Pages From My Journal

I've finished a full week of classes here at college and my brain still hurts a little from everything I'm supposed to remember. As a person who needs to "do" things to feel productive, these lists help me relaxed and know that I am doing things, different things. I'm enjoying my time and being productive. These lists help me remember that.         New Things I've Tried Swing dancing. I've done it once before with my friend Hannah Coker. Many of the moves were brand new to me and it was fun to do lifts, dips, and twirls on the floor. Belaying rock climbing. Last week, I got certified to belay rock climbers, and I look forward to spending more time climbing. Things I Enjoy About Classes The discussions in Politics and American Culture The concepts that stretch your brain in Philosophy The foreign film I had to watch for Composition and ended up loving The unity of the students in speech class What I'm Looking Forward...

    Tomorrow I turn 18. I become an adult. But, I really don't know what this means. Tomorrow doesn't seem like a life changing event, different from every other birthday. It will be a Wednesday. I'll go to work, clean silverware for an hour, go to chapel, study, eat lunch with my sister, sit in philosophy class, and study until the sun goes down. The only thing that immediately changes in my life is that I can sign my own paperwork, more specifically, the rock climbing waiver. People think I am a child all the time. I have a little frame and only stand 5.2." A few weeks ago, my family was eating at Red Robin and the waitress looked horrified when she got down to my side of the table and admitted that she had thought I was kid and that she would get me an adult size glass of water. I've also been confused for a twenty something year old. This often happens when I'm working or attending a writer's conference. Maybe people think I...

I love adventures. That's why I took a solo train trip to Virginia this past spring. That's why I love to hike and climb and camp in new places. That's why I was excited for my family to start fostering. College is the next big adventure for me. This week is my first full week at Cedarville University. I'm so excited for what God is going to teach me in class and in chapel. I'm still writing. I have moved onto another WIP that I'm excited to rewrite. Poetry will still happen when I have the words. Fun fact: I added up all my random poems, and I have 15 poems. This blows my mind because I don't have a natural love for poetry. I'm majoring in History and Biblical Studies, which means I'll be spending a lot of time reading and writing. Not a terrible thing for me to spend my time doing. It's what I love. It's what I feel God calling me to do with my life. But in the midst of these little bits, I'm moving onto one big stage, one big ad...

            My life is moving a thousand miles an hour lately, and my brain is thinking in fragments. Today’s post is a list because I’m struggling with full sentences. Thoughts that have been keeping me awake at night:             ~ I’m going to college.             ~ My family will be 8 hours from me.             ~ I’ve never been so excited for new adventures.             ~ Wouldn’t it be nice to travel to new places?             ~ I need to make new friends. Things I’ve been reading:             ~ I’ve been trying to read Go Set a Watchmen by Harper Lee in my spare time. ...

For the next few Wednesdays, I'm going to be doing a guest writer feature called The Wonder of the Writer's Place. Each week, a teen writer will introduce you to their favorite writing place and why they find this place important to them. I hope you learn and find encouragement in what each one of these writers have to say. Today, I'd like to welcome Amanda Brown to my blog.             ~~~                 Describe briefly your favorite place to write.             On my computer in my bedroom.             Why do you find this place important to you? It’s comfortable, and I have a big window off to one side that I can look out of when describing nature or when the computer screen is just taxing my eyes.    ...

I packed up my life today, Zipped it in a duffle. I'll miss this place, These people, and memories-- --all the memories. Tears are a part of our existence, I know, so I'll bring them too, But I tucked my smiles right beside. Plastic bags are helpful. They keep the scars contained, From getting everything else messy. I considered leaving the nightmares, But if I keep them with me, My life will always be a dream. I've carried fear and anger before, But they weigh the bag down, Cause it to rip and spill me All over the concrete. Today, for the first time, They will not join my journey. I've "moved on" countless times, And each time, my bag looks different. I packed up my life today, Zipped it in a duffle. Tomorrow is an adventure. ~Alyson Moving onto college on Thursday! ***

For the next few Wednesdays, I'm going to be doing a guest writer feature called The Wonder of the Writer's Place. Each week, a teen writer will introduce you to their favorite writing place and why they find this place important to them. I hope you learn and find encouragement in what each one of these writers have to say. Today, I'd like to welcome Andrea Salvador to my blog.             ~~~     Describe briefly your favorite place to write. This may sound so boring, but yes, my writing place is my desk. It's a remodeled version of my late grandfather's own desk. And yes, it's really messy. Awhile back, I had Post-It notes pasted around the desk, but I took them off due to their distraction.              Why do you find this place important to you? I think I consider it important to me because it's my desk, it's my own place, and it's where m...

We don't live in a question and answer world. We live. We react to problems, take action in certain events. The way we live, act, react, speak, shut up, and even help people are huge part of who we are. In order to truly get to know our characters, we need to go beyond the fill-in-the-blank worksheets. As writers, we need to completely uncover what makes are characters who they are, and if there is no depth, then it's our job to create it.        I s your main character "normal" enough to relate to your reader? Data from Star Trek The Next Generation was unlike all the characters in the show because he was an android, but he faced normal struggles that helped viewers relate to him. Although not human, he was enough life one to be a likable character. Does your main character have a unique element, a curiosity factor to keep your reader interested? Data wanted to know what it was like to be human. This makes viewers ...

          I just finished my third summer working at New Life Island. This summer, I was employed as the assistant cook, and it was a huge learning experience for me. Though it was a rough summer at times, I have no doubt that spending the summer at camp was the greatest thing I could have done.   The woman in the middle was head cook and the other three were our kitchen crew. Me and the counselor of the cabin I lived in. Picture simply documenting that I got to climb on the counters to clean the walls : ) ·          You get to live in a new culture. Believe it or not, camp is not a vacation or getaway. Camp is a new culture, a way of life. You get dunked into this new place, new world, new lifestyle without any time to wade in slowly. And just like a trip to a new country, camp changes people. Camp also changes you. The motto of the camp I work at is "No One Lea...