Summer Reads (July & August Book Wrap-Up)

OK, I will admit, I have been lacking on the blog posts this summer. The Sims 3 was my excuse in July, but this month was vacation and moving into the dorms at college and then getting settled into a new routine, so...yeah. Only three posts this month. But I'm going to try and do better next month; I even have something fun and special planned, so be sure to stay tuned!

Writing
In July I finished typing and posting the final chapters of "Dude, This is No Vacation" over on Wattpad. I posted the epilogue (and its cliffhanger) on the morning I left for a one-week vacation, so I didn't get to see anyone's reaction until I got back. The response was overwhelmingly - and a little surprisingly - positive. I was elated to hear that so many people enjoyed my first TMNT fanfiction. It was definitely a weight off my shoulders (for reasons I will state next month). This will be my last time posting stats for "No Vacation." As of right now, they have mostly come to rest at 5,162 reads; 402 votes; and 107 comments. Not bad for a first attempt at writing TMNT!

In September I will begin posting "No Vacation's" successor, titled, "Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide." I'm excited for all of the things I finally get to reveal to my readers with this one. I'm hoping it will be more exciting, intense, and character-growing than the first. It's about to get real.

I still have not really looked into writing outside of fanfiction thus far, but especially now that school has started back up again, I would really like to get serious about it. That, and NaNoWriMo is rapidly approaching, so I get to start planning for this year's novel, "Rise of Sarama." I'm super excited to return to the world of Soren and Mira that I created almost a whole year ago. I'm also really stoked to read what I wrote last year in preparation for the sequel. I might wince several times, but that's okay. It's part of the process.

Reading
In July I did not read very much, but I picked up the pace again in August, coming to a total of seven books for the two months combined. These are the novels I read:

• Beauty and the Beast: The Only One Who Didn't Run Away by Wendy Mass
• Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine
• Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas
• Kathryn: Days of Struggle and Triumph by Donna Fletcher Crow
• Rules of the Red Rubber Ball by Kevin Carroll
• Elizabeth: Days of Loss and Hope by Donna Fletcher Crow
• The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

Quarantine was more of a thriller than the "killer of a thriller" that I read in June, Project Cain. Apparently it is a modern take of Lord of the Flies. If that's the case, I'm way more inclined to read the classic novel because Quarantine was amazing. It was a perfect blend of suspense, action, and horror. Both Kathryn and Elizabeth were books that I would not have chosen for myself, but my grandma saw them and got them for me, so of course I gave them a try. They ended up being pretty good! They were equal parts romance and historical fiction with great morals woven in as well. I literally just finished the final book on my list about two hours before beginning this post. My goal was to read 15 books this summer (June, July, August), and The Truth About Us was the 15th. Mission accomplished!

That's all I have for now! Next month I'm starting another special series of posts that you'll probably be interested in. (I bet you'll NEVER guess what the focus will be this time...wink wink!) Haha. See you in September!

The Happiest I've Ever Been

So in case you all didn't know, today marks Connor Franta's five-year anniversary of being on YouTube! Connor was the first YouTuber I subscribed to (way back in the summer before my sophomore year of high school). I was there before he hit one million subscribers and have enjoyed the ups and downs with him since then. A couple of years ago Connor created a tag that I really liked the idea of, so to celebrate his anniversary, I'm going to complete it here on my blog! Lucky you!

Connor calls this "The Most" Tag. I think you'll understand the concept as I start getting into it. Here we go!

The most scared I've ever been was when my grandma (my dad's biological mom) came to visit us one spring and nearly died. I don't remember exactly how old I was, but I think I was in 5th or 6th grade. I woke up one night and the first thing I heard was my grandma calling for my mom and for help. From there everything seemed to drag on forever; I realized real quick that she was having trouble breathing and my mom called 911. I sat downstairs in my room crying and praying hard for my grandma's survival. Apparently there came a point where her face was turning blue and her eyes began to roll back in her head, and just when my mom thought grandma wouldn't make it, the ambulance arrived. The EMT workers quickly got her hooked up with an oxygen mask and rushed her to the hospital. And to top all of that off, my dad wasn't even around when this happened. He was away for some military thing at the time. Thankfully my grandma made it out after a few nights in the hospital, but it still scares me just to think about it. Last year when I went to Philly I had the chance to visit her - something I am extremely thankful for.

The happiest I've ever been was when Luke asked me to our senior prom. I had liked him since we were freshman and over the years we had slowly gotten to know each other. My crush was rapidly becoming something much more, but Luke continuously showed signs of indifference towards me. Then, on April 1, he asked me to prom in a way that only Luke could. I didn't believe him at first; one, because it was April Fool's Day, and two, because he had never seemed interested in prom at all. Ever. Not even a little. But lo and behold, we bought couple's tickets the next day and went together that weekend. We weren't "official;" he was just my escort. But it was still the happiest day of my life. Luke and I are now sophomores in college together, and while he has never made another move like he did at prom, I still love him so much. That will never change.

The saddest I've ever been was when I left Great Falls, Montana to live in Wyoming, where I am now. It's six hours away from here but I have never been back. One day I fully intend to return, though, if only for a weekend road trip. As a military kid, I was used to moving. But I had lived in Great Falls for 90% of my elementary career (1st-6th grade) and was all geared up to attend Treasure State Academy that fall. The next thing I know, we're packing up and moving to a town I've never heard of to start up a church called Vertical. That was the darkest, saddest day of my life. I've since matured and grown to like where I live, but Montana still holds a special place in my heart.

The proudest I've ever been was probably when I won NaNoWriMo for the first time last year (Novemeber 2014). I had tried it the year before and completely failed, but the second time around I really put my butt in gear and got it done, crossing the finish line with 50,076 words. The novel, "Escape to Utopia," is currently under revision and its successor, "Rise of Sarama," is the project I'll be working on this November. Psyched!

The craziest I've ever been? I can't pinpoint one exact moment but I know for sure that when my friends and I were seniors, we did some pretty crazy things. There were a lot of late nights and soda highs - just general chaos took place whenever we were outside of the high school...and sometimes even within! It was one of the best times of my life. I'll always remember the fun we had and the hookups and breakups that constantly seemed to be taking place within our circle. Things have gotten calmer and more stable now, but get us hyped for something and there's no stopping the chaos blast we leave in our wake. (Sonic reference!)

The most passionate I've ever been can't be restricted to just one point in my life because it spans over the years. Ever since I was in 3rd grade I've been passionate about writing. That's when my dream of being a novelist was born. I am now working to make that dream a reality! My passion for Sonic and TMNT are both extremely intense and has stuck with me for years. Both have gotten me through some really tough times. My passion for my circle of friends exists all the time, though I don't often show it. They, too, have been there when I needed them most. I am who I am today because of them. I'm passionate about many things, but my love for all the things/people listed here are the most intense.

The sickest I've ever been (that I can remember) was October of 2013, when everything that could possibly go wrong with me did. I had the worst sore throat in the world, I was vomiting, my body temperature was constantly in flux, I had the mother of all headaches, etc. I did go to the doctor for this, but strangely enough, I didn't have strep throat or the flu or anything, really. It was just a bad virus. I missed four days of school because of this sickness and had to spend what would have been a nice three-day weekend making up all the work I'd missed that week. Thankfully I have not experienced anything like it since, nor do I ever want to again.

The most tired I've ever been. I can't remember a time that I was really, truly, asleep-standing-up tired. I'm pretty good about getting sleep. I do know that last summer when I was coming back from Philly, I had to wake up at 4AM EST to get on a 3.5 hour flight, spend an hour connecting in Denver, then board another 1.5 hour flight home. When I arrived in my hometown it was just a little after noon, but I was still on EST so it felt more like 2PM, which meant that I'd already been awake for ten hours. I was exhausted, but did my best not to nap too long so I could adjust to my time zone again more quickly. It worked. I was free of jet-lag in two days.

I don't know when I was the angriest. As a child I definitely had anger issues that were addressed, so I'm sure my parents could provide an example, but I do my best to forget about my past before Great Falls. I do get irritated at things a lot, but I don't really explode into a Hulk-rage over them anymore. I honestly don't know the answer to this one.

The most excited I've ever been goes hand-in-hand with the happiest I've ever been: when Luke asked me to prom. Check back there if you need a refresher.

That's it for now! Tomorrow I'm moving in to the dorms at college, which I'm super excited for. See you next time!

Summer Class Review + Looking Ahead

This summer (June 1 - July 26) I took a 3 credit class to help me get a head start on my sophomore year of college. The class was Intro to Women's Studies. I thought it would basically be history from a woman's perspective, or maybe focus on the contributions women made to history that we kind of gloss over in standard textbooks. Instead it focused on the history and different types of feminism, and how without it, women would not be able to do many of the things we take for granted today. It was definitely an eye-opener, and though I was only taking it to fulfill my sociology requirement for my degree, I ended up really loving it. Intro to Women's Studies quickly became one of my favorite classes as well as one of the most informational ones.

My brother definitely thought I was crazy for purposely choosing to take a class during the summer, but it was just one class and it helped me get ahead for this school year. Because I took Women's Studies I only have to take four classes this semester, which gives me a chance to really focus on the ones I like: creative writing and science fiction. I'm so excited to finally take creative writing this semester. Back in May of 2014 when I was planning for my college career I saw that the earliest I could take it was my sophomore year. At the time I thought it would be the longest wait of my life, but here I am a year and half later actually getting ready to do it! Time flies.

I'm also looking forward to moving into the dorms in a week and getting out on my own for the first time. I couldn't live on campus last year because my financial aid went all wacky, but this time around I knew what to expect and made it happen. That, and I received a lot of scholarships for this school year that I was not even expecting. They are really going to help me even beyond my community college. The leftover FA I get this year will help me make it to university later on down the road. My parents and younger brother are going to help me move in a week from now, and after that I'm on my own for the first time. Of course my family will still be in town if I need them, and I'll see them at church on Sundays, but other than that I can really start to make my own choices.

Last year there were many events I wanted to attend that I could not because of how late they went. My parents had a curfew for me. This time around, though, the only curfew I have to worry about is the one I set for myself. Of course I completely intend to plan accordingly; if I have a morning class I will make sure to get to bed at a decent hour. Lucky for me, though, most of my classes are in the afternoon or evening. (I learned my lesson about morning classes last semester.) I'm also looking forward to having a roommate and making new friends. Last year my social life took a nosedive, but I've used this summer to kind of collect my thoughts about the situation and decide what I want in friendships and relationships in the future. I feel ready to get back into the swing of things and start fresh. Luckily I made some friends as a freshman that will still be around this year to help me get started in building a new social circle.

Most of all, though, I'm looking forward to really staring to get serious about my career as an author. I believe my creative writing class will help me with some of that, as well as participating in NaNoWriMo this November, but ultimately I know that it is all up to me to make it happen. I write decent fanfiction, but lately that seems to be all I've been writing. I have grand plans for my fanfic characters, but I also really want to get serious about writing real fiction and putting my name out there. It won't happen right away, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. I intend to throw myself into the deep end, choose a project, and see it through to the finish line, no matter how hard it is. Regardless of what the world tells me, I CAN be a published author. God gave me one talent, and I plan to use it. Look out, world. My characters are about to break out of prison!

All in all, it's been kind of a busy summer, but I'm looking forward to moving on campus and going back to school very soon. This is the year I get my AA in English. This is the year I begin to make my dream a reality. This is the year of change.

Also, my brother started high school this past week. Where does the time go?