Tag Archives: literature

30-day writing challenge: Day 21

22 Monday Jun 2015

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Day 21: What three lessons do you want your children to learn from you

To start, I would like to issue a small disclaimer.

I have a hard time trying to think of what I would teach my children seeing as I have no intention of ever having children due to a medical issue and a lack of patience with toddlers. These are the things I’m going to strive to teach my nephew every time I see him.

Happiness
Happiness should be a given but too many people get too caught up in the things that suck the life out of you; work, money, life, etc. Are you really happy? Do you even know? Sometimes it’s the little things in life that need to be the alarm reminding you of what’s truly making you smile. A family member, a hobby or even thunderstorm can transport you to the land of bliss. I’m stressed because I’m a student and navigating university is overwhelming but at least I’m happy.

Nerdy is better than bully
Who cares if it isn’t “cool” to read comics, play cards or read books? Never down anyone and never let anyone down you for enjoying the more nerdy side of life. I’ve known too many people, myself included, that are looked at strange or made fun of for liking things that are considered geeky or stupid. I love literature, history and Doctor Who and I’m not afraid to show it off.

Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, August 2014.

Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, August 2014.

Seeing beauty in the ordinary
Beauty is around us at all times and it takes many different forms. It’s not necessarily a Victoria Secret model or a 400-year-old painting hanging on a museum wall. Ordinary acts of kindness are beautiful. One of the most amazing and beautiful things I’ve done is volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Morningside, Detroit and getting to see a community come together to clear abandoned lots and build homes. I’ve been many places and still am floored by the beauty of a forest, monument or lake.

30-day writing challenge: Day 18

19 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in Art, Challenge, Family, Life, Literature, Movies, Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Day 18: Post 30 facts about you

I’m going to treat this as a “meet to admin” type situation. Every year in the “Notes” section of my Facebook page, I post a “30 things about me part…” since my senior year of high school. The reason I have continued to do it is because it’s funny to see how things change and how I’ve grown from senior in high school to fourth year college student. I recommend doing it because it’s a nice thing to look back on after a few years and it provides a little flashback to who you were years before.

giphy-31.I used to want to be a vampire

2.I name my technologies

3.My iPod, Vlad, is like a lifeline, pacifier and addiction all wrapped in one

4.I love to travel and have visited most of continental United States and Hawaii along with Cozamel

5.I have a dream of visiting London, Ireland and Paris

6.I identify as Goth

7.I am a literature nerd

8.My favorite Shakespeare play is Richard III followed by Coriolanus

9.My nephew and I almost share a birthday

10.I love to cook but rarely do so

A blanket I made as a baby shower gift for a close friend.

A blanket I made as a baby shower gift for a close friend.

11.I knit to relax

12.I think I’m a 70-year-old trapped in a 22-year-old’s body

13.I have a coffee problem

14.I consider myself a straight ally

15.My bedroom looks like a crypt complete with black-out curtains, black bedding and enough skulls to rival the Paris Catacombs

16.My favorite Edgar Allen Poe work is “The Tell-Tale Heart”

17.I am a huge Game of Thrones fan and, spoiler alert, am still a bit emotional at Jon Snow’s death

18.My favorite artist is Kevin Llewellyn

19.I love my Nikon I bought for my digital photojournalism class, even though I struggle with the manual setting, and love to take pictures of just about anything

20.My mom and I, even though we are incredibly close, are like Doris Day and Wednesday Addams…guess which one’s Wednesday?

21.My alarm clock is my foe

22.My favorite composer is either Thomas Newman or Danny Elfman

23.My favorite director is Tim Burton

24.My iPod has 2,220 songs and counting

25.I love thunderstorms

26.I prefer nighttime and avoid the sun like the plague

27.I have my mother’s Irish skin until I venture into the sun where I burn once and my father’s Native American heritage holds my tan for at least six months. No, I’m not happy about that

28.Our Yorkie, Kitty, and I used to have a severe case of sibling rivalry until Jules passed and we mended the fence because we lost our friend

29.My favorite book is Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

My Chemical Romance in the music video for "Teenagers."

My Chemical Romance in the music video for “Teenagers.”

30.My all-time favorite band is My Chemical Romance

The 10 most influential books I’ve read

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

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This came to me by means of a challenge from my high school librarian and book club leader. She tagged me in a post with hers and passed it on to me because I was one of the more active students in the book club all those years ago. We’ve kept in touch via Facebook and this wasn’t the first time she’s tagged me in something relating to reading or books.

I would like to note these are my most influential books at the moment. A huge part of living your life is evolving and as I evolve I am sure this list will alter.200px-hsbhill

1: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It’s my favorite book but I love rock stars, music and ghosts and this little gem combines all three.

2: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Do I really need to explain?

3: Richard III by William Shakespeare. No, not a book but I read it in a book. It’s all about the loopholes. As an admitted Shakespeare nerd, I think Richard III is my favorite mostly because of the opening soliloquy and Richard’s ability to be a silver-tongued master manipulator.

4: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. A classic and starts with one of my all-time favorite hooks, “It was a pleasure to burn.” I know own a copy printed in the sixties as part of my antique book collection.interview-with-the-vampire

5: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. My love of vampires is border line obsessive and they way I turned out is mostly because of Anne Rice’s works. This one is the first really “adult” (by that I mean a huge book with small print and lots of big words for an 11 year-old) I read.

6: Wake by Lisa McMann. In a time when supernatural storylines were beginning to cross into the territory of annoying, Wake became one of those books you remember because it was just different and refreshing.

7: The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. I can’t choose just one book. This series truly defined my generation and as a self-proclaimed Potterhead I was no exception. These books got me back reading and heighted my love for magic.harry-potter-series

8: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. I’ve never read such an intricate and detailed mystery that catches you off guard more than once and leaves you running for the next book in the series. And I’ve always been able to identify with the leading lady, Lisbeth, because of how different she is.

9: Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History by Roger Streitmatter. This was supposed to be a boring “textbook” for one of Jack Lessenberry’s classes but it turned into one of the best books I’ve had to read for any class I’ve ever had.agoodmanishardtofind_book-botfoj

10: Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic. I had to read this one for one of my freshmen history classes. It was an honest portrayal of a boy growing up with stars in his eyes only for them to burst and fade when he was pushed into the reality of war.

 

 

*Images obtained via Google Images