Take Your Time...

...and let's remember how fortunate we all are to be alive.

Let's all take a moment to think of every single person around us. Every person we walk by on the street is going through something difficult that we are unaware of. There is no one in this world who has nothing he or she is struggling with. Yes, we can all be GENUINELY happy but still have more negative thoughts going on in our heads that may never see the light of day.

You never know how much one interaction or even a smile can become a memorable moment in someone else's life. SO LET'S DO THAT!!!

Toodle-oo!!!

RY

Even Teachers

In celebration of school starting, watch this video of teachers from a school district in Iowa singing a parody of One Day More from Les Miserables about school starting! 

Dat Writer Life Tho

Dating a writer is pretty cool. Is that a good enough adjective? Super cool? Hella cool? I don’t know.. I’m not as advanced of a walking dictionary like he is. But yes, it’s cool to witness the full writing process from a little lightbulb idea to a full-length novel. Before all this, I knew that writing wasn’t simply sitting by the beach sipping a daiquiri with a leather-bound journal, but I suppose I never fully realized the heavy lifting that aspiring authors put themselves through to even have a small glimpse of success on the other end.

It’s not something I used to really think about – when I walked through a Barnes and Noble, I saw zillions of books on the shelves; enough to make it seem like publishing a book is easier done than said. Now, after plenty of lengthy conversations with my writer-boyfriend, I’ve been schooled with a host of do’s and don’ts for writers, long lists of potential barriers, and an inside view of what makes a writer’s mind tick. It’s absolutely fascinating to stand on the brink between the unaware outsider and the life of a budding writer. All of his successes and insecurities become my successes and insecurities, and all I can really do is keep believing in him – which isn’t too hard because he’s the best doggone writer I’ve ever seen (and no, I’m not biased….).

I think the most interesting thing about all this is watching him try to balance his life and make time for everything even when all he wants to do is sit at his desk and pour all of his ideas onto a page. He does a good job – sometimes he needs a pep talk to get him to breathe some fresh air outdoors, but he really is good about knowing that the real world needs him just as much as his characters’ worlds.

All this is to say, I can’t wait to see where his dreams take him. He spends hours and hours researching what he should expect and what will get him further in the industry. He spends even MORE hours creating complex worlds in his stories and tweaking them to make them perfect for him. He’ll probably get super embarrassed that I’ve said all this so I think I’m going to stop now……..

Tooooooooodles

RY

Cheers!!!!

TO A NEW SCHOOL YEAR!!! I wish I were participating. I miss having all my friends live an arm's-throw away and sleeping on that tiny bed. Cherish it!!!! HAVE FUN!!!! DO GOOD THINGS!!!! I'll see you on the other side!


Oh and don't forget to prepare something good for this...

Toodley doo

RY

SCHOOL school sChOol

School is about to start! I'm ready to have a schedule again. I've only been truly on vacation for a week, after taking summer classes, working with a camp, and working with a pre-orientation program, but just this one week has given me way too much free time. 

My schedule is pretty light academic-wise, but heavy as it always is in extracurriculars. I'm taking Chinese, Chinese Literature, and Psychology Research Methods I. Also taking orchestra, wind ensemble, clarinet quartet, and woodwind quintet, and participating in Taekwondo Club, LIT Dance Crew, and working in a Psych research lab. So while most people are done with classes at 3:00 or so on most days, I go until 5, 6, or 7. Hooray, the life of a musician :P Rae-Yao and I have spent many school days in evening rehearsals, auditions, practice rooms, etc. etc. It's definitely a love-hate relationship. 

Speaking of practicing, both LIT and Taekwondo have performances already--tomorrow and Tuesday. Go Wake Forest for planning events before the performance groups on campus have time to do anything at all....

I've moved back into the dorm, I'm with my suite of 5 other friends, I have a few days to relax and prepare for school and mooch off of freshman orientation free stuff. I'm ready :)

Online Haters

Anyone who creates content to put online is putting themselves out there - any person can view their stuff and form an opinion about it. I do it too! I go down YouTube black holes all the time until I'm watching rabbits bouncing on trampolines....:P Every single person on this earth has the right to their own opinion about what they see on the internet. Today, I want to address the internet HATERZ. 

Y U Hate So MUCH???

I mean, there are plenty of times when I watch a well-thought-out video or read a nicely written blog post, but still completely disagree with the content. Sometimes I think the content is straight-up dumb, but you know what? My life goes on. I click off of it and move on to the next potentially time-wasting video. If I feel strongly about something, then I will really think about the creator/writer's intentions and why I personally think it has affected me in that way. My response is something constructive and addresses multiple sides of what could be going on there.

I follow a lot of Youtube creators who constantly are bombarded with haters who comment on their videos behind the veil of anonymity and harshly judge every aspect of their lives. People can be so cruel online and they express their opinions in the most devastatingly demeaning and judgmental ways. WHAT'S THE POINT??? These are human beings you are talking about, and chances are, they are reading your comments! If you don't like something they are creating online, then click away and move on!! Or at least think about why you don't like something and form a constructive response for them to consider for future content. 

You just never know what's going on in someone else's life, and you never know if they are close to their tipping point, even if they appear to share their entire lives online. You don't want to be that last straw. Cyber bullying, man. That is a whole 'nother subject in itself...

Toodlekins 

RY

Hummus

I love hummus. Hummus is like healthy ranch. I like to dip tomatoes in it because I try to stay away from bread products, but I bought a box of cherry tomatoes from Costco and now I have too many tomatoes and they're ripening too fast help me