Today's the day! Paper Thoughts is celebrating one year of life! To be honest, I had forgotten about this very important milestone in a blogger's life until about three days ago, so I don't have anything special planned. I do want to take a moment though to say thank you to everyone that has made this year so much better than I ever thought it could or would be.
First up is Gill Harrison from Ink Paper Pen. Gill was the very first person to visit my blog and leave a comment, and I won't ever forget how encouraging that was, especially since I was still being a Secret Squirrel (as Gill likes to call it) about my writing. I had never showed anyone my writing besides my sister, so putting it out there and receiving a comment from a writer like Gill was major. Also, thanks to her blog I was able to have my first experience with a supportive writing community, and met lots of cool cats who helped my blog grow. Thank you Gill!!!!
Next is the lovely people who keep Poets United alive. I didn't feel like a poet when I first joined this amazing community, but all the support and words of encouragement certainly make me think I am! Thank you so much for hosting a place for us to share our poems, and for all the work that you put into the daily posts that help us in our writing!!!
And where would I be without my readers? A special thanks to Abin, Grace/Heaven, Mikhael, Mary, Sarah Mac who encouraged me in my early days, and last but not least Sherry. You all brighten my blogging days. Thanks a million for stopping by every week to read my work!!!
This final thank you is for the two people outside the blogging world who had a hand in getting me to where I am today. A huge, huge thank you to my sister for making me learn how to write a proper five paragraph essay. Without that, I never would have made it into Mrs. Stanley's English 1 Advanced class. Before I go on to thank Mrs. Stanley, I also want to say thank you for the oodles of encouragement that only sisters know how to give!
Ah, Mrs. Stanley. I remember the day I had to write a poem for her class, and consequently had to give my previous failure another go. If not for this assignment, I never would have pursued poetry. A huge thank you for always pushing me and believing that I could do better. Since then, English has been my favorite subject. I won't ever forget that class!
Thanks to everyone that has joined me on my writing journey! You all have made this year incredible!! Here is some delicious Batman (my hero!) birthday cake for you :D.
Ah it's good to be home! Home, of course, being this little corner of the world where I have the privilege of sharing my work :). I've been busy with preparations for my graduation and working out the next step. I'm excited and nervous, but I suppose I'm not the only one.
Besides being really busy, I caught some sort of infection that left me like this:
I'm in the recovery process but I'm not quite to the peachy stage. According to the doctor all I needed to cure my fever, headaches, and general discomfort was some sleep.
I've missed writing poetry in all the mayhem and visiting everyone in the Poetry Pantry. I think of you every Sunday even if I'm not linking up! I have a couple of poems that managed to get written in all the shuffle so hopefully I'll join in this Sunday.
It's been so long since I posted! I've been having a dry spell in which I tried to write but came up empty. While I sat at my desk squeezing the life out of words that wouldn't get along with each other I reached the big one-eight, which inevitably led to a gazillion dinner dates (comes with the territory of having a large family and indivdually going out with them to have an officially grown-up talk), moments in which I tried to make myself feel like an adult, panic attacks at my failure to do so, and trying to quit thinking I'm still a teenager (technically I am but you know what I mean). Did I mention I don't feel like an adult at all? Frankly that scares me because I feel as if I should go do something important. It's sad really. I hate to say it but I wish I could rewind to my thirteenth birthday. So, my wise advice to everybody is: Don't do what I did and realize too late that the time between 13 and 18 is a time to sow not reap.
Regarding my dry spell, I keep telling myself, "I will participate in Write on Wednesday this week. I will!" And then I never do. Then I tell myself, "Saturday is coming, get a move on your OSI poem!." But Saturday comes and goes and no poem. I could go on and on about the things I meant to write that never became a reality but what's the point? Anyway, I edited some old stuff (ok maybe it was just one paragraph) that I hope counts as writing (it's part of the process no?), but other than that I wrote nothing new.This thing that comes on a whim isn't really writers' block. I've had that before and it's different. No, this is more like I-have-an-idea-and-a-billion-days-later-I-still-haven't-been-able-to-put-it-to-paper. It's a real disease, I swear.
Now for a few facts about me :)
* Christian (John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me)
* advocate for the fatherless, the widow, and those who cannot speak for themselves (Job 29, Isaiah 58)
* 17 (I still feel like a little kid)
* Senior in high school (unsure about the future)
* home-schooled (so I can completely control my schedule)
* not American (a little browner than you :D)
* music lover
* almost vegetarian (I eat meat when there's nothing else to munch on)
* a conundrum (I have motley tastes)
* indecisive
* short (it makes me stand out ;p)
* extremely forgetful (when asked my age my first answer is 13 <.<)
These will do for now until I have time to think of some more. Keep dreaming until next time!
I realize this post is way overdue, and since I am in danger of using a cliche (better late than never), I will go ahead and simply excuse myself by saying that I have been busy with a project and have therefore neglected to make myself known to my readers.
Poetry is something that I started dabbling in when I was eight, but left off after a few failed attempts. It wasn't until my freshman year that an assignment from my English teacher (who by the way has been my greatest encouragement in the writing field outside of my family) prompted me to start once again. Since then I have looked for poetry wherever I could find it, and use it as my primary way to express myself.
The subjects in my poetry are very personal and intricately connected to my life. I usually write after an event that stands out to me, listening to a good song, or reading a good book. Many people that I have interacted with have also made it into my poetry.
Of course, poetry is not all I write. I love writing essays, starting and never finishing short stories, and journaling. I am very loose in my structure, and at times come off as being grammatically (or poetically) incorrect. I feel that structure ties me down and doesn't let me freely express myself. Also, I only write formally when writing a paper for school.
My time is up and I must now finish my mundane household tasks. Until next time, which will hopefully include something other than information about my writing, keep inspiring yourself to reach greater heights in whatever it is you are interested in.
