Summer Goal: Nicholas Sparks.

As I've mentioned on here before, I have a great love for reading. I've always been drawn to books since I was younger.. there's something about creating your own movie-like reenactment in your head through reading someone else's words, it's enthralling. Of course, as I've grown and matured throughout my years so has my sense in literature. The genre of writing that I find myself most drawn to are romantic fictions, very much like the writings of my favorite author Nicholas Sparks.

His novels are so well written and captivating that once I get started on one of his books, it only takes a few days to finish it. I love the way he incorporates love, pain, relationships, family, faith, loyalty, trust, and just so many of the important aspects of life into such alluring novels.

This is why I've decided to set a goal for myself to keep busy this summer. I've decided that I'm going to take the next two months and read the remainder of his novels that I haven't already. In total he has written 17 novels, of which I've already read 6.

So starting today, June 27, my goal is to finish the remaining 11 novels by the end of my summer, August 22. Fingers crossed.

My progression: 
LAST UPDATE - 7/6/12

1. The Notebook (October 1996) Completed before
2. Message in a Bottle (April 1998)
3. A Walk to Remember (October 1999) Completed before
   
4. The Rescue (September 2000) - Completed 7/6/12
5. A Bend in the Road (September 2001)
6. Nights in Rodanthe (September 2002)
7. The Guardian (April 2003) Currently reading.
8. The Wedding (September 2003)
9. Three Weeks With My Brother (April 2004)
10. True Believer (April 2005)
11. At First Sight (October 2005) Completed 6/30/12
    
12. Dear John (October 2006) Completed before
13. The Choice (September 2007) Completed before
14. The Lucky One (October 2008) Completed before
15. The Last Song (September 2009) Completed before
16. Safe Haven (September 2010)
17. The Best Of Me (October 2011)

Rejection.

Failure, rejection.. it's all a part of life. Everyone, no matter how amazing or accomplished they are, has faced some sort of rejection in their lifetime; it's what makes them stronger and better at what they do. Today I got a rejection letter from the VCU School of the Arts, which sucks but it is what it is. I applied to the School of the Arts (one of the best art schools in the country!) for the cinema program just so I could learn about movie editing.. not the best strategy. And I can honestly say I'm not real gutted about the whole thing because I wasn't really invested and didn't give it 100%. I told myself I probably wasn't going to get in.. I mean it is one of the best art schools in the country, and trust me I'm no artist. But there are plenty of people who have more passion and a true calling for the cinema industry and who want to learn all about cinema who deserved to get it and I can truly say that I'm happy I wasn't accepted to take their place. I don't have that passion that they probably do for cinema and if I were to have gotten in it wouldn't have been fair to those others applicants who truly love cinema.

I can't deny it does suck.. I mean failure always hurts, not matter how invested you are into whatever it is you're trying for or not. There was a part of me that was really hoping to get accepted and then I would have been a double major and doing all this exciting stuff, but it wasn't supposed to happen. I'm a big believer in God's Plan. I think he has a plan for everyone and so every time something doesn't go my way.. well then it just wasn't a part of the plan. If something is meant to happen then it'll happen and it will always be for the better, whether you can see it at that moment or not.. you're getting stronger and always closer to the best that is yet to come!

Let me leave you with my favorite inspirational quote about failure... I'm not sure who said it, but I can tell you I could not have said it any better myself because truer words have never been spoken!

"Every failure brings you one step closer to success"

This isn't to say don't be affected by your failures, it's okay to cry about it or feel bad for yourself for a little time.. but don't dwell on it and get stuck in a dark place because this one thing didn't work out. Face the rejection, turn that pain into passion and show those bastards what they missed out on! After all, success is the best revenge!

♥♥♥ 

Slack.

Well it's been some time since I've written on here, hasn't it? I suppose it's time to brush the dust of this old thing, so to speak, and get back into writing. It's pretty bad that my first post was going on and on about my love for writing and my excitement for keeping up with this new resolution to write more.. then I just fell off. But I'm back now and it's gonna be better than ever..at least I hope! (:

These past few months I've been really busy finishing up my freshman year in college (I can't believe it's already over!) as well as starting a new job and everything so my writing kind of fell to the back burner for awhile. But enough with the excuses, it's summer now and I've got plenty of time to focus on my writings.

So here's to Summer 2012 and more writing to come!

♥♥♥

New Obsession: Bo Burnham.

I have this new obsession that I've recently acquired. A few days ago my brother introduced me to this stand-up called "Words, Words, Words" by this guy named Bo Burnham. Now here's a little tidbit about me.. I love an occasional laugh from a funny comedian every now and then, but Bo is more than just a typical "funny guy". His comedy is very innovative in the way that he doesn't just stand on a stage and tell stories and jokes like most comedians, he expresses his comedy through songs. Now you may be thinking "songs.. doesn't that make him a singer?" and I suppose it does. However, that's what makes him so different. He's combining comedy and music into one, in a very unique way. And let me tell you, this guy is a word mastermind. He takes these words and concepts and puts them together into a song while still being humourous.. it's crazy how talented this guy is.

While indulging in my current obsession I found out some background information on this one Bo Burnham, all thanks to the About Me section of his website (:  He started by posting videos to YouTube which became instant hits, so he then began touring colleges and various venues attracting more attention from fans. Then four days after turning 18, he became the youngest person to record his very own Comedy Central special. Now he has his own CDs and DVDs of his songs and stand-ups. All these accomplishments having happened within the past six years, since he first starting posting videos in 2006.

Please Note: Different people have different opinions of funny. I am not a very sensitive, easily offended person, especially when involving comedians. HOWEVER, if you are that type of person you may find Bo Burnham's comedy to be offensive and maybe even "cage-rattling". In this case I wouldn't necessarily recommend him to you, but hey you can still check him out.. who knows, maybe you'll still like him (:

So this post is getting pretty long and I could probably write about this kid for many paragraphs more, however I'm not going to put you through that, haha. So let me sign off by leaving you with a few links to Bo, so you can explore the amazing-ness of him yourself!

Bo's Website
Bo's YouTube
Bo's Blog
Bo's Twitter

Okay, have fun discovering Bo Burnham (:

♥♥♥

New Year, New Writings.

It's 2012. A new year. A new opportunity to make resolutions in hopes that this time next year we can look back at what we wanted to accomplish and proudly be able to say we did it. This year I've made a resolution to write more. I love writing and I love to read others' writing as well, whether that be a blog, a book, an article, whatever. I love words, they are very intriguing to me. Being able to express yourself through as little or as many words.. that fascinates me in a way. So this year I resolve to write more. I have this love for writing, but I don't find myself doing it very often. I keep all these words in my head, thoughts in my mind, and never write them down. However, this year that's going to change. I resolve to write at least once a day.. or at least try to.

This is the year that I'm going to exercise my love of words, express myself, and write them down for the world to see. So basically I've created this blog, with inspiration from one of my best friends Noura Bayoumi, as a place to write down all the random thoughts of my mind. So... welcome to my mind.

Here's to a new year. A year full of writings.

Check out Noura's blog as well, after all this is what inspired me! (:  

♥♥♥