Pages From My Journal

I love words. That makes me a wizard. That makes me a superhero. That makes me a builder. That makes me a collector. That makes me an artist. Words give me my own magic. Words give me my own power. Words give me my own tools. Words give me my own treasures. Words give me my own masterpieces. Then, my spells can help ... or hurt.  Then, my powers can save ... or damage. Then, my tools can build ... or destroy. Then, my treasures can encourage ... or enrage  Then, my art can lift ... or bury. If words are magic, If words are a superpower, If words are a treasure, What side am I on?    ~Alyson   (P.S. This post may or may not be connected to the fact Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes out on Friday : ) Can't wait!)

          I hate poetry.       That's not a joke. I despised learning about classic poets, meter, similes, and everything else my mom felt was important for me to learn.             The only time I enjoyed reading poetry was before I knew what it was. I remember when I was a little girl around the age of six. I found a worn, green hardback book stuffed on one of the many bookshelves in our basement. It was my mom's copy of  A Child's Garden of Verses  by Robert Louis Stevenson when she was a little girl. These poems brought me to a place where my imagination could think of anything it wanted. I loved the feeling those poems brought. I didn't have to know why made the poem make me happy. I just knew it did.             Once, I had to learn the structure behind the words, the rules behind the sound, and the supposed intentions behind the writers...

Proverbs 23:18 Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. ~      This verse hangs in my room. I'm a busy girl. I love to do so many things. I want to do a lot. Sometimes, we need to make the decision to put some things on pause. The good things don't have to end, but there are times where they have to wait.      Take it one day at a time. ~Alyson

       Though, I don't feel God calling me to teach in the classroom, He has given me a passion for teaching. In the future, I would love to go in to archeology and become a museum curator. Museums present a different and dwindling style of learning.       For now, I'm a teachers' aide at a preschool, a Creative Writing teacher to two fourth grade homeschool students, and a Sunday School and Children's Church teacher at my church. Even this blog has become a way for me to tell others what I've learned.      Through teaching others, I've learned more than I ever thought I would.  I don't know as much as I thought I did-  There have been countless times where a child asked me a question and my response was, "I don't really know." I know a lot, but I will never understand everything. It would be easy to say, "Well, if I can never know everything, why learn." But, the kids also reminded me that it's exci...

                          Coming off Captives, I was excited to read Outcasts. Jill set up amazing conflicts and characters in book one and kept them going in book two.              One of my favorite aspects of this book was the value of life. I loved the way the characters fought for the lives they loved and even the ones they didn’t. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that there were times were killing would have been appropriate, but the characters chose not to. They saved lives without ending others.              The beginning of the story was a little slow. It seemed harder to get into the story than book one, but I’ve read much slower stories. By the last third of the book, I couldn’t put it down.      ...

     This year was crazy, insane, enjoyable, busy, creative, productive. Each month had its adventures. Each week had its moments. Each hour had its feelings. I know I'm not the same person as I was last January. God was with me every month, week, and hour.  A handful of friends joined me for a hiking trip for my 16th birthday. On this blog, you've seen a   little bit of my life .  Last December - I explained my views of goals and made some for my writing .   January - I decided to smile to start off the year .   February - My oldest foster brother gave his life to God.   March - I suddenly had to say goodbye to my three year old foster sister. For the next three months, I saw her scarcely. For the next six months after that, I saw her once.            - I also found out I had a digestive disorder/Gluten intolerance. This would be a new challenge for me.  ...

  I can't post a picture of my foster sister, but I can post a picture of  her favorite character : ) I've grown up watching Hallmark Christmas movies and enjoying how they made me laugh and cry. As I got older, I began to despise the stories. Predictable, unrealistic, sappy. Lives intertwine right around around Christmas time. Kids repair broken marriages. Letters mend hearts. Timing always works out. "Christmas Miracles" never seemed real or probable because of those movies.  My foster sister left our home 9 months ago. For the last 6 months she has been almost completely out of touch. I've only seen her once. I never expected to see her again. She was gone. We weren't her home anymore.  Two weeks ago, I was driving into the parking lot of a funeral. A friend of mine got hit by a car crossing the street after youth group the week before. I was sad, but then all of a sudden, I get a text from my mom. "B is coming here toni...