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Two Years Later and All I Want to Do Is Write: Reflecting on My Blogging Journey

Two Year Blogging Post Image

On July 28, 2015, I made a decision that changed my writing life in ways I never imagined. I created this blog, which I’ve found has grown for me as a wonderful space for me to write about the things I love.

Over this second year, I’ve learned just as much as I did my first. I learned more about my blogging space, realized that my blog’s name and appearance needed an update, and made the changes necessary to make my blog appeal to others. I came up with a name I personally connected to so that others could find ways to connect to me and would want to follow my blog.

I also realized how much I enjoy using this writing space to write, even at times when I don’t feel like writing. Lately, I haven’t been writing as many posts as I’d like. Part of that is due to having a busy life: adjusting to my new work hours, things going on around the house such as painting bedrooms and replacing carpet (speaking of which, I’ll definitely have a new #weekendcoffeeshare very soon where I talk about all of these things), basically life is keeping me hectic right now. So one of the things I hope to do within the next couple weeks is get more writing done here.

My overall experience this second year has been amazing. Like the year before, I see that my writing is improving with every post I publish. I also find myself wanting to write more, to just keep writing whenever I find myself itching for it. I also hope to do a variety of writing. I don’t want this blog to forever be a place for just book reviews and video game posts (though I haven’t been doing much video game playing lately so that’s something I’ll definitely have to work on). I want to branch out, use this blog as a place to experiment and try writing about different topics. Maybe even do more fiction writing and poetry, whenever the mood strikes me. As the years go by, I want to grow with my blog and my writing to continue improving with each word I write.

If I had to give advice to a new blogger, I’d tell them to just keep writing. I’d let them know there are going to be days when they don’t feel like writing and that’s okay. I’d tell them not to get discouraged, to keep trying because giving up is not an option. I would also tell them that if you love blogging enough, everything will work out as long as they keep patient and keep going with it. I’d also tell them that when they aren’t writing blog posts to read other bloggers. Because what other bloggers say might be a good source of inspiration for your next blog post, even if you don’t realize it or you can make connections with amazing people who enjoy the same things you do. Oh, and to comment on other blog posts too. Not only to let a blogger know you’ve enjoyed their work, but to start a conversation, to continue being involved in the blogging community. All of these things are lessons I’ve come to learn during my two years here at WordPress.

While I’ve yet to know what this next year of blogging has in store for me, I’m currently happy with the way my blog is right now. I have a good group of followers who are supportive with my posts, and I’m continuing to enjoy the writing process when it comes to blogging. I can’t wait to see what this third year has in store for me because I know it’ll be just as great as the others.

10

Rereading Memories: The Inkworld Trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath)

Inkworld Trilogy Book Covers

Growing up, I didn’t always have as deep of a love for the written word as I do now. When I was a child, I actually spent most of my days playing video games and watching television. It wasn’t until one of my English teachers mentioned Inkheart in the sixth grade and I read that book during the summer that my love for the written word manifested into what it is today.

If you’ve read my blog post How I Became a Reader and Writer, you’d already know this. In that particular post, I talk about Inkheart’s influence on me. I’d like to further continue that conversation by saying that I feel like the Inkworld trilogy as a whole has taught me so much. It has taught me not only about myself and my own reading preferences, but also some important lessons every writer should at some point learn.

I say all of this because I’m currently rereading this trilogy once more and want to have an open discussion about the Inkworld and its influence in my life. Because while Inkheart out of all of the books in this trilogy really shaped me into who I am, I believe Inkspell and Inkdeath also helped contribute making me into the fantasy loving person I am today. This trilogy taught me lessons no other series (well, maybe except for Harry Potter) has taught me. Every time I read these books, I find myself discovering something new within their pages.

Inkheart opened me up to the idea that there are books I’d enjoy. As a child, I didn’t enjoy reading quite as much as I do now. But this book in particular sparked an interest in reading for me I never truly experienced anywhere else. It made me believe in the power of the written word, and that fantasy was truly the genre I was destined to enjoy. I read this book at a time when I still felt like I was a child, right before things changed in my life for the worse. It’s the first book that truly spoke to me, made me want to open myself to becoming a more creative person and brought about a spark in me I didn’t have before.

Inkspell completely set my imagination on fire. With its detailed description of the Inkworld, I found myself drawn to its pages, wishing I could go to this world myself, despite its many dangers. This book especially drew me into the fantasy genre because I could feel the magic all around me as I followed Meggie and the rest of the characters into this enchantingly dark world. Like Inkheart, I found myself continuously flipping through the pages to find out how this book would end, wanting to see if things would turn out alright for everyone involved. I read this book at a different stage of my life than whenever I’d picked up its predecessor. I was struggling because my life had been turned upside down and I needed a book to escape. This book was perfect for what I needed because I wanted to get away from the real world and this book helped me do exactly that.

Inkdeath made me realize that I can be the hero of my own story. It also taught me that every character in a story has an important part to play, even if you don’t realize it at first. This book also taught me that even when things seem bad, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. To never give up hope, even when that’s exactly what you want to do. For me, this book came at a point in my life when I exactly needed it. I was dealing with some difficult circumstances and this book helped me believe in myself and made me realize that I’m the hero in my story. And that when things seem dark and scary, there’s always going to be light too.

Rereading this series once again many years later, I find the child within me coming alive. I’m reminded of why I want to be a writer to begin with, and find myself inspired to keep writing even at times when that’s not what I want to do. I’m reminded of where my love for the written word truly came from and try the best I can to never forget that.

As a writer, Inkheart taught me some of the basics when it came to character development. I learned through the pages how to create life-like characters who I could imagine standing in front of me. I learned about dialogue, how to make the words that come out of a character’s mouth sound believable, even when you have a hard time with it. I learned voice because of Mo/Silvertongue and Meggie’s ability to read characters out of their stories. I could imagine the way they talked, almost as if they were using their gift in front of me.

In Inkspell, I learned about world building. I learned how to create a place so believable that people could see it in their imagination. About making things detailed so that when someone is reading your story, they can see it themselves without you having to give too much away. I also learned how to further advance the plot of your story so that the reader doesn’t lose interest along with including interesting information that’ll make your reader want to continue reading. Learned to end stories in a series with a cliff hanger so that my readers will want to read the next installment to find out what happens to the characters.

With Inkdeath, I learned about conflict. I learned how to build up conflict so as the keep the reader hooked. I also learned how to surprise readers by making the unexpected happen, such as having minor characters play a crucial role in the story arc. I also learned how to kill off characters only to bring them back changed in their development.

Each book in this trilogy offered so much to me as a writer. But this trilogy as a whole also taught me so much about myself and the things I enjoy. It made me realize how much reading and writing mean to me that it’ll always have a special place in my heart. I hope others enjoy this trilogy as much as I do every time I read it.

2

If We Were Having Coffee: Being a Productive Member of Society

If We Were Having Coffee 03

Hello everyone! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week and are enjoying your Saturday so far. For me, I’ve been pretty busy, which is what I’d like to begin with talking about for this post.

In my last #weekendcoffeeshare, I mentioned that I was going in for a job interview on Tuesday. Well, I definitely had the interview and guess what? I got the job! They had me start the very next day, had one of their coworkers show me what my main responsibilities would be while I was there. So the position I applied for is to handle the front of the deli, but specifically, I’ll be handling the salad bar foods and helping serve to customers whenever my section is running slow. I’m also responsible for cleaning the bathrooms and cleaning the salad bar whenever we close, because I applied for this position to specifically work at nights in this section. Whenever I applied for this position, I was told by my friend that they didn’t really have someone for this position at nights and that they were having trouble finding good people. So I figured, why not me?

So far, I really like it. I like it because I’m constantly on my feet moving to restock my section. There’s no down time for me or anything at all, which is good because I like being busy. I don’t like just standing around with nothing to do when I’m at work so it’s nice to have a job somewhere where that’s not really much of a problem. I also like it because my coworkers are a friendly bunch and there’s no drama. I come in, do my job the best I can, leave whenever they are satisfied with my cleaning abilities and there’s not too much fuss about any of it. As long as I do my job and they are satisfied with my work (which so far, has been the case, from what I’ve heard) then there’s not a problem. I also like that we get 50% off on food and get free refills of fountain drinks. It’s nice to know I can save my money whenever I eat there. We also get money from credit card tips that’s split up among the people working during a particular shift. These tips go into our total paycheck, which is nice because it’s additional money I can save and it shows how much the company values their employees.

There are however, some small downsides to this job so far. For one, I’ll mostly only be working nights. While it’s nice because I’ll be able to sleep in and use most of my day however I please, it stinks in the sense that I won’t be working quite as many hours as I’m used to. I also have to adjust to working again, to being a productive member of society. What I mean to say is I’m having to get used to being on my feet again, which is something I always seem to struggle with whenever I go back to work after having summers off. I know part of it is because I’m always at home during the summer and don’t take time out of my day to work out or go walking, which is something I should probably be doing. But I can never seem to put that into my schedule for whatever reason. I don’t know, but it’s something I can always work on in the future.

But so far, I’m really pleased with this job. Everyday I’m there, I’m working with different people, all of whom seem really friendly and am constantly on my feet the whole time. I go home, usually tired but satisfied about my day because I know I’ve done a good job. But it feels right because I don’t feel quite as miserable. Because I have a new job though, I’m going to have to make some adjustments when it comes to my writing. I’m not sure yet how often I’ll be posting here on my blog. Once I adjust to these hours, I’ll know for sure. But right now, I’ll have to play it by ear and see.

I’m not at work today though because Mum got tickets from work to go to see one of our local baseball teams play. So whenever I was interviewed for this position, I let the manager know about it beforehand. But other than my new job, I haven’t been up to too much this week. I did however finish reading Before I Fall and am still continuing to play The Sims Freeplay on my phone. I’m still debating whether I want to write a review on it in the near future or if I’m just going to continue playing it and not worry about a review. I think as of right now, I’ll just wait and see as I continue playing it how I feel. Playing this game though has really made me interested in wanting to play other Sims games. To the point where I’ve actually been watching another Youtuber I enjoy play The Sims 4, which is the one I really hope to one day get whenever I have the funds to buy myself a new laptop.

Before I forget, I also want to let you know I’ve also recently decided to share my blog posts on my Instagram account. I figure it’s one more means of getting my blog out there with the possibility of getting more followers through it. I mean, it is another form of social media so I really don’t see too much of the harm in it. Hopefully that will get me more followers and it’s another form of social media I use quite frequently.

So I think that’s really all I have to say about my week. I don’t know yet if I’ll be doing another one of these posts next week since I’m still getting used to my new work schedule. If I do, I’ll be sure to let you know how the baseball game went. But I hope you’ve all had a good week like I have and I’ll talk to you again soon!

6

The Importance of Journal Writing: Why You Should Write in a Journal

Journal Writing1

I remember starting to write in a journal when I was in middle school. It was the summer after 7th grade, after my family moved before I started going to another school. I don’t remember why I started journaling. What I do know is that I haven’t stopped since, even during those moments when I wasn’t writing in my journal very often.

Now, I’m on my ninth journal and still going strong. As a writer, I think it’s important you keep a journal. You don’t necessarily have to write in it every day (I know I don’t), but I believe it’ll help you in the long run.

What I love about keeping a journal is being able to write my own personal thoughts down on paper. Nowadays with advancements in technology, digital platforms are becoming an increasingly more popular mode of communication. Emails, texts, social media—everything is digital. Even writers use digital forms to store their writing somewhere safe. But with digitalizing everything comes risks to your writing being stolen or worse, accidentally deleted. So it’s nice to keep a journal because I can physically write my thoughts down on paper without having to worry about someone else reading them. It’s also nice going through the motion of physically writing things down because it allows you to stay in practice of handwriting.

I love keeping a journal too because I can write without judgment. I don’t have to clean up my handwriting, make it neat and pretty or worry about someone else reading it. My journal is for me to express my thoughts only so I can use it however I want and not have to worry about any writing mistakes I may make. It’s also a nice way for you as a writer to express all of your thoughts, allowing you the chance to get whatever thoughts are buzzing around in your head out.

Notebook Creative Lifestyle Journal Pen Write

Whenever I was in college, one of the classes I took was called Creative Nonfiction. In that class, we were assigned the task of writing about personal experiences in our lives. And one of the things we talked about was using writing to heal. About how by writing about some of your most personal experiences, you are acknowledging your past and can use it as a means to heal from the trauma and move on. I think writing in your journal works in the same way too. For one, it’s a very personal mode of writing where you document all of the experiences you’ve gone through in your life. But you document them from your own experience, sharing your own thoughts about what happened and how it’s shaped you as a person. I like writing in my journal in this way because I’m able to bring fresh thoughts out that I might not be ready to share on my blog yet. I can write about the most personal things, and not have to worry about someone else seeing them when I’m not ready.

I also like journal writing because I fully believe it helps you improve as a writer. It allows you to get any thoughts out that might be stopping you from writing. But I also think it can improve the way you write by allowing you to write in whatever way you want. When writing in a journal, the only person you’re writing for is yourself. You don’t have to worry about someone else reading your personal thoughts, so you can write about whatever you want, which can improve your writing because you don’t have to worry about writing for a perspective audience. You can write about whatever’s on your mind with no care in the world.

I also like to write in my journal because I feel like I’m accomplishing something. I’m already on my ninth journal, which feels like quite an accomplishment to me. And seeing all those blank pages I have left makes me want to continue writing in my journal to see how long it takes me to fill them. I also like it because I like how writing in a journal feels. It feels like I’m writing in my own personal space where nobody can bother me. Each journal feels like a different chapter in my life, like I’m telling my story in different parts. It’s like an adventure story where I’m just waiting to fill in the next journey I myself as the character am about to go on. I don’t know where it’s taking me; I just know I’m going somewhere. And with each journal I complete, I learn something new about the world around me and myself.

Raney Journals
Five of my completed journals over the years, not in complete order.

As a writer, I believe journal writing has vastly improved my life. It’s allowed me to keep writing, even during moments when I don’t feel like it. It’s also allowed me to continue expressing myself in whatever way I see fit as well as makes me feel like I’m accomplishing a lot even when that really isn’t the case. I know it’s something I’m going to continue doing in the years to come, and I can’t wait to see how many more journals’ pages I’ll fill.

What about you? Do any of you write in a journal? Leave in the comments below your own experiences with journal writing and whether you feel like its benefited you in anyway.

 

2

I’ve Found My New Favorite Song: Listening to the Songs That Can Be Found in Our Heart

Piano Fall Image

I love listening to music because it’s a beautiful form of expression. A way to listen to lyrics that describe exactly how you’re feeling. Music’s beauty oftentimes can be hard to explain, which is why I’m finding myself struggling to put my love of music into words right now.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon a beautiful song by accident. I’m currently working on a new playlist on Spotify to listen to. I’ve gone so far as to write songs down for this playlist on my notes app on my phone. Well, I finally made the decision to create this playlist on Spotify last night before going to bed. I was looking up artist’s songs when I stumbled upon this one song by one of the artists on my list. The song itself I’d never heard before, but its name intrigued me. So I made the decision to go on YouTube and listen to it.

The song completely blew me away. It spoke to me, almost like it was calling out to my heart. The lyrics especially rang true to me when I heard them for the first time:

                 “I let my soul fall into you.

                 I never thought I’d fall right through.

                I fell for every word you said.

                You made me feel I needed you,

                And forced my heart to think it’s true,

                But I found I’m powerless with you.

 

                Now I don’t need your wings to fly.

                No, I don’t need a hand to hold in mine this time.

                You held me down, but I broke free,

                I found the love inside of me.

                Now I don’t need a hero to survive,

                Cause I’ve already saved my life.

                Cause I’ve already saved my life.”

The lyrics resonated so strongly for me because I could relate to them. I’ve had so many experiences in life where those who I thought cared about me kept putting me down, made me believe I wouldn’t survive after they left me. They made me feel worthless, alone and completely lost. But after much needed thinking, I realized something important: I’ll never give up. As long as I’m living and breathing, I’ll continue to get back up again even during those moments where I feel I’ve been pushed too far I can’t come back. Because even though I’ve been through so much , and life can be so hard, you can always find a reason to live.

This song spoke to me not only because of the lyrics, but because of the music with it too. It starts off slow, then picks up in tempo as the lyrics begin. It’s also very happy, upbeat and hopeful, making it a powerful song to belt the lyrics to. But at the same time, it’s also mellow and calm, soothing like the waves of the ocean. You’ll also notice some instrumental elements in it too here and there, which give the song a nice touch. But together, these different musical elements create a powerful song that catches the attention of the person listening to it.

The song’s title is what first drew me to it. When people hear the word hero, they think of someone who they feel saves them in their life. It’s normally associated with people who do extraordinary things on a daily basis, such as firemen, police, doctors, etc. But it can also be a term used for a person you look up to, someone you admire. If you listen to the lyrics though, you already know that the song refers to yourself as your hero because you saved your own life, which I think can also be true. You are the one who’s writing every chapter of your life, therefore you are considered the hero in your own story. This is especially true for people who’ve had a rough life, but are always able to overcome their obstacles, which is exactly what this song is talking about. This is one of the things I love about this song because everyday people can be heroes too. Yes, you might not be saving lives every day, but if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.

Christina Perri Image

I also love this song because Christina Perri (the artist pictured above) is an amazing singer. She’s one of my favorite artists because her voice comes out so clearly, and her lyrics are always beautiful. While she’s not the only one responsible for this song (this song is by Cash Cash, and features Christina Perri in it), I find her voice with the lyrics to be absolutely stunning. Her voice makes this song sound so real and personable that I can’t help listening to it over and over again.

I really love listening to this song so much that it’s become one of my favorite songs. It speaks to me in my heart and soul in ways other songs don’t. So if you get the chance, please listen to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

2

If We Were Having Coffee: Feeling the Heat

Hello everyone! I hope you’ve had a good week. I know I definitely did, with my trip to the beach on Sunday, which I talked about on my last blog post. What I didn’t mention, however, about that trip is the amount of sunburn I received. I got burned pretty badly from our day at the beach. My back, waist and feet received the worst of it, resulting in me keeping things easy this week. Even now, I’m still dealing with some of my burns. Though, they aren’t as bad now as before. They just itch, which means the skin should be peeling off anytime now. But if you want to hear more about my trip (and not just about the sunburns), check out my post titled Weekend Oasis.  I promise you won’t be disappointed because I have a lot to say about the trip.

But that’s not all. If we were having coffee, I’d tell you not only did I go to the beach with my best friend, but I also helped her celebrate her birthday by going with her to the tattoo shop on Monday. There were a couple tattoos she wanted to get so her husband said he’d pay for them as a birthday present. So I went with her when she received her very first tattoos, which both turned out really great. Her first tattoo said “just breathe,” and had the Hakuna Mottata symbol in-between those words, and her second tattoo is a semicolon. It was quite an enjoyable experience. So much so I’m actually considering getting tattoos of my own. I have a pretty good idea of what I want. But I’m not going to say. I’ll save that for when I get them so I can explain why. It was an experience I know I’ll never forget, since my best friend invited me to go with her.

Sunday’s trip to the beach and Monday’s tattoo adventure were the most exciting things that’ve happened recently. Because I didn’t do much else while at home. I mostly worked on letting my sunburns heal, using aloe vera to start the process. Oh, I also continued watching American Horror Story. I’ve finished season three now, have moved onto season four, which is really good too. Though there are times where I’m debating whether I want to continue watching or not. Not because I’m not enjoying it, but because of how weird the show can get. It’s not really a scary show, though there are elements of horror in it that make you want to continue watching to see what happens. But I don’t know, I’ve already invested a lot of time into watching it.

If we were having coffee, I’d also tell you I’ve made some good progress on the coloring book page I’ve been working on. I’m really excited about it because I think it’s really looking nice. I’m excited to see how the whole thing will look by the time I’m done with it. I’ve also been playing Kingdom Hearts Unchained X again on my tablet and Temple Run on my phone. Both games are fun to play, one is nice for killing monsters and unlocking more storyline while the other is enjoyable because you get to go fast and collect coins to unlock more characters and abilities.

Other than that, there really isn’t that much for me to say. I did some job applications most of the day, and Mum and I rented Manchester By the Sea, which was a total bust. The movie focuses on a man named Leo whose brother recently passed away and is left dealing with the aftermath. He’s depressed due to the death of his children in a house fire he feels fully responsible for. The reason this movie is a bust is because it drags on. There’s no reason or purpose for some of the events that follow, and the characters are not likeable due to lack of character development. The only thing I like about Manchester By the Sea is the setting, which the directors of the film do a good job at showing off. It’s a beautiful location for the movie, and I wish I could see more of it. Otherwise, the whole movie is completely depressing, and I found myself wishing we never watched it.

Next Saturday, I’ll be doing the Great Strides walk with Erin, and I may not do one of these posts, depending on how I feel. I hope you’re all having a good weekend. Can’t wait to talk to you next time!

2

Weekend Oasis 

There’s a very good reason why I didn’t make a #weekendcoffeeshare post this past weekend. It’s because this past weekend (well technically Monday) was my best friend’s birthday. She had a party Saturday night then I went to the beach with her and another friend Sunday. 

These beach plans were made days before the party when Erin told us she wanted to do a girl’s night on Sunday. It turned from being a girl’s night to going to the beach because a friend asked Erin if she wanted to go to the lake or the beach. Erin really loves the beach (as do I) so it became clear when that question was asked what we were going to do. 

But before talking about the beach trip and showing off all the nice pictures I took, let’s briefly talk about the party on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. Erin decided to give the party a black and gold theme so I wore a black shirt along with some golden earrings, shoes and a wristlet my aunt gave to me for Christmas. We all sat around, talked and drank. I made sure not to get too buzzed because of making plans to go to the beach with Erin and another friend on Sunday. I knew it wouldn’t be fun going to the beach with a hangover so I just drank fruity drinks with a 5 percent alcoholic volume and took baby sips of Fireball and a Moonshine a friend and I bought as Erin’s birthday present. When the party finally quieted down, I attempted sleep because I was pretty tired, and knew we were getting up early for our trip to the beach.

But sleep was hard to come due to my excitement for our day at the beach. I was really excited about this trip. I love the beach a lot, and I normally go to the beach with family, not friends. I’ve never actually done something like this before, gone on a full day trip with friends. And we were going to the beach of all places, one of my favorite places to go to when the weather is nice. So sleep was hard to come by for me that night, even knowing I’d be getting up at a time that doesn’t agree with me at all.

But Sunday was perfect. Despite the time I went to bed, I didn’t feel worn out because I was too excited about this trip to care. Erin and I left for the beach, following Karie in her sister’s car who she was taking to her parent’s house along the way to our destination. While driving, Erin turned up her music, and we belted the lyrics to the songs that came on and talked until we arrived at Karie’s parents home. We used that time to take a potty break before Karie drove us the rest of the way to Isle of Palms. 

Once there, we grabbed our stuff out of the car and walked to the beach. We found a spot to place our belongings and began the process of unpacking our things. I then applied some sunscreen (not that it really helped, which I’ll talk about later) before lying down on the beach.

In that moment as I laid down and closed my eyes, a sense of peace washed over me. I could hear all the sounds of the ocean surrounding me, from the sounds of the waves crashing along the shore to the birds flying above, calling each other in birdsong. I felt the wind brushing up and down my body and smelled the salty air of sand and sea as I laid there and let the sun wash over me. I felt a sense of tranquility hard to describe in words, but that I knew would encompass this moment I was on the beach in my heart. I knew this moment would eventually pass, but I just allowed myself time to enjoy it. 

After a little bit of lying down, we went in the water to cool down and let the waves wash over us. We went a little far out, but I didn’t go quite as far because my bottoms wanting to fall off me. It was as if they wanted to expose my butt to the rest of the world, which sounds pretty comical when you think about it. But I stayed in the water anyway, and adjusted my bikini bottom straps in the hope that my bottoms would stay on me. Though there were a couple close calls in that moment so I eventually got out of the water and went back to our spot on the beach. Karie and Erin both got out of the water shortly after to dry off before we went walking on the beach to search for some seashells. 

It was nice to walk along the beach together, looking along the ground for shells. We stuck together, watching our footprints in the sand, and observing the carcasses of the dead jellyfish and crabs we saw along the way. I saw some nice shells on our path, but didn’t take too many because I didn’t really have a safe place to put them for the trip back. My favorite shell actually broke into three pieces, so I had to throw it away when I got home, which was a bummer.
My picture of the seashells I got at the beach Sunday. Decided to put them on my bookshelf in my room because I knew they’d look nice there.

We eventually headed back to our spot on the beach when we got tired of walking. We also were starting to get hungry so we used this moment to grab some food before continuing to enjoy our time on the beach. I ate a double cheeseburger with fries and Coke, which tasted delicious, though the fries would’ve tasted better if they had Ketchup. Once we were done with our food, we headed back to enjoy what little time we had left. Once again, we laid down on the beach to get more sun, then went in the water one last time. The water didn’t feel quite as cold as when we went in earlier, which was nice. 

Moments later, we got out of the water and went back to our stuff. I quickly dried myself off before packing everything together and headed back to Karie’s car. We put our stuff in her trunk and covered the seats we’d be sitting on in her car with towels. But we didn’t leave right away because we decided to explore some of the shops near the beach, and then grab some ice cream before heading home. It was apparent we all were enjoying our time at the beach, and didn’t want to leave because we took our time in the shops, looking at all the stuff they had and commenting on items we thought were cute or were possibly interested in buying. All three of us ended up buying something at the very last store we went into. I bought myself this really pretty green/emerald colored necklace that caught my attention with its beauty. It was also very inexpensive, something I could easily afford with the money I had on me. 

Once we were done buying our purchases, we went searching for somewhere to get ourselves some ice cream. We ended up driving to Sonic because the places we originally wanted to go to were either too expensive or out of business and bought milkshakes. Then, we headed home in silence because we were all tired by this point. 

It was quite an enjoyable trip. One of the best trips I’ve had in my life, a moment in time with friends I know I’ll hold in my memories for the rest of my life. Probably one of the best trips I’ve taken to the beach and that I know I’ll never forget. 

The only downside from this trip I’ve experienced is that I badly gotten sunburned. Everywhere except for my arms, shoulders, and the parts of my body covered by my bikini have been stung by the sun’s rays. It’s to the point where I’ve been putting on sunburn relief in the hopes of getting the burns to slowly fade away. Hopefully, I can get these burns to go away so my body doesn’t ache every time I move. But right now, we’ll just have to wait and see. 

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Life As a Night Owl

Mornings are not my forte. Any time earlier than 8 a.m., I struggle to get out of bed and make any coherent sound. I hate waking up early, but can stay up really late each night. That is, if I’m not too tired from whatever I’ve been doing during the day. 

This is called being a night owl. Being a person who prefers the hours of the night versus hours of the early morning.

I love night time. There’s something inherintingly beautiful about the night; a peaceful silence that encompasses the whole world. It’s the best time for me because the rest of the world is silent, and I can look upon it without judgment.  My thoughts come more alive with ideas that I can write down. My best ideas come to me during the night so going to sleep early is a struggle for me anyway. Because if I do manage to go to sleep early, I spend those hours in bed tossing and turning. I feel more alive, like I can conquer the world even though it’s 12 a.m. and most people are in bed. There’s something magical about seeing the days change that I can’t describe. But I love it either way. 

Whereas waking up early is a nightmare for me. I feel out of my element, like a fish out of water. I become irritable, moody, and all I can think about is getting more sleep. Getting up early involves me fighting to keep my eyes open with each second that passes until I get something into my system that can keep me awake. But once I’m up early and ready, I feel a rush. I try to do everything too fast, almost like I hope I can get the day over with. Then around lunchtime, I feel this exhausting crash and a strong desire to sleep again. 

But going to bed late and waking up later, I never feel that way. Yes, I might feel the desire to nap on those days, but I’m usually more well-rested. I feel ready to conquer the world and my thoughts aren’t quite as scatter brained. I’m also not as irritable or cranky to those around me. I find my imagination quite more alive, find it much easier to write all my thoughts down. I don’t know how to explain it, but there’s something magical about the night to me. I don’t know if it’s due to the beauty of the moon or because it’s so peaceful and quiet outside. What I do know though is that I love it and that I’ll probably always be a night owl.

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Truer Than Fiction Guest Writer Blog Post 

So on Sunday, I announced on my coffee post that I’d be a guest writer on a friend of mines blog. Well, that post has officially been published as of yesterday. You can check it out following this link: 

https://geniusandinsanityiamthatline.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/raney-simmons-truer-than-fiction-guest-writer/

My friend Lesley was a psychology major at Columbia College, the college I attended. We had Creative Nonfiction together, where we shared some of our most personal stories through the written word. On her blog Genius and Insanity: I Am That Line, she writes about many different mental health issues. 

With this guest writing post, she asked me to write about how reading or writing affected my mental health. So I focused on escapism, the idea where someone does something they love as a way to escape their real world problems. For me, this was something I knew I did when my passion of reading and writing grew, due to the difficult circumstances that came into my life. During this course of my life, there were a total of three books that helped me cope through the problems I was dealing with. These books each taught me something different about life and myself. 

I’m excited that my writing was published on Lesley’s blog. I’ve never been a guest writer before so it was nice to try something new. Please check out this post and Lesley’s blog. She’s a great writer and has a lot of interesting information about mental health that I think people will enjoy.

Thank you Lesley for posting my writing on your blog!

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