view on reading and the fantasy genre. In a world where sparkly vampires and poorly written young adult novels rain supreme these fine gentlemen left behind great novels that are timeless and classic. Everyone knows their names.

Fourth, I would invite John Green. Yes, I may have a personal vendetta against young adult literature today, but Mr.Green gives me some hope. Also, I may or may not follow his vlog with his brother Hank religiously. This man is awesome and inspiring so of course his presence would be greatly appreciated at my imaginary dinner party.

Fifth, now that I think about it Hank Green should come as well. And though I feel bad that it was sort of an after thought my original intent was to cram as many authors into my dinner party as possible so I don't feel so bad anymore. I feel like that just watching one of Hank's videos would be sufficient to explain why he would be a worthy dinner party guest.  (This is the point where you open another tab for Youtube and watch a Hank Green video, it's okay, I'll wait right here.)

Sixth, would most definitely be Mark Twain. Another favorite author of mine. I love The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is one of my favorite novels. Even Twain's non-fiction is good, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Life on the Mississippi.Twain just seems like the type of person that I'd want to chat with.

And six sounds like a lovely number to stop at, nice and even. With little finger sandwiches and fancy schmancy drinks in great supply, let the party begin!

It's November...

Man, I totally forgot about this blog...oops. Anywho, it is the month of November which means one thing, NO SHAVE NOVEMBER! Just kidding, it's NaNoWriMo. What is that you ask? Well NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and is the thirty one days in November when crazy peopl, such as myself, write 1,667 words a day in order to reach the goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month. Now, this is no magnum opus by any means, it's pretty much slapping ideas on the page until you reach 50,000 words at the end of the month. Though they are cohesive ideas their is always the chance of plot holes and continuity errors. But the accomplishment of writing so much gives hope to being able to write on a normal basis outside of November since you supposedly wrote around 2,000 words a day which is quite an accomplishment.

To become a better writer you need to write and write and write some more and of course reading doesn't hurt either! It's hard and there will be days when you think to yourself, I can't, and you just stare at the screen or the blank journal page with nothing. And do you stop there. Nope. Even if it is the most ridiculous thing that comes to your mind, write about it. It's good for you, build character!

So to combat some of that writer's block there are always writing prompts! For example:
1. Describe a single object in great detail so that anyone can picture every detail of it without having ever seen it.

2. Magazines have tons of random pictures so pick one and give it a back story, who, what, when where, why, and how.

3. Rewrite a fairy tale so that it doesn't end how it was supposed to, no more happily ever after! Mwahahaha!

4. Create the perfect evil villain.

5. Describe the new fairytale hero.

6. Start your story with "And that's how I died"

There are many websites out there that have pretty awesome prompts as well, just use the always handy Google and the world of writing prompts will open up!

May the odds be ever in your favor!