One of my (possibly odd) prevailing thoughts this weekend involved spelling. Did anyone ever notice that graduate (the verb, the ceremony) and graduate (the noun, the person going through the ceremony) have the same spelling, but different pronunciations? I thought that was strange.
Bizarre spelling quirks aside, I did graduate on Saturday. The ceremony was good and it didn't rain on us, thankfully. I got to graduate with another member of my theater fraternity - my big. A big, for those who may not know, is an established member of a fraternity/sorority who acts as a mentor to one other new member. Usually, bigs and littles don't graduate together, so I thought that was really cool. I graduated wearing shoes made of purple canvas that, I was told, turned a lot of heads. My shoes could be seen from the stands. Both the photographer and the university president commented on my shoes.
Sunday was the party, which was nice and relaxing. The prep for the party was, of course, chaotic and stressful, but everything was great in the end. Family members and friends showed up and, despite some irritating last minute cancellations from some guests and others who simply didn't show, I did like the party a lot. There was plenty of good friends and good food - we're still figuring out ways to re-invent the leftovers so we can keep eating them!
Yesterday, I got more good news when I checked my grades - I made Cs in Spanish and Speech (classes I was expecting Ds in) and As in my theater classes. I've graduated college with a 2.73 GPA overall. I'm pretty happy with that. My first semester of college, I ended with a GPA of 0.93, which just proves how far I've come.
Still trying to decide on next steps. The ideas I'm kicking around include teaching or nursing, both of which involve a return to college, which will at least let me delay the repayment of college loans. Beyond that, my ultimate goal is to write, so I'm working on building my writing portfolio and, as usual, gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo.
What is Camp NaNoWriMo? It's the same as NaNoWriMo, which takes place every year in November. The difference is that Camp NaNo takes place in the summer. I took part in it last summer and achieved my first NaNo win. The purpose of it is to write a 50k word count novel in one calendar month. That first win, last summer, I ended with a final word count of 50,066 words. In November of 2011, I got a second win with almost 60,000 words. This year for Camp, the people at NaNo are holding two sessions, as they did the first year. Last year's sessions were in July and August, back to back; this year, they have changed it to June and August, which I think will be better. With a month in between to recover, it increases the odds for participants to take part in both sessions and win both.
Besides my plans for Camp, I'm working on searching for a job, either in a theater or not at this point. I'll be getting back into blogging and vlogging regularly - a link to my YouTube channel can be found in the sidebar on the right. Look here for more updates on my life!
Life hands you challenges. We all face them in our own way. My way? A pen full of ink and sheer grit.
16 May 2012
05 May 2012
Love to Mothers
This is a guest post from Crazed Mind
Mother's Day is right around the corner. Are you ready? I know I am...Not! No not yet...but am working on getting there. You see I need to know just how do I tell my Mom how much I really do appreciate her. Hallmark has a new commercial....Tell Me. It makes me wonder just how to do that.
Let me paint you a rosie pretty picture of my childhood with Mom baking cookies and patting my head. Or let me tell the truth. Mom was a busy working woman raising 5 kids that were loud crazy and out of control 90% of the time. Mom taught me the home truths of life....work hard so you can pay the bills so your kids never worry about the lights being turned off. Love someone that you have seen their ugly side as it will be the one that is snoring beside you in the middle of the night. Hug your babies tight because there is a day they wiggle away to play with their friends instead. And use sun block...you will wrinkle...you will age....you will not like it but you can accept it when the grandbabes run to you screaming....NONNIE!
My Mom taught me that as children we are protected and as adults we protect. My Mom was tough. She fought for us as much as we fought with each other. My Mom most often fell asleep in front of the TV right after serving us dinner because her days started at 5 a.m. And my Mom did without meals, new shoes and at times even transportation so that we could have what we needed. I want to tell her....
Thanks for bringing me into this world.
I appreciate all you have done to raise me into a strong woman.
Your beautiful because of the lines in your face.
I love you! I respect you! I want to be just like you!
And this year I am just trying to figure out how to get it all written on one lil scrap of paper that will unfold out of a red rose.
We have one of these to share with you too. One that will be able to tell your mom or special person just what you want them to know. Now all you have to do is figure out just what you want to tell them too!
Mother's Day is right around the corner. Are you ready? I know I am...Not! No not yet...but am working on getting there. You see I need to know just how do I tell my Mom how much I really do appreciate her. Hallmark has a new commercial....Tell Me. It makes me wonder just how to do that.
Let me paint you a rosie pretty picture of my childhood with Mom baking cookies and patting my head. Or let me tell the truth. Mom was a busy working woman raising 5 kids that were loud crazy and out of control 90% of the time. Mom taught me the home truths of life....work hard so you can pay the bills so your kids never worry about the lights being turned off. Love someone that you have seen their ugly side as it will be the one that is snoring beside you in the middle of the night. Hug your babies tight because there is a day they wiggle away to play with their friends instead. And use sun block...you will wrinkle...you will age....you will not like it but you can accept it when the grandbabes run to you screaming....NONNIE!
Thanks for bringing me into this world.
I appreciate all you have done to raise me into a strong woman.
Your beautiful because of the lines in your face.
I love you! I respect you! I want to be just like you!
And this year I am just trying to figure out how to get it all written on one lil scrap of paper that will unfold out of a red rose.
We have one of these to share with you too. One that will be able to tell your mom or special person just what you want them to know. Now all you have to do is figure out just what you want to tell them too!
02 May 2012
Writing again
I've spent a good portion of my day, it seems, getting everything in order for my final end of term conference. It's a one on four meeting between each theater student and the professors during which they review how that student has performed in the previous year. Because this is my last time to meet with them, I'm making a point to gather everything I can - particularly samples of my writing. I've managed to locate one of the monologues I wrote and both the ten minute plays. I'm also going to print out some of my poetry, some of my blog entries, and some of my RP posts so that I will have them in my portfolio if they're ever needed in the future.
Finding the monologues and the poetry had me running all over campus. I also got my paperwork in order from the show I stage managed and pulled together old projects from theater classes as well. On top of all that, I've entered a poetry contest. Now that all that is finished, I need to get my mind off of English and onto Spanish. I can't believe graduation is so close!!!
Finding the monologues and the poetry had me running all over campus. I also got my paperwork in order from the show I stage managed and pulled together old projects from theater classes as well. On top of all that, I've entered a poetry contest. Now that all that is finished, I need to get my mind off of English and onto Spanish. I can't believe graduation is so close!!!
01 May 2012
Coffee Cravings
I am a total coffee addict. It is like a life line to me. I do not need it to get going but love it for the flavor and warmth. Also what a great way to wake up in the morning!
But as a dedicated coffee drinker, I have to have times where I can get it on the go. And who does it best? Your right....Starbucks!
So today I am thrilled to offer Two $10 Starbucks e-Gift Cards for giveaway. I am sure you can find a way to use them in no time at all. This giveaway will run from May 1st to May 15th. I want to thank all the blogs that are jumping in on this bandwagon to share. Great group...I know because we all hang out together over on facebook. A bunch of chatty patties and pauls we can be sure. It would be fun if we could all get together at a Starbucks and share.
Here are the girls and boys of the band who brought you this giveaway!
But as a dedicated coffee drinker, I have to have times where I can get it on the go. And who does it best? Your right....Starbucks!
So today I am thrilled to offer Two $10 Starbucks e-Gift Cards for giveaway. I am sure you can find a way to use them in no time at all. This giveaway will run from May 1st to May 15th. I want to thank all the blogs that are jumping in on this bandwagon to share. Great group...I know because we all hang out together over on facebook. A bunch of chatty patties and pauls we can be sure. It would be fun if we could all get together at a Starbucks and share.
Here are the girls and boys of the band who brought you this giveaway!
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