Happy Fourth of July!

Hello everyone, and Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Summer so far. I've been taking a much-needed break from my blog lately, as you may have noticed. I would tell you I've been busy, but that's not true since all I've really been doing is watching Psych and reading Artemis Fowl. I really just needed a bit of a vacation from my blog. But I'm back now, so hopefully I'll get back to my regular blogging schedule! I wish you all a happy Fourth of July, and enjoy your weekend!

Random Writing

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I missed last Friday's post. My final English project was due that weekend, and I had to spend a lot of time working on it. But I'm back now!

And I have nothing planned. Again.

Well, I was taking a look around my blog the other day, and I realized it could probably use some cleaning up. I haven't been updating my Writing and Sketchbook pages as often as I should be, but I'm definitely putting that on my list for the summer.

Let's see, are there any interesting stories I can tell you? ...Nope, sorry. Other than finals this week, I've been working with the role-play writing club in my school so that we can finish up our story for this year, I've been watching an unhealthy amount of Warehouse 13 and Doctor Who, and I've been writing a lot.

I suppose, then, I could share some of my writing with you. It has been a while, after all. Not all of these are my best work, but they're some things I've been working on recently. Enjoy!

Silent Stories - A poem (?) that takes place in a library. Poetry isn't my forte, but I feel like this one turned out pretty well.
Solitary - This is one of longer things I've written lately. It's a dystopia where people have been forced to live alone to stop the spread of contagious diseases.
Your Imaginary Friend - A short story written from the perspective of a child's imaginary friend. I still have to go through this and edit it a bit, but it's one of the most recent things I've written and I thought I'd share it.

Well, this post turned out to more random than anything else, but hey, I did post! Anyway, I'll be back next Friday! Until then!

Singers with Amazing Voices

As you've probably noticed from reading my blog, I really like listening to music. The other day, I was thinking and I was trying to figure out who my favorite vocalists are, and so I compiled a list. Not all of them are sing lead, but all of them have amazing voices, and their music is really worth checking out!

(On an extremely coincidental note, I'm watching The Five on TV and they're doing a segment on their favorite singers. Weird, right?)

Jen Ledger
Band(s): Skillet
Notable Songs: "Salvation," "Fire and Fury," "Hero," and "Yours to Hold [Live]"
While Jen isn't the lead vocalist for Skillet (John Cooper is), she has contributed her beautiful voice to many Skillet's songs. She normally plays the drums, but since she joined the band in 2008, she has sung on more than ten different songs. She is an incredible drummer as well, which is especially noticeable at Skillet's live shows.
She's also British. 

 


Stephen Christian
Band(s): Anberlin, Anchor & Braille
Notable Songs: "Alexithymia," "Self-Starter," "City Electric," and "Readyfuels"
Stephen has been the lead vocalist for Anberlin since it was founded in 2002, and for his acoustic side project Anchor & Braille since 2004. He has an incredible and elegant voice, and it's just really... mesmerizing. He's also written a book, The Orphaned Anything's, and started a non-profit
organization, Faceless International.

Five Awesome Websites for Writers

I probably could've come up with more than five, but I didn't want to bore you too much.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post called, "Writing Stuff is Hard." And it is. However, as some of you may be aware, I run a fiction writing club in my school called the Writer's Nook, which meets online every other Friday. As the leader, I have compiled a list of websites that have helped me with my writing, and I thought I'd share some with you today.








1. Writer's Digest
This website has a lot of amazing stuff. Weekly writing prompts, a free e-mail newsletter, contests, and tons of articles about all things writing. If you have questions about publishing or finding an agent, Writer's Digest has a lot of helpful tips and how-to's for that. There are also plenty of things about writer's block, writing dialogue, almost anything you can imagine. The website covers a lot of genres, from romance to sci-fi. I really recommend you at least check it out, but the e-mail newsletter is totally worth subscribing to as well.

2. Helping Writers Become Authors
This website is somewhat similar to Writer's Digest in that it provides a lot of articles for help in different areas of writing.  However, it is a little different, so I encourage you to check this one out as well.

New Camera

Hello readers! I'm sorry to announce that I don't have much time to write this week, since I've had two English essays due, and one of them is giving me a rather hard time. But I still have a post for you this week, though it's more pictures than writing.

I turned sixteen on Monday (May 5), and my parents bought me a new DSLR camera for my birthday. It's a Canon T3i, and so far, I'm enjoying it. I've also taken a lot of pictures with it, which you can see after the jump. Enjoy!

What to Expect at a College Fair

College fairs are scary. You walk into a big auditorium or gym or other multi-purpose room that's crowded with tables and people. You're telling me I actually have to talk to these college people? I can't just take their papers and run? What's this information card they're telling me to fill out? Did I just sell myself to Lehigh University?




Actually, college fairs aren't that bad. I was just at one this week, and it was a new experience, but it wasn't too scary. If you're planning on visiting one of these things sometime in the future though, here's my post on what to expect at a college fair.

For starters, you can expect to be asked a lot of questions. The three main ones are:

"Do you have any questions?"
If the person at the booth really has no idea what they're doing, they'll ask you this question first. I don't know why, so please don't ask me. But unless you came up with a list of specific things you want to know about each and every school you talk to, you'll probably end up answering this question with "no." The way I see it is this: You probably don't know anything about this school yet, so you have no knowledge to base your questions on. Plus, as my dad pointed out to me later, it's a bad idea to ask a closed-end question.

"Are you a junior or a senior?"
I understand wanting to know what year of high school a potential student is in, but does it always have to be junior or senior year? As some of you may already know, I'm a sophomore. So when people at college fairs ask me if I'm a junior or senior, I just feel the tiniest bit neglected. I don't mind  that people are asking me what year I'm in, but does it have to be junior or senior year?

"What are you thinking of studying?" / "What do you think you want to major in?"
This question actually isn't so bad as it is repetitive. Every person you talk to is going to ask you this question, so you should be prepared with an answer. If you haven't decided for sure what you want to study, that's okay. Even so, it's nice to at least have an idea of what you might want to do.

Click the jump for more!

Spring Cleaning -- Jewelry Organization Tips

Yep, it's that time of year again, the time when you realize you have so much stuff without a home and you need to do something about it. Actually, going off on a tangent here, but why do people call it "Spring Cleaning?" I mean, I get that Spring makes you want things to be all nice and new and clean, but why just limit it to spring?

Enough rhetorical questions - let's get down to business. 

Jewelry is one of the toughest things to organize in my opinion, because it comes in so many shapes and sizes. I always have trouble figuring out ways to store it, but I have found some solutions that might work for you! Or, at the very least, maybe they'll give you some ideas. And I'll just make a quick recommendation here - If you look for "jewelry organization" or "jewelry storage" on Pinterest, there are tons of ideas and DIYs that you can do.

Anyway, click the jump to see what I've done to keep my jewelry organized, along with some other ideas I found along the way.

Writing Stuff Is Hard

As hard as it may be to believe, I don't just sit down at my computer and words magically appear on the screen.

Okay, I didn't really mean that about myself. But I'm sure you've thought something along those lines about some of your favorite writers - "Wow, Scott Westerfeld is such an amazing author. It must be so easy for him to write stuff like this."





Allow me to let you in on a little secret: Writing is hard. Right now, you might be thinking, "Well, of course it's hard. I have to write a ten page paper for my English class by next week, and I have no idea where to start." But it's not just writing that people assign you. Even writing as a hobby is rough. Heck, even keeping up with these little posts on my is tough to do. Why is this so? I've thought about it a bit (actually, not that much, I'm sort of making this up as I go), and here's what I have to say.

Sometimes, I Just Don't Have Much To Say

People sometimes ask me why I don't talk very much. They're justified in asking, by the way, I'm not trying to put anyone down here. And it's not like I never say anything at all - There are just some situations where I'm more comfortable with speaking than others. If it's the right subject and the right situation, I could go on for hours for something. But not all the time. Sometimes, I seriously don't have anything to say.

So, if it happens that I'm with a group of people who are talking and I'm not saying much, it's really just because I don't have anything to say. It's not that I don't have anything nice to say - that's a different matter altogether - I just can't think of anything that would contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.

I don't really do "small talk," as some people call it. (Actually, I like the term "idle chitchat" better.) What I mean is, I like to be engaged in a conversation. It's not that I want to have a deep, philosophical discussion every time you call me on the phone, I just don't want to go through the motions, so to speak.

Also, it's not that I hate it when people don't include me in on their conversations. Most of the time, I perfectly happy just sitting and listening to what the people around me have to say to each other. I call it gathering ideas for writing, other people might call it eavesdropping.  Maybe it's just a writer thing, but I like to listen to others, whether they're talking to me or I just happen to be in the same room as them. The other day I found a quote about writing:

All this to say, if I'm with you and I'm not saying anything, please don't take it to mean that I'm aloof or bored. Really. I like to listen to you talk, and I feel bad if I intrude on your conversation with some random comment that barely relates. I'll contribute at some point, but in the meantime, I'll just listen.

(I hope this at least makes some degree of sense. I wrote it all out on a whim, so it might not be entirely coherent. This is just some stuff that's been on my mind lately, and I felt like I should blog about it. Thank you for reading it, and I'll see you next Friday!)

5 New Releases I Am Looking Forward To In 2014

I know it's already March, but here are five things that I'm looking forward to this year in no particular order.

The Maze Runner film - September 19
The first trailer for this movie was actually just released recently. The Maze Runner is based on the the novel of the same name, written by James Dashner. I've actually been looking forward to this one for a long time, ever since I finished reading The Maze Runner. The cast looks incredible, and the actors really look like they fit the characters they play. I can tell this is going to be a fantastic movie, and I can't wait to see it!

Lame Excuses For My Long Absence

It's been weeks since my last post. I am so, so terribly sorry about that. I got really swamped by English projects (plus other schoolwork), and my creativity was rather dead. Even so, I am sorry about not posting for almost two weeks now, I didn't mean to let this get away from me.

Also, for the time being, Creative Wednesday is being put on hold. It may come back sometime in the future, but for right now, I'm setting it aside.

That's about all I have to say right now though -- I'll be back on Friday, I promise!

Five Things That You (Probably) Didn't Know About Me

Suddenly, it's 10:45 on a Thursday night, and I have nothing written. Oops.
Anyway, I think the list kind of speaks for itself. I've compiled five fun facts about me that you most likely don't know. If you do, well, you're either a stalker, or you just know me really, really well. Anyway, here goes nothing!

1) I've injured myself in some pretty strange ways.
I mean, every time I've gone to the ER, it's for something completely abnormal. Here's a list:
- I cut my lip on some gravel
- I got a piece of a cornstalk stuck in the bottom of my foot
- I cut my forehead on my glasses
- I burned my hand on a toaster oven (although that one did not involve a trip to the hospital)
The time I cut my lip, I ended up getting two stitches (which fell out a few hours later). The cornstalk was just a small bit of it, but it managed to stick up through my sneaker and into my foot. The time I cut my forehead on my glasses is an interesting story. My friend and I collided while we were playing a game, and the frame of my glasses cut my forhead right above my eyelid. My friend was okay though, fortunately. And the toaster? Well, I reached into the back of the toaster to get something, and the back of my hand hit one of the burners. It hurt a lot.

2) I've always wanted to get my hair cut really, really short.
Like a pixie haircut, if you're familliar with the term. I've always thought really short hair was really cute, and for a long time I've wanted to get my hair cut really short. I never have though, I guess because it would be such a huge change. If I do ever decide to cut it though, I think I'm going to donate it to Locks of Love or another organizatioin like that.

3) I had a rock collection when I was a kid.
I kept it in a jewelry box with three drawers. The top one had some cheap, plastic "rocks" that were really supposed to be used for crafts, the middle one had some more everyday rocks that I thought were interesting, and the bottom one had some really smooth, polished rocks that I had gotten from gift shops. I think the collection started when my dad gave me some rocks he called "Tiger's Eye" or something like that. I'm not sure where he got them, but I remember that I really loved them and I loved to look at them a lot.

4) I fidget with stuff when I'm bored, nervous, or uncomfortable.
Okay, if you've seen me in person, you might know this already. Usually I play with my keys or my iPod, though sometimes I'll also tap my fingers or my feet or do something. I don't actually know why I do it, I guess it's just kind of a distraction for me.

5) I once read an entire book in an hour.
It wasn't like a whole hour, no breaks or anything though. The story goes like this: the book club in my school was reading the novel Frindle by Andrew Clements. Really, it was a bit young for me at the time, but it was such a good book and I encourage you to read it! Anyway, I picked up the book, which looked really thin to me, and my mom said that she bet I could read it in an hour. I set a stopwatch on my iPod, and it would count up during the time I read the book. If I took a break, I'd simply pause the timer. I did end up reading it in under an hour though, a feat I was very proud of at the time.

So there are five interesting things about me! See you next week!

Valentine's Day Songs for the Single and the Not-Single

(Okay, I didn't know what I was supposed to say there. Honestly, "Not-Single" was the best I could think of)

Ladies and gentleman, it is that time of year again! The time when flower and chocolate sales go up really high, when everything thing turns pink, and when you can't turn around without seeing something heart-shaped. Yes, I'm talking about Valentine's Day, a holiday with the sole purose of celebrating love.

Alright, full disclosure - I've never really cared for Valentine's Day. And before you write me off as a bitter teenage girl, let me explain. Usually, I just kinda saw it as an excuse to get free candy from V-Day card exchanges with my friends (of course, most of it was just bland lollipops and Fun Dip). I'm kind of too old for that now though, so this lovely holiday (pun not intended) has become pretty useless to me.

Also, I can't stand people who write stuff like "Happy Singles Day. #foreveralone"

Anyways, the point of this post was not to talk about Valentine's Day and what I think about it. The point is, I've compiled a list of songs for you to listen to this Valentine's Day, whether you're single, married, in a relationship, whatever. I'm compiled this list from my own resources (like the CD rack next to my computer).

And, as a fair warning, there are duplicate artists (for example, Flyleaf shows up once on both lists).

Click the jump to see the list!

Being Cyberschooled, Part 2

I'm back! In case you missed last Friday's post, I talked about the pros of being cyberschooled. This week, I've got the cons of cyberschooling. Are you ready? Actually, the bigger question is if I'm ready. Seriously. The School Loyalty Police might hunt me down if they read this.

Okay, not really, but let's just be honest with each other here. Every form of schooling has its drawbacks. Whether you're homeschooled, cyberschooled, or go to a public or private school, there are going to be some good parts and bad parts. Some forms work better for some people.

Anyway, that's all to say that just because I'm talking about the cons of cyberschooling, it doesn't mean I hate the system. Although it isn't perfect, it's something that works well for me, and I enjoy it. Although, between you and me, sometimes I wonder how I'd handle going to "real school." I'd probably get in trouble. A lot.

With that out of the way, the three major drawbacks of cyberschooling are after the jump!

Creative Wednesday: Katelynne

Hey all! I'm sorry that Creative Wednesday has been on a bit of a hiatus lately. But hey, it's back now!

This week, I have some poems written by my friend Katelynne, who goes to my school. I only have two to share right here, but she's an amazing writer, so you should check her out on DeviantArt too. She has a lot more poetry on there, and I encourage you to go read some of it!

So here are the poems, and I hope you enjoy!

Close your eyes By Katelynne baby just close your eyes and turn away the world is burning and there's no need for you to see just close your eyes build up your walls the world is burning and there's nothing you can do so just close your eyes turn out the lights the world is burning and if you don't see it maybe it'll all go away open your eyes look around the world is still burning closing your eyes can only hide so many lies

Sticks and Stones By Katelynne Don't tell me sticks and stones hurt more than words ever will. Don't tell me a broken bone hurts more than a broken heart. I've heard it all before don't want to hear it again Because it's wrong. Sticks and stones are just sticks and stones but words are knives, bullets, dynamite. The only difference is you can't see the damage on the inside. Can you see the Band-Aids on my heart? Put a cast on your broken leg, wait for it to heal. But put a cast on your broken heart, try to hide your brokenness from the world. You can't heal a broken heart. If someone breaks, and no one around chooses to hear, do they make a sound? Or are they drowned out by the sound of life around them? Are they dismissed as background noise by the very people who say that they care? Can you hear the sound of hearts breaking? Open your eyes take the plugs out of your ears. And choose to see the broken hearts all around you.

So there you have it! Remember to check out Katelynne's DeviantArt page, and I'll be back again on Friday!

Being Cyberschooled, Part 1

Hello everyone! I've decided to do a two-part post on being cyberschooled, which means Part 1 is this week, and Part 2 will be posted next week. So... here goes nothing!

I'm actually not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm a cyberschooler, and I have been ever since kindergarten. If you're unfamiliar with that term, it basically means that I go to a public school, but I do at home from my computer. I have online classes to be in at certain times, I have assigned things to read and projects to work on just like any other high school student. Except for the part that, well, I can do it in bed.

So this week I have the pros of being cyberschooled. Next week, the cons. Simple idea, right?

WinterJam 2014

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Last week was crazy. I had finals in some of my classes, which took up a lot of time. And then on Thursday night we went to WinterJam, so I never really got the chance to write! Anyways, about WinterJam...

If you've been following my blog, you know that I've gone to WinterJam the last two years (You can check out what I said about WinterJam 2012 here). If you haven't been following my blog or have no idea what WinterJam is, here's the condensed version. Big Christian music tour in the winter time. $10, ten bands. Pay at the door.

If that doesn't satisfy you, you can read this.

Anyway, this year, instead of paying $10 at the door, I went with my church youth group and got VIP tickets, so we could get in early and not have to wait in line. It was great because, well, it was freezing. And man, that line was long.

This year, the headliner was the Newsboys, arguably one of the most well-known names in Christian music. The other nine bands were Derek Minor, Love & The Outcome, Everfound, Colton Dixon, Newsong (they're always on the tour, since they're the band that hosts it), Plumb, Thousand Foot Krutch (my favorite!), Tenth Avenue North, and Lecrae.

Click the jump for more!

Featured on Console to Closet!

Hey guys! This is a really short post, but I wanted to share that I just got featured on the website Console to Closet. I've talked about this website before, but basically it's a blog of outfits based on video game characters. Anyway, this week an outfit I designed was featured this week as "Community Submission." It was based on the character Tetra from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Anyway, you can read the entire post on Console to Closet here, and check out my outfit on Polyvore here.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

My Ten Favorite Albums of 2013

I'll get to the point. This is a list of my ten favorite albums I listened to during 2013. Please note that this list isn't exclusive to CDs that were released during 2013. It does include a lot of new music, but there are some albums from a few years back. So... enjoy!


#10 - Dear Diary by FM Static
Notable songs - "Boy Moves Into a New Town With an Optimistic Outlook," "Man Whatcha Doin?" and "Take Me as I Am"
I've talked about Dear Diary on this blog before, but if you're not familliar with it, it is a concept album about a boy who moves to a new town and recounts the events in his diary. It's a very interesting story, and I really encourage you to give it a listen! Even better, buy the CD and read the story that some with!

#9 - The Chase by Manafest
Notable songs - "Avalanche," "Every Time You Run," and "I'm Better 'Cause of You."
I just recently started listening to Manafest, probably in the last year or so. His style is sort of a rap/hip-hop/rock kind of thing. It took a while for me to get used to, but one of my favorite musicians, Trevor McNevan, has collaborated with Manafest on many of his songs, so that got me hooked. The Chase is probably the most rock-sounding album, and I really enjoy it, so check it out!

#8 - Release The Panic by RED
Notable songs - "Release the Panic," "Hold Me Now," "Glass House."
Release The Panic was just released this year, and my brother gave it to me for my birthday. I have the special edition, which includes some remixes and other bonus songs. I really like the theme of this CD, with all the sci-fi-ness. The album art is great, by the way, and the music videos are awesome!

Creative Wednesday: Me!

Addison Sparks, the heroine
of Subject 10. Normally, she
wouldn't be dressed like this, but
in one scene, she works as a
waitress.

This... is awkward.


Let me be honest: Creative Wednesday totally came up without any warning.I was sitting on the couch making fun of a doomsday preppers show or something like that and all of a sudden I though, "Oh snap! I'm supposed to have a blog post tomorrow!" So, unfortunately, you're stuck with me. Hopefully I won't bore you to death.

I actually wasn't even sure what to post for myself, but I have a few short stories and maybe some artwork to go with it. I haven't written too much that's worthwhile lately, but as always you can check out my novel-in-progress Subject 10. If you're not familiar with it, here's the blurb (which I really should rewrite, but oh well)"

Being kidnapped at ten years old, I was confused. Scared. No--terrified. Surrounded by caged rooms, poking scientists, and menacing needles, my only thought was that I needed to get out of there. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my chance until after the “doctors” had changed me. They made me into an experiment, a science fair project known as Subject 10.   

I wasn’t alone though.

There was another boy there, my age. His name was Xavier. He was my only friend during those six years we spent at the testing facility. And, by the time we were both sixteen, we had had enough.

My name is Addison Sparks and this is my story.  

For more short stories, click the jump!

Happy (Belated) New Year!

Yes yes, I know I'm a little late to the party here, but it's only the third! I'm just a few days late. Anyway, happy new year, readers! Now that Christmas is over, I'm back to my regular posting schedule (hopefully). Christmas break made me a little bit lazy, but last week I was on vacation with my family, so I didn't have the time then. All excuses aside, I'm back now, and that's what matters.

I guess I'll start by saying my Christmas vacation was great! Actually, I officially go back to school on Tuesday, so it isn't over yet, but you get the idea. Once our break started, my family left for a house a few hours away. We stayed there and celebrated Christmas with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins, which was really nice. It snowed a few times while we were there, as you can see from the photo (my brother took that picture, by the way). The day after Christmas, we left to drive home before the roads got too bad. The place we were staying at was a bit off the beaten path, which meant the roads didn't get plowed as often. We made it home safely though!

Click the jump to read more of my rambling!