2012

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by. A lot has happened in the world and it will be interesting to see what will happen in 2013. :)

Personally, I had a really great year. I hope I can do just as well in 2013 as I did in 2012.

I read a heck of a lot of books (some of which I don't even remember).

Best Books I Read This Year (But weren't necessarily published in 2012):

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I mentioned this one in an earlier blog post but I had to bring it up again. It made me laugh and cry. Sometimes both. John Green is an awesome writer and I am excited to see what else he will publish in the future.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontё

I read this in my Lit class and I loved it. At first there were terms and such that were unfamiliar, making it a difficult read. But in the end I came to sympathize with Jane and I loved the rest of the book. It really cemented my new found interest in literature.

The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

I could not put this book down even if I tried. It was exciting and thrilling from beginning to end. There were many twists and turns, not to mention mysteries. I look forward to reading the sequel (which is currently sitting on my desk, waiting to be read).

A Midsummer Tights Dream by Louise Rennison

Another one of my favourite authors. Louise Rennison`s books never fail to amuse me. Her characters are fresh and quirky and make me laugh. She was the first author to ever make me laugh out loud while reading a book. I can`t wait to see what chaos Tallulah and the gang will get up to next. :)

The Sweetness of Salt by Cecilia Galante

The title says it all. It intrigued me to find out how in the world salt can be sweet. It was definitely a good read with a nice ending.

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Yet another one of my favourite authors, her 2012 release was just as great as her other books. Next year she is releasing a new book and I am eager to see what it is all about.

Dear Teen Me

Various young adult authors wrote letters (or draw cartoons) to their teen selves. It was interesting to see how far all of these authors have come and what they had to overcome to achieve their dreams. It really inspired me to reflect on life in this kind of way.

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The other day I came across this list of young adult books coming out in 2013:
http://novelnovice.com/2012/12/28/new-ya-releases-coming-in-2013/

Super excited to finish several different series and start a few new ones!

Happy New Year!
Emma :)

The Trials and Errors of Gingerbread

    I am sorry for the lack of blog posts in recent months but I've been quite busy. Last week I completed my first official semester of university!!! Woohoo! :) I can remember starting in September and being so completely nervous. Plus it was sunny at the time, now....... *looks out window* it's snowing. Quite heavily.

    Now that winter break is here I thought I would catch you up on some stuff. Mostly I wanted to talk (more like rant) about all the experiences I have had with gingerbread in the last couple of weeks. Last year we bought a gingerbread kit to make a village of mini gingerbread houses. It failed. Miserably.

    First of all, they didn't stay up. We tried everything we could. There were different methods of stacking involved. As well as a boat load of icing and frowning. Finally we resorted to toothpicks. What were supposed to be cute and festive little houses but turned into haphazard tents. It was very pathetic looking and cleaning up all of the icing afterwards is always a pain.

    So this year we decided to cheat. We bought ourselves a gingerbread kit with an already assembled house. Hooray! No problem, right? Wrong wrong wrong. On the plus side, it was standing. The negative? I cannot pipe very well. So my icicles turned into blobs, and the roof? Um....it doesn't look like any of the sample pictures on the box. Our track record in the past few years has not been very good when it comes to making these houses. Maybe next year, eh?

    Anyways, I thought that would be the end of my gingerbread troubles this year. Well, it turns out that that wasn't the case. My sister had to bake gingerbread for school and I helped her out. It all started with molasses.

   None of us had ever bought molasses but we managed to find it at the store. We were wondering what is in it. Guess what the carton said?

    Ingredients: Molasses

    So helpful.
   
    We brought it home and began the (very) tiring task of making it from scratch. Never again. Try singing that to the tune of Taylor Swift's "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

"We are Never Ever Ever Making Gingerbread Again!"

    The smell was so unbelievably horrible. Nasty. I can't even begin to tell you how ill I felt. The cleanup afterwards was the worst part. It would NOT come out of the pot. We ended up soaking it 2 or 3 times. I really don't want to think about gingerbread for a while. Until next year gingerbread!

   So for now I'm just going to say that there are big things coming. Great things, really! I am working on a couple "new" projects and I hope to share them with you all in the next couple of months or so.

    Happy Holidays everyone! I hope your experiences with gingerbread are a million times better than mine!! :)

P.S. unlike last time I really am going to try to blog more.
P.P.S But who knows what will happen when school starts again in January.






    

Halloween

Happy Halloween! I always seem to come up with ideas, like for costumes, way too late to execute them. I end up saying I'll do it next year and then I never really do. Maybe this is that time. There's always next year, right?

So I thought that I should post something for the month of October even if it is not incredibly long. There will be more to follow in the first few days of November... I promise :) Hope everyone had a great time today!!!

New Beginnings

Hello!!! A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks: the end of summer, the beginning of university and the 3 day novel contest just to name a few things. :) All in all there have been a lot of changes.


I spent the Labor Day weekend up in my room attempting to write a novel. Let me tell you that is no easy task normally but in those 3 days I learned more about my writing than I would have thought possible during that time span. I found that I like to write comedy and strive to make the reader laugh (even if that is just me). I also learned that I can finish something when I put my mind to it.

During the summer, I cleaned my room. Now you may think What is so important about that? Is it so messy you can't move around or something? but really there is a lot more to it. I guess you could say I collect stuff, mostly stuff I don't need but hang on to anyway. It was hard to throw out all these things that took up most of the space of my room. One particular thing in abundance was stories. The unfinished kind. As a kid (well I guess I still am a kid) I would dream up these ideas for stories and novels and set out to write them. But every time I only got so far before I stopped and I came up with another idea or got distracted by life. With this contest I really forced myself to sit down and write what had been stuck in my head.

When I signed up for the contest a couple months ago I had a clear idea of what my storyline would be. Then I went on my two week road trip in August. I spent many nights thinking about that story and the characters and all that sort of thing. One night a thought hit me: I have no personal connection to this story. Without anything I could relate to, how could I write it? I needed a story that I could mold out of my own experiences and the ones I dreamed up to make myself sit there and write and make them believable. So that night I switched to an entirely different storyline. I had less time to think about it in comparison to the other one but that is the whole point of the contest. Writing under pressure to see just how much you can achieve.

Three days after that contest I started university. I am finding several recurring patterns, one of which happens on a usual basis. Adults and parents of my sister's friends come up to me and ask What are you studying? I tell them,  I am majoring in Creative Writing. This odd kind of look spreads across their faces because they don't know how to process that. Had I said I wanted to be a nurse or a teacher it might be more plausible for them (well maybe not a nurse because I am extremely squeamish). I guess really the look on their faces asks me what in the world do you do with that? Honestly? I don't know yet. Isn't that the whole point of university? To figure out what you want to do?

At an info session at the university before I started, someone told the parents that 1/4 of the students know what they want to do and have a clear vision, while the rest don't. They went on to say that everybody (including half of that quarter) go on to change their minds about what they are studying. Basically only a small fraction of them end up with what they'd originally had in mind. Sometimes I am scared of changing my mind as I am usually terrified of change as well as any decisions. It seriously took me forever one time to pick what I wanted off of a menu and the waitress took pity on me. Now that I am getting older and growing up, I realize that more decisions have to come from me and that I am in control of my life. It's intimidating but at the same time I have this underlying drive to do things.

For those if you in need of a mental break from all the studying and what not I suggest you watch this

Summer Adventures Pt.3

14 days, 3700 km and we are back to square one.

There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when coming home. It's always a comfort to know that you have a home base as opposed to all the other places that you have stopped at in between.  No more meals sans vegetables. Hallelujah!

We managed to pack in 2 UNESCO  World Heritage Sites in one day, one of which was Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. It was amazing to see the evolution of the methods used to herd the buffalo and where they were carried out. One of my favorite stops on our road trip was to Lake Louise. It is so breathtaking with the clear water and the mountains in the background. In some ways it was hard to believe that it was all real!! Fort Steele was also a blast with all of the people in costume and  in character.

Week 2: I ran out of reading material which is to be expected. We stopped at this used book store that had 100,000 books crammed into its shelves. Everywhere you turned there were books, books and more books (not that I'm complaining).

This trip made me realize that there are a lot of spelling mistakes out in the world. I encountered one of the funniest mistakes I've seen and I thought I'd share it with you :

We actually fixed a mistake later on in the day because we felt the need to.

During our down time we made sure to watch the Olympic events. I find it really inspiring to see athletes younger than I am doing what they are passionate about and living out their dreams. This summer I have begun to really notice how much our generation is attached to technology. When I was on a ferry back in July, I noticed that parents gave their kids all sorts of technology to keep them entertained for the duration of the boat ride. In some ways it makes me feel old knowing that ten years ago I was in there shoes. But it was different. Sure I would play video games but I'd have these magical coloring books that came with a clear marker that turned the pages colorful. I'd also have crossword puzzles and word searches and books (of course). Let's not forget the play area on the ferry which was basically one of the best parts of going away. It just feels weird seeing how much the world is changing everyday in ways that aren't always the most obvious until you begin to look very hard.

Until next time!!!

Summer Adventures Pt.2

So it seems to me that I always end up blogging on Fridays the most. I'm not exactly sure why. But this particular Friday is different.... I'm eating Cheerios AND blogging. Yes, it is a lame attempt at multitasking.

Anyways....

To my fellow RAOL composers: I got a letter! It came in the mail earlier this week from my aunt in England after my cousin told her about the letter I'd sent. She decided to complete the letter giving triangle. It was unexpected which I guess is the whole point of the letter project. But I realized that these letters don't necessarily have to be about thanks. They can be a look into a person's life that you normally wouldn't have the chance to view. 

One thing I've been trying to learn how to use is Twitter. I understand it to a degree but other than that, no. If you want you can follow me (@owhitmyknee) and hopefully I will figure out what in the world I can tweet about. By the way, the reason I named my twitter the way I did was because every time I hit my knee I say "Ow" even if it doesn't hurt. Natural response.

On this rainy day I will leave you with one final question: Why does the ice cream truck go so darn fast?

Summer Adventures Pt.1

So I've learned a lot so far this summer.

Apparently I am 12 years old, I love to shop and I have BBM.

If you disagreed with all of the above then I send you an electronic high five!! But seriously, I confirmed one thing. I look like I'm drunk when I am riding a bike. No joke. My idea of going straight includes swerving a bit to the left before turning a bit to the right and so on. It's highly embarrassing. Not to mention my helmet (which I thoroughly encourage for anyone on a bike) which makes my hair stick out in funny directions. Thankfully, there weren't that many people I had to pass by. During the ride, I started thinking that if I sneezed I'd be in serious trouble. I mean come on, if I can't ride with my eyes open, how am I supposed to keep going for the 2 seconds they are closed????  It was actually cooler in the park than staying at home and melting in the heat. There was this weird fog that washed over you like a mist. It was spectacular! At one point it felt like you were on the moors in England!

A couple weeks ago I went to pick up 2 books waiting for me and another couple for my mom. I came out balancing 10 books underneath my chin. I got a few more than previously planned.

Books read this summer:
1) I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I`d Have to Kill You - Ally Carter
2) Playing Hurt - Holly Schindler
3) Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen - Glen Huser
4) Rhymes with Cupid - Anna Humphrey
5) Songs for a Teenage Nomad - Kim Culbertson

There are actually a few more but I don`t remember what they were. I guess that`s what happens when you bring so many home at one time.

I have to add that I thoroughly missed blogging! :)

Thank You

    This post is especially for everyone I have met and have gotten to know this year! Thank you for making it the best year of my high school career! I will never forget all the memories and newly formed friendships. It's sad that I was only here for a year but that is what helped make it truly special and amazing. I thought I would share my very first day here with you.

     I was so nervous, you wouldn't even believe it. On the car ride over, I shook as the nerves pulsed through my body. I walked in and went straight to history. It was so weird to see so many kids and not have to wear uniform anymore. I only knew one person in my history class that morning and none in the art block that followed. I was supposed to hang out with my friend from history class at lunch but then he rounded up all of his friends. It was beyond awkward for me to follow behind with all my books and bags (and if you've seen what I brought to school this year, you'd understand) and have them talking and looking back at me. Somewhere before the field I gave up and just stopped walking. I threw my stuff on the ground and ate on the wooden rail by the side door. Even more embarrassing. I had my usual lunch of pasta and there was another kid sitting there too. Then there was another . A bee or a wasp or whatever you want to classify my worst nightmare as. It kept flying at me and around me. I flipped out. I tried to avoid it and walked around with my thermos looking highly paranoid. But it kept following me and the other guy sitting there pointed it out to me. I was thoroughly mortified.

     Then I had my first English class with Ms.P. I was the first student there and I still remember what she said to me.

"What school did you go to before?"
"Relevant"
"That's irrelevant now"

     Something along those lines. In the first journal assignment we did, I wrote about my lunch experience. Anyways, I went from there to French where we did a couple getting to know you exercises and what not. I was very intimidated by how good everyone was at it. Over the semester though, I worked hard and got better.

      It's been a year of personal accomplishments and things I never thought would happen. Good luck to everyone in the future! Keep blogging, people!!!!! Have a great summer! :)

Grade 12

     When I think about everything that has happened this year, I think of The Catcher in the Rye. My favorite part of the book was the ending. No, I don't mean I was jumping up and down screaming with joy that it was finally over. The last chapter of the book was by far my favorite. For those of you that actually read it or for those that may have used Sparknotes, you may know what I'm talking about. Holden talks about how reminiscing makes him miss the people in his life that he surely didn't miss to begin with. When I started to think about it, I realised it was kind of true. But that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to jump at the chance to be with people I don't get along with anymore.
(No friendship bracelets were harmed in the making of this blog post)

"D.B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn't know what the hell to say. If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it. All I know about it is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye#Chapter_26)

8th Grade

The other day in class we talked about writing letters to ourselves in eighth grade and then opening them when we got to twelfth grade. I did that at my old school and I went back a couple months ago to pick it up.
I'd expected it to be really lame because I thought I didn't write anything good at the time. I was wrong. It was actually a half decent letter except for some obvious spelling mistakes that bug me now.

The week we wrote those letter was just after my birthday. I'd invited all the girls over from my grade and had a party. The teacher asked us to put a picture with our letters and the one I'd handed out earlier of all of us around my couch, was put into most of the them. That time feels so far away and it's odd to think about all the things about myself and life and those girls in the photograph that I know now. Some things I wish I didn't know and could banish them from my mind to make room for 'bigger and better things.' Others I hold onto as a sort of reminder.

One memory from grade 8 stands out the most though. The principal came up to me one day at lunch and said, "Smile, bud. These are the best years of your life."

Monday Morning

I feel like I should say something or at least write something that is very profound. But I find myself thinking that there isn't much left to say as we approach the final week of our high school career. It's times like these where I just choose to be quiet and silently watch the time go by. :)

Restless

Feeling restless
In a daze
As I block out all the white noise
That fills the background

The soundtrack of my life
Skips along
And the song that plays
Is unrecognizable
It's fast
Then slow
Whispered words
And incomprehensible shouting

Distant thoughts
Close futures
Boredom
And lack of sleep
Research papers
Poems
Black and white photographs
The odd iced cappuccino
With milk

Grey skies
Seeds disguised as snow
Muddy fields and wet grass
Cigarette smoke and park benches
Claustrophobia
Narrow shop aisles
Burning incense in the background

Thick soled boots in June
My purple rain jacket
And copycat purse
Like travelling scrapbooks
Ticket stubs
Receipts
Crumbs
Fill the pockets

Life
Seems to standstill
And then whooshes on by
As if I'm standing
On the platform
With fading patience
Ready for the next train

Tired, I guess

What's up? How ya been? Me? I don't really know. Tired, I guess. So much has been happening lately that it takes a bit out of you.

So about this poem a week thing.... after our assigned week, I kept going. Now? I haven't written one in like 2 days. I was all ready to do some more poetry and then BRAM!! They slowly got worse because I would put them off until it was way too late to even think about writing one. I was mentally kicking myself a bit because I really wanted to write one everyday. I guess you could say it's time to start over again. :)

I had another blog post I was going to post last week about going to the movies but I figured I might as well do in two in one while I'm at it. I saw the Avengers on the Friday and then Saturday I saw this other movie called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I loved both of them but in some ways I loved the Hotel movie more. In case you haven't heard about it, it's this film about retirees and senior citizens who can't really find their way in life anymore. So when they see this ad for a hotel catering to the elderly, they're like, "Why not?" They go all the way to India only to find out it's this rundown hotel filled with drippy taps and rooms without doors (unlike in the brochure). It's chalk full of dry English humor that I have come to love so much. (I am half English you know.) By the way, I'd like to point out that I was the third youngest person in the theatre.





Even with grad before us, it hadn't really sunken in yet. It wasn't until I walked out of commencement rehearsal with my gown in hand that it hit me. I mean it sunk in for the first time really. It all felt so final. Beginning of the end. It felt weird, exciting an scary all at the same time. I kind of felt like whipping out that Vitamin C song when I come home. (I didn't though)
But this song has been stuck in my head all week on repeat:






Have a good weekend everybody!!!! :)

May 18th Poem

Imagine

It's weird to look back at the carefree imagination
And reminisce
I laugh a little at the irony
Of then pen I'm using to write this

Black, typed print
Indicating the name of the university
My future

All I want to do
Is go back and listen
To the stories of bugs
And try the pollen candy
I would never have even thought of

And then I think of growing old
And losing that one spark
That truly differs from everyone else's
My imagination

It's Tuesday

So if you hadn't figured it out already.... it's Tuesday! I'm not exactly sure why that's exciting but whatever. My Readcation has (sort of) officially ended! It's been nice weather outside and it seems quite rare for May. Last year it took forever to get the good weather to come here. I like it! It's starting to feel a lot like summer. Which is both a relief and a stress point. I'm going to assume that it's time to start bringing out the summer play lists and umbrellas. I thought I had more to say than this but I am pulling a big blank..............

(yes, I am just sitting here pressing the . button over and over again looking real bored) I think I should stop now........

Readcation

So for anyone who read my last post you'll know that I'd decided to go on a 'Readcation'. Yes, that's what I've been calling it. (If you google it there have been plenty of other people that call it the exact same thing) I get a headache just thinking about reading another book at the moment. I am up to suggestions though for what I should read after this readcation ends (which I think shall be soon).

This week has been long and unexpected in some sense. There were lots of moments I didn't foresee and others I did but completely differed from what I'd originally thought. It's sort of okay and sort of not okay. Sooooo, yeah, that's about it for now. I have several draft posts done up but I'm not sure if or when I'm going to post them. We shall see. ;)

Reading Reading Reading

I've been reading about three books a week over the last couple of weeks. It's kind of tiring and I think I've read myself out; if that's even possible. The sad thing being that I don't remember what I read last week. I get a mental block every time I try to think about it. I can, however, tell you what I read this week.

1)  An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
I've been reading quite a lot of his books lately and I like the comedic nature of this one. He's very good at creating these likable characters and capturing the readers' interest. John Green is also as talented at capturing the humor as he is at framing bitter and heartbreaking moments. (I bawled my eyes out when I read his other book The Fault in Our Stars)

2) Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
She is by far one of my favorite authors. It amazes me how she can take everyday issues and turn them into literary gold. This book was so electric and fascinating that I finished it in a day.

3) The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Now I have to say that I almost stopped reading this one. I was really stumped when it came deciphering what was a conversation and what was an inner thought. There were no quotation marks. None. But I'd already gotten into it, so I decided to just finish it. Let me just say, that I have spent the whole afternoon utterly confused as to what happened in the end. There was the jump across time and I think it threw me a bit. I think I'm going to be mulling over this one for a while.


I think I need to stop reading for a while. My brain needs to recover before I can digest anymore words, characters, stories and lack of quotation marks.

Worry

Sometimes it's weird how people react to things. Often I space out. No, scratch that, I space out a lot. It seems that I'm always thinking, always wondering, always worrying.
But sometimes if I am spaced out people think I'm upset. I guess I just get this weird look on my face. My sister went on a 20 minute rant last week depicting the different facial emotions and expressions I typically go through when I'm spacing.
Sometimes I think it would be better that I didn't dream or think so much. I tend to think of the worst possible scenarios and outcomes in life. It sucks. (To put it in mild terms)
Though I often find myself thinking that it helps my writing. I tend to dream up all the conversations I wish I had or that are inevitable but they never seem to happen the way I plan to. When I go to write though, I pause on the conversations and my pen halts to a stop. Frozen in time. I guess it would be nice not to worry whether or not I'm good enough and if everything in the future will turn out just fine.

Lockers

I decided to blog about something that isn't necessarily fascinating or even interesting. Lockers. My locker in particular.

I have noticed a common occurence with my locker over the years. I never put anything in it. By that I mean, I never decorate it. It's just the plain 'ol metal locker that's issued to me at the beginning of the year. It's as if I don't plan on staying long so I just keep it as impersonal as possible so that when it comes time to leave, the parting isn't a bitter one. It reminds me so much of people who don't want to live in one place very long so they just live in a room with the bare necessities and white walls so they don't get personally attached.

For whatever reason, I always seem to notice this about my locker near the end of the year. Is it too late to make it all spiffy and very 'me' two months before school ends? I think not. It's never too late really. (Unless you're going to do it the last day of school then maybe it is.)

Now the question is: What do I put in my locker? In middle school, I had a picture of my favorite boy band at the time in my locker. All the girls kept looking at it and commenting on their cuteness (the guys in the band I mean). (In case you were wondering, the boy band I liked at the time was Menudo. No, not the one with Ricky Martin. The new[er] one that had it's own MTV show.) I don't think I'm going to do that again. Anyways, I'll figure out something or other.

For your personal enjoyment:

Another Friday

The future has always scared me almost to the point where I can't think of anything else. With only two months left of school and of being here I come to the same outcome. It frightens me that my only year of being at this school is almost over. I have a hard time processing the idea of never seeing some of my closest friends for a long time. You'd think I'd be used to that with friends and family that live all across the world. This, however, seems.......... different. Maybe I just can't picture myself in a new school. Again. Though I don't exactly like the prospect of being the new kid again, I am comforted by two things. One of them being that I will be surrounded by freshmen such as myself. The second thing is that I don't regret changing schools as a senior.

Sure there were and there still are times when it is hard. The first month of school I was racked by nerves every morning and through out the day. I didn't know where to go, what to do and who everyone was. I felt so lost. I, however, learned so much about myself at this time that I can't help but feel proud for all that I have achieved. I guess what I am afraid of is the unknown and not knowing how everything will turn out in the future.

Stars

My mind drifted off today in Literature and I couldn't get this one image out my mind. There is this one scene in the movie Howl's Moving Castle where all these stars are falling down. Also the margin note on the bottom of the page I was reading was talking about how circles are the symbol of perfection because they have no beginning and no end. So I wrote a poem based off of these two things:

All the circles of the night
Fall amongst the morning light
And kiss the rocking waves
Before breaking into dull fragments

A hand reaches out to catch just one
Forgotten piece gently drifting down
And it dizzily dances around the outstretched fingers
And bursts into a thousand burning colors

The Window

When it's sunny the view outside is a vibrant blue covered in the odd wisp of a cloud's tail. My mind envisions the floating house in the movie Up.  For a split second I swear I can see the thin thread of a balloon hovering next to the dirty glass.

At night I sit in bed and feel suffocated by the blinds. I long for a solarium that I saw in England or a big sky light. Part of me just wants to sleep outside and try and decipher which of the blinking lights are stars and which ones are satellites and planes. The magic at this time of day is looking out into the distance and seeing the yellow, red, and white blinking lights of the city in the horizon. It comforts me to think that there are many more good times ahead in the future.

In the winter, the street is blanketed by white powder and the tire tracks of the neighbourhood. I still remember looking outside and seeing the icicles drip off the rim of the light post; frozen in suspense. Hours later they grew bigger as the drops falling from the sky joined in on the fun. The only thing that ever worried me about them was the sharp point at the end. How could something so delicate and beautiful still be so lethal?

Occasionally, you come across the odd dog walker or kid with a Slushie walking by. In the spring, there's a teenage couple that seem to walk by after school. They hold hands and talk and mill around the electric box. How romantic. Yet it doesn't stop me from dreaming up Romeo and Juliet type story about them. Maybe it's the dreamer in me.

There's just so much to see in the world. Windows are like paintings. They always show the same view but there is always something else to see or look at that you didn't notice before.

Wonders of the Younger

We've been talking about childhood a lot lately and all the stories we've heard as kids. I was listening to some music and this song came on and it reminded me of everything that we've been talking about.
Unfortunately I couldn't find the song on Youtube so the live version will have to suffice.

Inspire

In November when I was applying for university I had no idea what I was going to study. Nada. So I was like: "Hey, what about creative writing?" There was this cool program and it looked kind of interesting so I applied for it. A month later I got my acceptance letter. I was thrilled but confused. Was I good enough? Was this what I really wanted to do? What if  they tore me apart? Question after question. Doubt after doubt. Day after day. You get the idea.

Then I had this kind of epiphany last night that everything was going to be okay. It was surreal but just weird. I guess this is what happens when your mind is racing at the speed of light at 2 in the morning. Did I mention I'm an overthinker?

A couple things inspired me this week. The first being this interview:



I really liked his idea of Plan A and putting your all into what you want. :)

The second thing has to do with a book I read during my road trip. I read The Sweetness of Salt by Cecilia Galante. It was really well written and I liked reading the character's perception of life and how she studied something she liked even if she wasn't sure it was right. After I finished the book I found the author's website and I read what she had to say about writing. Sometimes I have a hard time believing that even great authors,no, out of this world authors get turned down. Look at J.K. Rowling. Nobody wanted to publish Harry Potter to begin with. The same Harry Potter that is now a mass grossing book series! Anyways, Cecilia Galante said that she took it all very personal at first. Then she figured out that they weren't saying she was bad. They were saying the story wasn't right. That really resonated with me considering that it's one of my main fears heading into university to study creative writing. Here's the website: http://www.ceciliagalante.com/?page_id=4

Road Trip

As we drove, I mouthed the words to the song playing on my iPod. Occasionally, I pressed pause but kept mouthing the words. Silence. I often worried that I was actually singing the words out loud even though I wasn't. I spent most of the drive with my eyes glued to the window as the world rushed by outside. For spring break it was mighty awful weather.

When our little trip commenced, we were seen off by the rain coming down in sheets. There were clear patches of sky here and there but the rain had great persistence. On the way home there was snow. Who wants to drive through 2 states surrounded by snow? Not I. Luckily, it was only in one part of Portland.

The lobby of the hotel was packed with a university baseball team from California.  They packed the food up on their plates, ravenous.Some of the guys rushed outside to take pictures of the snow. There wasn't a lot of food left after they'd been through there.

I ate a dry piece of toast with a mixed jelly spread, quietly watching the scene around me. The snow worried me a bit but my Opa loved it. "The snow is so nice!"

My sister and I were squished in the very very back of the car. My knees were angled so that I could fit comfortably. The entire drive I couldn't help but stare out the window deep in thought. My mind rushed by quicker than the highway. It's hard not to think about things when you're on the road. You'd think that by leaving things behind you'd be free but I find that my thoughts drift behind me. They always seem to be hovering invisibly. But nonetheless it's nice to just be able to think and nothing else. It's a very enlightening experience.

When we finally got home we decided to pick up our cats from the kennel as well. Let's do the math: 6 people + 3 cats + all of our luggage= a car packed to capacity. When I think about it's actually a miracle that we all managed to fit in that car. The cats smelled like the kennel, sterile and unnatural. It lingers in their fur for a few days but it's nice to have them around. It's too quiet without them. :)

ROAD TRIP PLAYLIST:

1. Cellophane by the Left
2. Watching You Watch Him by Eric Hutchinson
3. Better Geography by Jesse Thomas
4. Someone Wake Me Up by Joe McElderry
5. Something Beautiful by NEEDTOBREATHE
6. Undercover by Allstar Weekend
7. Staring At the Sun by Down With Webster
8. Don't Act So Surprised by Letters and Lights
9. Revolution by The Veronicas
10. In The Morning by The Coral
11. In Real Life by Demi Lovato
12. Misery by Maroon 5
13. Morning Light by Palaye Royale
14. Beekeeper's Daughter by The All-American Rejects
15. Speak My Mind by Drake Bell

Friday

We were driving in the car this morning and a song came on the radio that I'd never heard before. I managed to find it. So here it is:

Random Words and Makeshift Mysteries

I started free writing today without an idea or sense of direction. It felt odd but it was kind of amazing. I had an actual story forming at my fingertips and making it up as I went was fun! Usually I have to have a mental brainstorm. Now I've learned that by just writing you can get a good story out of it as well. :)
I once heard that if you have writer's block or if you don't know what to write, the fun of it is figuring out  what to write next. It's like a makeshift mystery. How do you know if something is going to be awesome? You don't. Or maybe you have this inkling in the back of your mind that it could be something incredible, that one inkling could push you onto that path. Enough rambling......for now. (Insert winky face here)

Have an awesome spring break!!!!

Childhood

Polka dot galoshes dancing through puddles
Chubby, little fingers outstretched in delight
An echo of carefree laughter
Breaks through the sky of watercolor gray
Freedom to run to catch each and every drop
Unaware of anything else in the world

Friends roped together by grass bracelets
Dirt stained knees and faces red from the cold
A warm and wondrous soul

The parents stand back and watch
Arms crossed
Laughing at the small talk
But really watching
In case their kid
Decides to grow up

Pretty in Pink

  In honor of anti-bullying day I decided to do a pink related blog post. The prettiest gal in pink that I've ever come across is Molly Ringwald. I love the movie Pretty in Pink and Molly Ringwald is probably one of my favorite actresses. I find 80s movies by John Hughes so captivating and I have almost watched all the 80s movies that Molly has been in.

  I guess one of the reasons I like Pretty in Pink  is because it deals with being different and trying to push the boundaries society has created. Plus her best friend Duckie is so amazing that there are no words to describe him. Andie (Molly R.) and Duckie show that they can rise above all the hate and the bullies and come out on top. Below is one of the best scenes of the entire movie (featuring Duckie of course!!!!).

Changes

    Today, I decided to change my memoir topic. I had a hard time writing a story that didn't have a conflict. I also couldn't dig through the rubble of broken memories. So instead I've decided to talk about decisions and the way I've dealt with them through the past year.

    My new topic has to do with why I changed schools this year. Some people know where I came from and maybe have experienced one of the standard answers as to why I left.

This includes: "I was bored"
                        "I wanted to try something new"
                        "I didn't like it"
    And so on. I hope this memoir will delve into the exact reasons behind my decision. I want to find a way to express the uncertainty when weighing the options and the process in which it took me to get to a conclusion. Now let's just say that I have never been good with figuring out what to do.

It also wouldn't hurt to find synonyms for the word 'decisions'. Now would it?

Blank

Vague scribbles dance across the walls
Just a blank room, a pen and me
Staring up at the galactic ceiling
Glow-in-the-dark stars haphazardly taped on top
I dream
I feel like I'm sleeping
But I'm far from it

The words in my head twist and contort
Like wisps of smoke
As my pale hand fails to catch them
I look back at all the little side notes
And wonder
If it'll ever add up to four full walls
Of words
Or the remnants of ones
My hand smudges as I write
A new beginning

Radio Songs

    In tenth grade, we had a double block of English every other week. We'd sit in the room that constituted as the library with cupboards full of books wrapped around the perimeter of the room. It was here we learned about Macbeth  and  To Kill a Mockingbird. After the first block, we'd take a little break before learning more. If the weather permitted, the entire class would go outside and soak up the rays on the field. Some of us would just stand there and watch as the other kids attempted  to do cartwheels and handstands on the patchy green grass.

    The teacher also allowed us to listen to the radio if we were doing a fun assignment. I'm all for listening to the radio but in that class I was lost most of the time. Several of the kids insisted we listen to a specific downtown radio station. It was one I only listened to on occasion but usually didn't care for. I felt like I was pretty fluent in what was hot and what was not in the world of music but then again I didn't. Songs would come on that I had never in my life heard before yet it seemed that everyone else had. I'd just sit there as my classmates sang along to songs and artists I never knew existed.

    "Who is this?" I asked sheepishly. They told me and none of the names struck a cord or made the light bulb in my head go off.

    Here's the thing I find funny about listening to the radio or songs in general. Often you just know the words that come next. On numerous occasions I'll be in the car listening to a song I've never heard before and sing along and by the time it's over I know most of the words. The other people in the car looked at me with disbelief as I did this for a couple of songs in a row. I think it's because we want to hear what we would say and what is expected or destined to come next. So when a song says a completely different word than I sing, it throws me. It takes a few pushes of the replay button to get the right word. I find, however, that in my mind I still song the word I would rather hear. Funny how that goes. Most of the time when  I listen to or read something I look for the words that connect best with me. Often I find that about 75% of the words match and the rest don't. It's not my story. That's why we write; to put the stories out there that we can relate to or that we hear in our heads. That's why I write.

So I challenge you to listen to the radio or any song you can get your hands onto and listen. Just listen. Do you know the words that come next? Would you change them?

Here is the song that's been stuck in my head all week:

Origin of Sidestreets

    The name of this blog came from a couple of things. One of which was from a character outline I did last semester. The girl I created was a a freelance writer who was in Italy staying in a small house, down a side street. The other reason I named the blog Sidestreet Dreams was because I'm slowly learning that the original path to the things we want to achieve branches off and before you know it you're walking totally lost down a different artery. Maybe it's scary and off course but I'm beginning to learn that you have to embrace it and let these roads take you wherever they think you ought to go.

    Last summer I went on a road trip and the GPS messed up on more than one occasion. One time in particular, we ended up on a back road in the middle of nowhere. It was frightening being so isolated and far away from civilization. Though I don't mean to throw you off when I say there were other people there but only whizzing by in their cars going who knows where. The point is that you get a story; a moment out of this. You may not necessarily like it but that's what often happens in life.