Sorry I haven't written in more than 6 months. Being a senior in college tends to mean all my free time gets devoted to writing papers, not blogs. Anyway, here is my year in review:
January--Went on choir to California. Highlights included San Francisco, Laguna Beach, and Disneyland!
February--Begin to see how much love and patience I have for Special Education students. Sang in the Valentine's concert. It was my first solo performance in years. I went through the application process to become a Resident Assistant.
March--Don't get the RA job. My roommate and I turn 21 within a day of each other and keep the party to a minimum (mostly because our birthdays were in the middle of the week!). We both wind up going on a surprise birthday trip to Sherwood Forest Faire, a Renaissance festival in Texas. My boyfriend and I go home to Colorado for Spring Break so I can show him how beautiful the mountains are. We visited the Air Force Academy and Garden of the Gods.
April--I switch majors to Special Education, partly because of the job market and partly because of discovering my passion for it. Sang in the choir's performance of "Elijah" and had tons of fun! Finals week is particularly rough.
May--Osama bin Laden is killed on the same day I move home from college. I spend most of the month volunteering at the high school I graduated from, helping my mom and brother out in their classes. Mom forces me into a workout schedule. We have a Memorial Day BBQ party at the house. I start my summer camp job.
June--I get my First Aid certification for my camp job. My friends get married and I have some troubles getting down to Austin to be a part of the wedding party (summer thunderstorms stink!). I dive into the summer camp job literally with swim days. Skate days with my campers are pretty fun too. My parents renew their wedding vows after 25 years of marriage. My cousin gets married. Yay wedding season? I fulfill a promise to myself by seeing my first and only midnight showing of a movie...Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2!
July--More camp job. I am really going to miss those kids this summer. My parents went to Belize for their anniversary. While I'm in charge of the house and dogs, I decide I need to find a new hobby. So I take up drawing. Haven't had much time to practice lately, but I'm getting better. My grandfather figure passes away unexpectedly, and my best friend's son turns two.
August--Camp job ends and I leave to Austin before school starts to try to find a job. My senior year of college starts with a whole bunch of classes having to do with how we learn language. It's actually a fascinating subject. I didn't expect it to be as interesting as it was.
September--I find an on-campus job in the IT department. My main job is helping professor figure out how to use technology. Major fires occur around the Austin area. Tenth anniversary of September 11th. Roommate, boyfriend, and I go to the Celtic Festival at Sherwood Forest. My friend from Midland and her boyfriend come out for a visit (first time I've seen her in a few years, and it's always a blast when we get together).
October--Car starts needing things like battery replaced. Wasn't expecting that expense. I get assigned to a first grade classroom for my teaching observations. My IT job becomes more interesting and more challenging with learning new kinds of technologies. My school gives me the opportunity to give up Fall Break to go help out with fire relief in Bastrop. I go see an Opera for the first time with my class. Halfway through Halloween, I realize my costume isn't just an anime character, it's also Abby from NCIS. :)
November--First choir concert of the school year reignites my passion for music. I give a student symposium about the history of Japanese anime, then the next weekend perform as Hansel in a scene from the opera Hansel und Gretel. I travel home for Thanksgiving for the first time since my freshman year. I hate traveling over Thanksgiving...
December--The end of 2011 was very good to me. The biggest news was I am now engaged!!!! Other good things that happened: my brother turned 17, I got an iPad for Christmas, and my cousins moved out to Colorado from California.
All in all, 2011 has been a good year to me, and I hope it has been for you too. I hope 2012 is great for everyone!
Dec 31, 2011
Jul 15, 2011
Keeping a Promise, Potter Style
Years ago, probably in middle school, when it was just really starting to become "cool" and mainstream to admit to everyone that you were a Potter fan, I made a promise to myself. I never really told anyone about this promise, but I knew that I had to keep it. I wasn't about to let myself down. I promised I would go to at least one midnight showing of a Harry Potter movie.
Last night, I finally made good on that promise (never mind that it was my last chance to do so!).
I went and stood in line for several hours to get an awesome seat at the 12:15 showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. It was the first midnight showing I'd ever been to, period, so of course I had to make a Midnight Showing Survival Kit the night before. Here's what I put in it:
1 camera to capture the excitement and memories
1 Deathly Hallows book
1 box of Kleenex (definitely necessary!)
1 box of lemon drops (or in this case, Lemonheads candies)
1 chocolate bar to ward off effects of possible dementor attacks
1 water bottle
2 orange-flavored vitamin waters
1 pen converted into a wand
1 rain jacket
1 umbrella (though not containing Hagrid's wand within it, unfortunately)
I didn't dress up, really, despite the red lightning bolt shaped scar that got drawn on my forehead and the Deathly Hallows symbol that sparkled on my arm, both in eyeliner. I did bring pizza in the hopes that I would make some friends and get a good spot in line. It worked--I met two fantastic military wives who kept me company for several hours, all because I offered free pizza to let me sit with them. I got to know them well enough that we're even friends on Facebook now. We rated costumes, watched a hilarious Quidditch match, were serenaded by an improv singing group, and even got rained on together. Someone counted everyone in line and I was basically 850th in line, but I didn't really care; I was having so much fun.
When I finally got inside, I found a pretty good seat. Three girls sat next to me and we proceeded to watch the last half of Part 1 together. When the previews began to roll, I could feel the anticipation spiking in the theater. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before. The crowd felt as one from the moment the opening logo appeared. We cheered and clapped together, we cried together, we laughed together, and when all was said and done, we left the theater smiling, knowing that we had all journeyed with Harry through it all.
Yeah, it ended last night, like the posters all said. Potter-mania at the theaters will probably never reach those kinds of levels again, unless Rowling releases another book about Hogwarts and they make another movie out of it. Either that, or when the movies are re-released in 10 years, when my generation will take our kids to watch Harry on the big screen all over again. They may not grow up with him like we did, but I don't think Harry Potter fandom will ever really fade away completely. He's too universal, too loved to go extinct.
So, in short, all I have to say is: mischief managed.
Last night, I finally made good on that promise (never mind that it was my last chance to do so!).
I went and stood in line for several hours to get an awesome seat at the 12:15 showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. It was the first midnight showing I'd ever been to, period, so of course I had to make a Midnight Showing Survival Kit the night before. Here's what I put in it:
1 camera to capture the excitement and memories
1 Deathly Hallows book
1 box of Kleenex (definitely necessary!)
1 box of lemon drops (or in this case, Lemonheads candies)
1 chocolate bar to ward off effects of possible dementor attacks
1 water bottle
2 orange-flavored vitamin waters
1 pen converted into a wand
1 rain jacket
1 umbrella (though not containing Hagrid's wand within it, unfortunately)
I didn't dress up, really, despite the red lightning bolt shaped scar that got drawn on my forehead and the Deathly Hallows symbol that sparkled on my arm, both in eyeliner. I did bring pizza in the hopes that I would make some friends and get a good spot in line. It worked--I met two fantastic military wives who kept me company for several hours, all because I offered free pizza to let me sit with them. I got to know them well enough that we're even friends on Facebook now. We rated costumes, watched a hilarious Quidditch match, were serenaded by an improv singing group, and even got rained on together. Someone counted everyone in line and I was basically 850th in line, but I didn't really care; I was having so much fun.
When I finally got inside, I found a pretty good seat. Three girls sat next to me and we proceeded to watch the last half of Part 1 together. When the previews began to roll, I could feel the anticipation spiking in the theater. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before. The crowd felt as one from the moment the opening logo appeared. We cheered and clapped together, we cried together, we laughed together, and when all was said and done, we left the theater smiling, knowing that we had all journeyed with Harry through it all.
Yeah, it ended last night, like the posters all said. Potter-mania at the theaters will probably never reach those kinds of levels again, unless Rowling releases another book about Hogwarts and they make another movie out of it. Either that, or when the movies are re-released in 10 years, when my generation will take our kids to watch Harry on the big screen all over again. They may not grow up with him like we did, but I don't think Harry Potter fandom will ever really fade away completely. He's too universal, too loved to go extinct.
So, in short, all I have to say is: mischief managed.
Jun 3, 2011
My Wii Exercise Program--Days 1 & 2
Mom's been dying to get me interested in fitness and working out since I got home from college. The other day, I thought it would be fun to try The Biggest Loser workout for Wii instead of going with Mom to the gym. The game has been sitting down in the basement with the rest of the games for a couple of years and no one's dared to touch it. We were probably either afraid it would work too well or that it wouldn't work at all. But I can report that it works; oh yes, does it ever. I wasn't brave enough to create a profile on it yet, so I just freeplayed some of the exercises for about 45 minutes.
It seemed legit enough. I mean, Bob was leading me through squats, punches, yoga, stretches, and jumping jacks that really got me working hard. I am not totally out of shape (although my shape is pretty curvy), but I was still out of breath and shaky by the end of it. And on that note, I left it alone for a few days.
So last night, I decided to go all-out and get on The Biggest Loser workout program for Wii. I made a personalized profile with all my information, from height to waist and chest size--kind of embarrassing to have my mom measure me for the thing! I worked out for 30 minutes doing all sorts of intense stuff, but the worst was the standing mountain climbers. It makes you go through the motions of rock climbing, only WAY faster. Oh wow. The only time I've ever been more out of breath and in pain was the first week of soccer practice the only season I ever played sports in high school. But after it was all over, I decided this is exactly the kind of workout program I want to continue to do. So I'm going ahead with it.
Today is technically Day 2 of my program. I worked out this morning for 30 minutes again, and it had a lot of the same stuff I had done last night, with a few minor changes. The hip stretches were a little different, and the dreaded mountain climbers had only gotten harder, not easier. Next time, I will conquer them!! They also have challenges like the show, and they can be really fun. I actually won this one! I had to push a cannon up a hill and then crank it to fire it. (It was much better than the one I tried the other day with the freeplay, where you had to jog up a hill and a giant fan was blowing you back. I lost that one big time.)
It also has a handy little calorie-log for me to keep track of what I eat. I'm not liking this tracker as much as some of the other logs I've seen, because it pretty much only logs in 10s and 100s, so you can't get very exact. I don't know how well I'm going to keep up with that, since I'm not too good at totaling things up and remembering to put it all onto the game. But at least they have it. There's also exercise tips, recipes, and diet ideas. It's a great way to start out getting fit, especially if your rear end is parked on the couch while you perpetually play video games and eat chips.
Here's to a summer of getting in shape!
It seemed legit enough. I mean, Bob was leading me through squats, punches, yoga, stretches, and jumping jacks that really got me working hard. I am not totally out of shape (although my shape is pretty curvy), but I was still out of breath and shaky by the end of it. And on that note, I left it alone for a few days.
So last night, I decided to go all-out and get on The Biggest Loser workout program for Wii. I made a personalized profile with all my information, from height to waist and chest size--kind of embarrassing to have my mom measure me for the thing! I worked out for 30 minutes doing all sorts of intense stuff, but the worst was the standing mountain climbers. It makes you go through the motions of rock climbing, only WAY faster. Oh wow. The only time I've ever been more out of breath and in pain was the first week of soccer practice the only season I ever played sports in high school. But after it was all over, I decided this is exactly the kind of workout program I want to continue to do. So I'm going ahead with it.
Today is technically Day 2 of my program. I worked out this morning for 30 minutes again, and it had a lot of the same stuff I had done last night, with a few minor changes. The hip stretches were a little different, and the dreaded mountain climbers had only gotten harder, not easier. Next time, I will conquer them!! They also have challenges like the show, and they can be really fun. I actually won this one! I had to push a cannon up a hill and then crank it to fire it. (It was much better than the one I tried the other day with the freeplay, where you had to jog up a hill and a giant fan was blowing you back. I lost that one big time.)
It also has a handy little calorie-log for me to keep track of what I eat. I'm not liking this tracker as much as some of the other logs I've seen, because it pretty much only logs in 10s and 100s, so you can't get very exact. I don't know how well I'm going to keep up with that, since I'm not too good at totaling things up and remembering to put it all onto the game. But at least they have it. There's also exercise tips, recipes, and diet ideas. It's a great way to start out getting fit, especially if your rear end is parked on the couch while you perpetually play video games and eat chips.
Here's to a summer of getting in shape!
May 31, 2011
Happy Memorial Day?
Memorial Day.
A lot of people think of it in terms of barbequed meat, baseball games, getting an extra day off work, and camping trips with the family. But I come from a military town and a military family. Recently, a family friend lost her husband in Afghanistan--and he wasn't even supposed to be in combat. He was a professor at one of the military academies who chose to take some time over there so he could be a better teacher and understand what his students were going through.
We shouldn't take just one day to honor those who have given lives to protect freedoms that we are guaranteed. We should be remembering them and their families and friends who have lost so much. Every time I hear on the news about a soldier who isn't coming home, it makes me tear up. And every time they show a homecoming, I cheer.
Even if you don't agree with the wars and support missions we've gotten involved in or started, the troops still need all the support and love they get. They have probably one of the hardest jobs in the world, and without your prayers and support, they will get discouraged and wonder why they're even doing their job. I'm praying for them. Are you?
A lot of people think of it in terms of barbequed meat, baseball games, getting an extra day off work, and camping trips with the family. But I come from a military town and a military family. Recently, a family friend lost her husband in Afghanistan--and he wasn't even supposed to be in combat. He was a professor at one of the military academies who chose to take some time over there so he could be a better teacher and understand what his students were going through.
We shouldn't take just one day to honor those who have given lives to protect freedoms that we are guaranteed. We should be remembering them and their families and friends who have lost so much. Every time I hear on the news about a soldier who isn't coming home, it makes me tear up. And every time they show a homecoming, I cheer.
Even if you don't agree with the wars and support missions we've gotten involved in or started, the troops still need all the support and love they get. They have probably one of the hardest jobs in the world, and without your prayers and support, they will get discouraged and wonder why they're even doing their job. I'm praying for them. Are you?
May 28, 2011
Random Story Parts #1--The Trial
Part of moving back into my parents' house means I rediscovered some of my older writings/musings/casual whatevers while cleaning up my room. I think I'll be posting more of these on here, mainly because they're a bit long and not necessarily the best to post as Facebook notes. They're all fictional, so even if it's written in first person, it's not me speaking or thinking or doing; it's my characters. So, this is the one I like to call "The Trial". It was written sometime in the last 3 years, since I know I wrote it down in Texas.
~--------~
I was in trouble now. Well, there was nothing new about that. I was always in some sort of trouble. Mother was always telling me to keep my temper in check, to mind my own business, to stop pestering people. But she didn't understand that it wasn't my fault. It was never my fault. I never started it.
Granted, I had (and will always have) my own issues to deal with. I'm not like everyone else, and depending on who you are I am either special and different or a menace to society who needs to be eliminated. Some see me as a sinner; others, a saint. But now, I was genuinely in trouble with the wrong people, and no one was going to come to my rescue.
I was on my own. As usual.
-----
The guard came to my cell, sneering down at me. I knew him well; he was a friend of my father's. One of his many friends in the city, but I had never liked him very much. His hand gripped my arm like a wolf's jaws latching onto a deer's throat as he pulled me out of the jail.
"Yer in fer it now, Annabelle." His smug grin sent shivers down my spine. "Not even your parents can get yer out of this."
And that was when I knew I was doomed.
-----
The jury was already seated behind the judge's chair, but he himself hadn't come in yet. That was fine by me. I was shaking, afraid of what was going to happen next.
I saw my mother slip into the crowd forming behind me. Great. I hadn't realized how public my trial was going to be. I wanted to just curl up and die--wasn't my shame enough punishment? But I stood tall in the threat of yet another challenge. The faces around me began to blend together; some were exultant, others stunned, others nonchalant, but they all formed one thing: an angry mob.
"Let's just kill her now, and not wait for the judge!" someone called.
Inside, I was panicking. I knew the judge, knew him better than most due to my connections in the community. Above all, he's a good man. In past cases, if there was evidence in your wrongdoing, whether or not he knew you or not, you found your punishment waiting for you at the end of the day. There was always hope...but no, he was too good of a person. I would never get off the hook.
A hush descended over the crowd as the judge walked into the room. He sat up on his bench and focused his attention on me. So did everyone else. I gulped. His piercing blue eyes looked me over. I had seen that look many times, but it had never really been directed at me or anyone I knew. It was the look he always gave anyone who appeared before him who he knew to be guilty, a mix of harshness, pain, and sadness. He actually didn't like sentencing people; it was just his job. The worst part was the tears in his eyes.
I couldn't help it; I tore my eyes away from his. "Annabelle," he said, more gently than I expected. "Annabelle, look at me."
I looked again. "Father." The tears sprang to my eyes now. I could hardly believed my nerve to call him that. "Please. I know what I've done wrong. I can't possibly repay the people I've wronged or fix what I've done. I can't make things right." My voice shook.
His face hardened. "The charges against you are very serious. You have wronged many people and broken numerous laws. And there is enough evidence of these crimes to suggest that you fully intended to commit these crimes."
"I know," I murmured, more to myself than to him.
"As a father, I am hurt that you paid no attention to the warnings that your mother and I gave you. As a judge, I have no choice but to sentence you."
The mob waited with baited breath as my heart hammered in my chest. I could feel my blood rushing through every part of my body. I had never felt more alive--or more dead.
~--------~
I was in trouble now. Well, there was nothing new about that. I was always in some sort of trouble. Mother was always telling me to keep my temper in check, to mind my own business, to stop pestering people. But she didn't understand that it wasn't my fault. It was never my fault. I never started it.
Granted, I had (and will always have) my own issues to deal with. I'm not like everyone else, and depending on who you are I am either special and different or a menace to society who needs to be eliminated. Some see me as a sinner; others, a saint. But now, I was genuinely in trouble with the wrong people, and no one was going to come to my rescue.
I was on my own. As usual.
-----
The guard came to my cell, sneering down at me. I knew him well; he was a friend of my father's. One of his many friends in the city, but I had never liked him very much. His hand gripped my arm like a wolf's jaws latching onto a deer's throat as he pulled me out of the jail.
"Yer in fer it now, Annabelle." His smug grin sent shivers down my spine. "Not even your parents can get yer out of this."
And that was when I knew I was doomed.
-----
The jury was already seated behind the judge's chair, but he himself hadn't come in yet. That was fine by me. I was shaking, afraid of what was going to happen next.
I saw my mother slip into the crowd forming behind me. Great. I hadn't realized how public my trial was going to be. I wanted to just curl up and die--wasn't my shame enough punishment? But I stood tall in the threat of yet another challenge. The faces around me began to blend together; some were exultant, others stunned, others nonchalant, but they all formed one thing: an angry mob.
"Let's just kill her now, and not wait for the judge!" someone called.
Inside, I was panicking. I knew the judge, knew him better than most due to my connections in the community. Above all, he's a good man. In past cases, if there was evidence in your wrongdoing, whether or not he knew you or not, you found your punishment waiting for you at the end of the day. There was always hope...but no, he was too good of a person. I would never get off the hook.
A hush descended over the crowd as the judge walked into the room. He sat up on his bench and focused his attention on me. So did everyone else. I gulped. His piercing blue eyes looked me over. I had seen that look many times, but it had never really been directed at me or anyone I knew. It was the look he always gave anyone who appeared before him who he knew to be guilty, a mix of harshness, pain, and sadness. He actually didn't like sentencing people; it was just his job. The worst part was the tears in his eyes.
I couldn't help it; I tore my eyes away from his. "Annabelle," he said, more gently than I expected. "Annabelle, look at me."
I looked again. "Father." The tears sprang to my eyes now. I could hardly believed my nerve to call him that. "Please. I know what I've done wrong. I can't possibly repay the people I've wronged or fix what I've done. I can't make things right." My voice shook.
His face hardened. "The charges against you are very serious. You have wronged many people and broken numerous laws. And there is enough evidence of these crimes to suggest that you fully intended to commit these crimes."
"I know," I murmured, more to myself than to him.
"As a father, I am hurt that you paid no attention to the warnings that your mother and I gave you. As a judge, I have no choice but to sentence you."
The mob waited with baited breath as my heart hammered in my chest. I could feel my blood rushing through every part of my body. I had never felt more alive--or more dead.
May 22, 2011
Quick! Which one's crazier??
Last night, I stayed up "past my bedtime" to watch the Saturday Night Live season finale. I don't normally watch SNL, because I agree with my parents that the vast majority of the good skits were performed WAY before my time. However, I wanted to give it a chance because I've enjoyed watching Justin Timberlake host in the past and I was curious to see what Lady Gaga would do, despite the fact that I'm not a huge fan of hers.
It was a pretty good show. I was really surprised and laughed more than I thought I would. Justin was just as funny as I thought he would be, and I thought Lady Gaga stole the show. Yeah, her "outfits" (if you can call them that) were just as wild as ever. But I realized something when I was watching her, something that's been pointed out to me about her before but that I've never really thought about.
She is not afraid to be herself at all.
Sure, she's weird, strange, crazy, weird, different, atypical, weird, bizarre, and WEIRD, but she never tries to be anything less than she is. Her songs are addictive (I can't get them out of my head for hours, and I know I'm not the only one who has that problem), and she has amazing musical talent. She's got charisma--I don't know anyone else who would even try to be that out there when performing. It kind of reminds me of what my parents say Michael Jackson and Prince were like back in the day. So I guess I like/admire/respect her more than I thought I did.
Another very strange character I just had to watch this weekend goes by the name of CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. :) Oh boy, do I love my Pirates. I've dressed up as a pirate for 3 of the last 4 Halloweens, have pictures of the cast up on my wall when I'm living away at college, love watching the movies every few months, and used to have a huge crush on Will Turner (or perhaps, more accurately, Orly). When I realized they were going to go ahead with a fourth movie, I was excited but a little nervous. With Will/Elizabeth out of the franchise, all I was left with was Cap'n Jack, who, although I enjoy watching, was not my favorite character at the time.
Cut to today, when I dressed up to go with my family to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Mom kept saying she was going to sit far, far away from me if I did dress up, so all I did was wear my "pirate" shirt and kept the rest pretty low-key. It's not like I went to the midnight premier on Friday, after all. I was looking forward to this because it focused more on Captain Jack. I really wanted to see more of him. Why the change of heart toward Jack? Because he is a really, REALLY compelling character to watch. The more I watched the movies getting closer to this, the fourth one, the more I wanted to see what they were going to do with his character.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Everything the trailers promised was there. Zombies, mermaids, search for the fountain of youth, Blackbeard, Barbossa vs. Jack, insane and highly improbable escapes...it was pretty awesome. If you haven't seen it yet, stay through the credits, though if you're a big enough Pirates fan, you probably were already planning on that. I loved it. Every minute was an adventure.
So, in short, I've had a very strange but highly enjoyable weekend, with many pop culture references and a lot of fun. I hope the rest of my summer will be as fun and weird. What I'm having trouble deciding is who is crazier: Lady Gaga or Captain Jack?
It was a pretty good show. I was really surprised and laughed more than I thought I would. Justin was just as funny as I thought he would be, and I thought Lady Gaga stole the show. Yeah, her "outfits" (if you can call them that) were just as wild as ever. But I realized something when I was watching her, something that's been pointed out to me about her before but that I've never really thought about.
She is not afraid to be herself at all.
Sure, she's weird, strange, crazy, weird, different, atypical, weird, bizarre, and WEIRD, but she never tries to be anything less than she is. Her songs are addictive (I can't get them out of my head for hours, and I know I'm not the only one who has that problem), and she has amazing musical talent. She's got charisma--I don't know anyone else who would even try to be that out there when performing. It kind of reminds me of what my parents say Michael Jackson and Prince were like back in the day. So I guess I like/admire/respect her more than I thought I did.
Another very strange character I just had to watch this weekend goes by the name of CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. :) Oh boy, do I love my Pirates. I've dressed up as a pirate for 3 of the last 4 Halloweens, have pictures of the cast up on my wall when I'm living away at college, love watching the movies every few months, and used to have a huge crush on Will Turner (or perhaps, more accurately, Orly). When I realized they were going to go ahead with a fourth movie, I was excited but a little nervous. With Will/Elizabeth out of the franchise, all I was left with was Cap'n Jack, who, although I enjoy watching, was not my favorite character at the time.
Cut to today, when I dressed up to go with my family to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Mom kept saying she was going to sit far, far away from me if I did dress up, so all I did was wear my "pirate" shirt and kept the rest pretty low-key. It's not like I went to the midnight premier on Friday, after all. I was looking forward to this because it focused more on Captain Jack. I really wanted to see more of him. Why the change of heart toward Jack? Because he is a really, REALLY compelling character to watch. The more I watched the movies getting closer to this, the fourth one, the more I wanted to see what they were going to do with his character.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Everything the trailers promised was there. Zombies, mermaids, search for the fountain of youth, Blackbeard, Barbossa vs. Jack, insane and highly improbable escapes...it was pretty awesome. If you haven't seen it yet, stay through the credits, though if you're a big enough Pirates fan, you probably were already planning on that. I loved it. Every minute was an adventure.
So, in short, I've had a very strange but highly enjoyable weekend, with many pop culture references and a lot of fun. I hope the rest of my summer will be as fun and weird. What I'm having trouble deciding is who is crazier: Lady Gaga or Captain Jack?
May 20, 2011
The War for Jess's Independence, Part 1
Freedom is like a drug to me. Once I've had a little taste of it, I crave more--I want more independence, more emancipation, more of my own being. I desire to be different, to live my own life, free of the expectations that some people would place upon me.
But freedom comes with a lot of fears for me, too. I'm not spoiled, but I'll freely admit I've had a lot handed to me; maybe not on silver platters, but at the very least on china-ish dishes. College (or any of my education, really), a place to live, food, my car, my cell phone...I haven't worked a whole lot to get what I have. One of my fears is that I will not be able to have "what I'm used to" and still be able to live on my own.
Another fear is failure.
I am so afraid to fail that it keeps me stuck in one place, in stasis, like I can't go anywhere or do anything with my life. I'm so afraid that no one will be there to catch me when I fall, despite the fact that I have a great support system, without whom I'd be lost. I'm so afraid to fail that it keeps me from even trying. I can be independent; I know instinctively that I need to be. It's just a part of the whole "growing up" thing. I'm too stubborn not to try, but too afraid of having nowhere to go if I fail.
So, hopefully someday soon, I'll be able to say the war for my independence is won. I may not be on my own yet, but just wait. I hope that by this time next year, I'll be able to say, "I have a place of my own." That's my goal.
But freedom comes with a lot of fears for me, too. I'm not spoiled, but I'll freely admit I've had a lot handed to me; maybe not on silver platters, but at the very least on china-ish dishes. College (or any of my education, really), a place to live, food, my car, my cell phone...I haven't worked a whole lot to get what I have. One of my fears is that I will not be able to have "what I'm used to" and still be able to live on my own.
Another fear is failure.
I am so afraid to fail that it keeps me stuck in one place, in stasis, like I can't go anywhere or do anything with my life. I'm so afraid that no one will be there to catch me when I fall, despite the fact that I have a great support system, without whom I'd be lost. I'm so afraid to fail that it keeps me from even trying. I can be independent; I know instinctively that I need to be. It's just a part of the whole "growing up" thing. I'm too stubborn not to try, but too afraid of having nowhere to go if I fail.
So, hopefully someday soon, I'll be able to say the war for my independence is won. I may not be on my own yet, but just wait. I hope that by this time next year, I'll be able to say, "I have a place of my own." That's my goal.
May 16, 2011
Well, here goes a new adventure...
Everyone who knows me well enough knows I'm a writer. I love to journal before bed each night. I'm an English minor. I can write 12-page papers like a specialty bakery bakes wedding cakes. I come up with some really crazy stories and characters.
So, naturally, I should have had a blog a long time before now. Not saying it wasn't coming. It just took me awhile to get here. While I love writing, sometimes it's hard for me to share my thoughts with others (unless, of course, I'm assigned to for school). Well, I hope this cures me of it. I really want to try to get out of my comfort zone this summer. I'm going to write about whatever I feel like on here, whatever is in my "realm" of ideas. Hence the name for the blog.
And I know some of you are probably thinking, "Why phoenix?" Here's why:
So, naturally, I should have had a blog a long time before now. Not saying it wasn't coming. It just took me awhile to get here. While I love writing, sometimes it's hard for me to share my thoughts with others (unless, of course, I'm assigned to for school). Well, I hope this cures me of it. I really want to try to get out of my comfort zone this summer. I'm going to write about whatever I feel like on here, whatever is in my "realm" of ideas. Hence the name for the blog.
And I know some of you are probably thinking, "Why phoenix?" Here's why:
- It's a symbol of rebirth and renewal. I've been going through a lot of that in my relatively short lifespan.
- It's a fire-bird. I'm not a pyro or anything (in fact I used to be deathly afraid of fire), but I think the idea of the phoenix as an embodiment of fire and flight is pretty cool.
- They are a staple of mythology, which is one of my favorite subjects.
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