Could it Be?

For today’s post I have decided to share a list of the things I have been reminded of and learned about myself in this past week. Here it goes:

1. I am far more creative than I give myself credit for.
2. I shouldn’t try to force people into my future because sometimes you meet people, they become part of your life, and then at some point they are supposed to stay in the past.
3. I can make a trash bag and some packaging tape stylish.
4. I really do enjoy reading even though I complain about reading all the time.
5. I have a couple extraordinary friends in my life.
6. I have a passion for people who don’t want others to care about them.
7. I give people the benefit of the doubt even when they do not deserve it (which can turn out bad for me).
8. It kills me to see people not giving their all.
9. I absolutely love snack packs straight out of the fridge.
10. I would rather have a million things on a to-do list than have a “nice relaxing day to myself.”

As you can see, I have learned/ remembered quite a bit about myself this week. I feel like I am at such a crazy part of my life. They really weren’t kidding when they said you change a lot in college. My whole way of thinking is drastically different than when I began college August of 2009. It doesn’t seem like it has been that long but I have done a lot of changing and hopefully growing up since I came to LCSC.

The Land

Well it is 11:26pm and I am about to crack open a new book. This time I am reading The Land by Mildred D. Taylor. I have never read any of her books before so I hope this is good. I love it that my homework this semester keeps turning out to be things that I actually somewhat enjoy. I really thought I was going to hate blogging but it turns out that I kind of like just spilling out my random thoughts at the end of the day. This one is going to be short though because I have class at 8am and as I said before, I am about to start a new book. If I get hooked this could end up being a later night than expected. NIGHT!!!!

Say Hey it's a Good Day

Today is a good day. One of my very best friends from high school is visiting me this weekend. His name is Bryan. Bryan and I played mixed doubles in a bunch of school tournaments when we were in high school. Mixed doubles is where each doubles team is composed of a male partner and a female partner. Bryan now plays for Spokane Falls Community College.

We started the day off by having way too big of a breakfast at Waffles and More. Man I love that place. We then went shopping at the “mall” to buy one of my other best friends a birthday present. She attends the Art Institute of Seattle so I will have to ship it to her. The residents are all able to go bowling for free tonight so I think we are going to hit that up after I take Bryan to Pita Pit for the first time in his life. Then I think we will go see a movie at the dollar theater. Got to love free and virtually free events!

I am so lucky to have such great friends from home! I feel like I should mention that so far, practically everything Bryan and I have done together since he got here yesterday has been done to Taylor Swift tunes. As I said before…. It is a good day J

The Spoken Word

The spoken word is often flawed; we forget what we were saying, state facts incorrectly that get passed on further than we know, and pass beliefs off as ultimate truths. We also speak too soon far too often. We hurt feelings. If harsh words are spoken many try to forgive and forget.

Once something is said it cannot be taken back. With writing things are different. You can produce sentences and then perfect them for as long as you want. That way you can check your facts and have extra time to think about if what you have to say is truly worth saying.

The thing about writing, however, is that once published, it is almost impossible to take the words back. Writing also has the potential to be exposed to a much larger audience than words that are spoken. Spoken words can never be recreated in the exact same way as the original. Written words on the other hand can last for centuries in the same state as first published.

I find that people are much more critical about what they write than what they say. Because of this, there are often things written that obtain a higher quality than things spoken by the same person.

The Written Word

As I was reading my book today I realized that printed words affect me in a great way. I have so many conversations each day but the words that really hit me are the ones I read. I began to ponder reasons why this may be the case.

The written word has far greater impact on me than the spoken word. The spoken word can become lost in translation so easily. When words are spoken, their meanings are influenced by the tone of which spoken and by accompanying body language of the speaker. Spoken word is also often changed over time or completely forgotten.

Stay tuned for more of my thoughts on this subject. It is turning out to be more complex than I had imagined.

Productivity

Well it has been a productive day today… NOT! I woke up “this morning” at 2pm and ate some oatmeal. Behind cranking out some science homework and reading part of my book, eating oatmeal was the most productive thing I have done. It is odd how I always find myself wishing to be busy when I have nothing going on, yet I wish to be doing less whenever I am busy.

I would have to suggest that anyone who is interested in young adult literature should read the book Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. I am about 75 pages into it and it is very well written. I love it when books I have to read for class turn out to be books that I end up reading for fun.

I am almost certain that my next “productive” activity for today is going to be watching the Australian Open. If you have never really watched Tennis you should tune in for a few minutes.  I sure wish there was a way to earn credits in college for watching tennis.

As I have started making this blog part of my routine I have noticed I actually like the idea of sharing my thoughts. I love to talk and sometimes feel I am talking somebody’s ear off. It is nice to blog because if a person thinks I am talking too much they can just go to a different page while I have still been able to say whatever is on my mind.  That is all for tonight J Buenos noches amigos!!

An Interesting Day

It has turned out to be a very long day. It all began with my alarm clock squawking at me at 10:15am (rough life right?). Then I spent a lovely hour alone in the training room doing rehab exercises on my knee. I then went to the tennis center for our first two home tennis matches. Our head coach was traveling to Spokane with our men’s team so our assistant coach took over. Our coach decided that the assistant would then need an assistant and he decided that assistant would be me. Immediate pressure!

My job as the assistant was easy and complicated at the same time. I basically ended up spending a lot of time on the computer creating attachments to send to the Lewiston Tribune via email. I’m sure this sounds simple but I am so bad with technology that it shocks me in itself that I was able to create this blog!

Well, we didn’t end up winning either of our matches but I was very impressed with the play of my teammates. The teams we played today were both NCAA Division 1 and were very tough. Alright that’s all I have to say for the night!

As I have been racking my brain, thinking about my next post, what I should write, and how to be somewhat interesting, I figured that we have our text book for a reason. I might as well use it right? I like to be somewhat spontaneous so I decided to crack the book open and use something from whatever random page I ended up on. PERFECT!!!! I can work with this J

 I am in chapter 11 of the Painter text. The line I have decided to work with is on pg. 48 and states: “We can all be writers; just what kind of writer is up to you.” This is so true. If you asked me a few days ago if I were a writer, I would certainly have told you no. My answer today would be, “Aren’t we all writers?”

The time we first got a writing utensil in our hand we became writers. Some had a tendency of being a “wall writer” others were very good at writing scribbles on paper. Then as we got older things began to change. Some began pursue writing as a career, some people only use writing to sign their names on the bottom of receipts, and others, such as myself, write when points are on the line or when we want to come up with a genius Facebook status.

Whatever kind of writing we do doesn’t matter; we are still writing. I don’t know about any of you reading this blog, but I have spent quality time perfecting those Facebook statuses. It is really quite the challenge when you think about it. I only have 420 characters to, often times, fit 3,000 characters of thought and feelings into. If you ask me, that takes some serious skill.

I guess my point is that it doesn’t matter if you are recognized as a writer or not. If you want to write then write J Write about the things you want to write about. Most likely, especially if you are in school, you are going to write about some things that don’t really interest you. Don’t let those occasions keep you form the type of writing you would enjoy.  

A Piece of the Past

Growing up I enjoyed writing more than reading. I loved it when the teacher would start the paper with something like : "I was on my way to the bus stop when I noticed a secret door in the oak tree on the corner. When I opened the door I was shocked to find.... (finish story)." I think it was the novelty of being able to write whatever was in my imagination. It seemed the crazier my imagination, the more my teacher liked my work.

Over the course of my education, previous to graduating high school, there were endless amounts of papers to write. I can barely remember any of those papers. The only ones that actually stick out in my head are the ones that had very little structure; the times when I could write about something that I actually cared about. Those were the papers I put the most effort into, just because I got to be in control. Looking back, I really wish someone had encouraged me to write more of those super imaginative stories when I was younger.

Sometimes you Gotta Wing It

Hey everyone, my name is Erica. I am currently a sophomore pursuing a degree in Elementary Education. I am also working toward a reading minor. I have just finished up the application process to get into the Education program so cross your fingers for me! I am a member of the Women's Tennis team here at LCSC. We kick off the season with an away match against WSU on Jan. 21st so my life is about to get a lot busier. Along with playing on the tennis team I also work in the Tennis Center office and teach lessons, 4 days a week, to all different age groups.

To be honest, I have no idea what this blog is going to be about. I am currently just winging it hoping to get the hang of it along the journy of the semester. Realisticly speaking, I would have never created a blog without it being mandatory for a grade.

In my opinion, reading and writing go hand in hand. I would like to share some of my experiences with reading to create a partial understanding of where I am coming from.

My favorite book of all time is Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss if I am being honest. I like to read but don’t have a favorite style or author. The book just needs to hold my attention. I was read to as a child by my parents and older sister but I struggled for a long time with reading. I honestly would have told you I hated reading all the way through junior high and high school. My older sister is very competitive and she was naturally a very talented reader. She could read faster than me, at a higher level than me, and she learned how to read earlier than I had. I remember feeling pretty dumb when I would read so I often found other things to fill my time. I began to look at reading differently when I took Children’s Literature here at LCSC.I am completely fascinated with children’s literature and the rate of improvement of cognitive development in relation to literature in children.
This is a recent photo of my two sisters and I on Christmas. My older sister Erin is on the far left. She is the one who always kicked my butt in reading. My younger, though tallest, sister Dana is in the middle. As you probably already guessed, I am on the far right. If you ever see me around campus I can almost guarantee you that I will not look this dressed up :)

Please let me know any suggestions you may have for my blog!!