When I Write...

I will always remember the first time I felt really proud of what I wrote for school. It was a story we had to create for ourselves about our journey on the Oregon Trail way back when I was in 5th grade. I was so confident that it was the best one in the group, I even voted for myself when we needed to choose who's story was going to be read to the class out of our group. Mine didn't get picked, but I will always remember how happy I was with what I wrote that day.

Now I'm much more humble about my writing, as opposed to voting for myself as the best piece of work when I was around 10 years old. That Oregon Trail story really flicked a switch in myself and shed light to a new favorite hobby. It only took a couple years for me to start writing for fun on my own. My 7th grade English class focused on creative writing most of the time, and I began to enjoy inventing stories, characters and fantastic lands during my free time outside of class.

This was when I discovered my passion for writing.

I was very shy when I was young. It was hard for me to interact with new people, or even people I knew rather well. I was just extremely quiet, unsure and always nervous about what to say to someone. I found solace in books, especially Harry Potter. JK Rowling was my biggest hero, and I wanted nothing more than to achieve something as great as her.

I understand now that creating an industry as huge as Harry Potter is near impossible, but my dream of one day being published has lived on to this day. To have the ability to put pen on paper or fingers on a keyboard and create this amazing story with characters never seen or heard of before is an incredible experience. I find myself whisked into faraway places deep into my imagination, allowing me to escape the present day for even a short period of time. Even if I'm not creating a new story, just writing about anything helps me relieve stress and worry. I've kept a journal my entire life, and now blogging has added to help fuel my passion in similar, yet different way.

The fact that I've been given the opportunity to write my story and have it published is a dream I never thought would actually come to a reality. Yet, here I am, writing something that will be seen on Amazon and Barnes and Noble one day. To have a physical copy of something I wrote...words cannot describe how happy that would make me. 2014 could be the year that this happens, and I seriously can't contain my excitement.

I work at Disneyland, and I'm getting published. 2013, you've been very, very good to me.

Book Blogger Challenge: Day Four

What's the last book you flung across the room?

This is an awesome question. I don't know why, but I love it. It reminds me of the scene in Silver Lining's Playbook when Bradley Cooper's character throws his book out the window and basically blames Ernest Hemingway for everything wrong in the world. I think we can all relate to Bradley Cooper in that moment from some point in our lives.

I can't quite remember any books specifically that I ended up throwing across the room...but I can probably guess that some of my textbooks for school ended up...let's just say, further away from me than they should have. I've definitely flung pencils and pens in my room out of frustration for whatever I'm writing or if I'm trying to figure out a math problem (ugh..math). 

A similar feeling to this I feel is the genuine shock when you discover a major plot twist in a story. One moment that stands out to me was when I was reading Catching Fire. For those of you who haven't read it, I won't spoil the surprise. (Unfortunately the movie trailer kind of gives it away..but still. I'll spare you just in case.) I just remember I was reading at the kitchen counter, discovered the shocking twist, and just closed the book shut. I literally sat there in awe for a handful of seconds...totally blindsided by the event. Apparently, some of my friends who also read the book saw that coming, so I felt kind of like an idiot a little afterwards. Nonetheless, I still love that book.

Oh, random side note. This gif makes me want to fling my laptop across the room.

Now you know.

Change

Life is about to get pretty crazy (once again). After coming home from five amazing months working in Disney, I've been having an extremely mellow and low-key summer back home in California. I've had my moments where I really miss Florida, all of my friends, and just the lifestyle that came with the internship, but I've learned to move on and focus on my next step.

I'm about to take a big risk and really step out of my comfort zone by moving to Southern California. I'm honestly not much of a city girl, but at the same time I really love being places where there's lots of things to do. I'm from an extremely small town (no stoplights, one four-way stop, and less than 400 people in my entire high school), so I'm really not used to big cities and the like. San Francisco actually terrifies me...the traffic alone gives me anxiety. I know...Southern California is a million times worse when it comes to traffic, but I'm going to have to face that fear.

There's one lesson I've learned in the past couple years after graduating high school: Change is inevitable. People grow apart, your opinions and views start to shift, and your goals start to transform. I graduated college with the plan of majoring in psychology and getting a career as a counselor of some sort. I wanted to go to school in the Bay Area. I started dating my second boyfriend.

Here I am now. I'm majoring in marketing. I'm moving to SoCal. Heck, I worked in my favorite place in the entire world. (I'm also single..but that's usual for me.) Going through all of these changes, moving across the country, coming back, and now moving down south, really teaches me to be prepared for anything. I might be scared, but everything will work out in the end.

People change. There are friends I have here that I used to talk to on a daily basis, but now we rarely even text. At one point I was able to tell these people everything, and now we're merely acquaintances, almost strangers. But that's okay, because through this process I've also gained amazing friends that mean the world to me.

I'm slowly preparing myself mentally for my next step, because I know this is how I'm going to grow and discover more about myself as a person.

Everything happens for a reason, you just have to be prepared.

Book Blogger Challenge: Day Three

Who are your blogging BFFs?

I don't have any book blogger BFFs...but I have some Disney bloggers and friends who I met through Tumblr and Blogger! That should count ;)

I have to say, my very first blogger friend I made way back when I started blogging is The Disney Freak. We were both very new to the blogging world, starting our Disney blogs around the same time. It's been so much fun watching her blog grow throughout the year, and it's always wonderful to talk to fellow Disney fans as well!

Me and Marisa at Hollywood Studios!

My other blogging friends I have met in person, some before and some after meeting them through blogging. Marisa is my other Disney blogging friend, who I started talking to on Tumblr when I was doing my Disney College Program. I was actually working in her all time favorite resort (the Polynesian) so she told me she was going to come visit me at work during her next vacation. Sure enough, we met and were actually able to hang out a bit when she came to visit more than once! She's such a sweetheart and runs a pretty much perfect blog. If you have a Tumblr, you NEED to follow her. She also recently created a blog on Blogger, which I'm excited to start reading.

Me and Christine at a pie festival!

Christine is one of my best friends I made during my college program, and we had actually met and talked on Tumblr quite a bit before we were able to meet in Florida. I remember when she got accepted as attractions, then actually got into entertainment after her audition. It was so exciting! I love this girl to pieces and I can't wait until she can come visit me in California. She has two blogs...one Disney blog and a personal which I find to be the most hilarious blog on the face of the earth.

Tony, Sara (left), and me around Halloween

Last but definitely not least, I'd like to give myself some credit to introducing my friend Tony into the blogging world. Unlike everyone else, he doesn't own a Disney blog. I met Tony at my community college. We had a couple classes together and he's grown to be one of my closest friends. He's extremely into philosophy, which he writes about on his blog. He also writes poems, thoughts, and pretty much anything on his mind at the time! He has a Blogger and a Tumblr if you'd like to check them out


Of course I have made many, many more friends through blogging, but these are the ones that I've met through Tumblr or Blogger specifically and blog regularly (besides Tony who I knew beforehand). I have friends like Lizzie and Rebecca who both run blogs on Tumblr. I met Lizzie on Facebook first (we became roommates at Disney) and Rebecca was my first Blog of the Month on my Disney Tumblr. I love both of these girls to pieces, and I just adore everyone I've gotten to know through my time blogging. My life definitely has changed since I've been a part of this blogging community!

Book Blogger Challenge: Day Two

What's your bedtime reading ritual?

You know...I don't know if I actually have one. Usually when I read before I go to sleep I just read until I can't read anymore. I stop at that point where your eyes are started to droop and your vision gets really fuzzy and you can't even hold up the book anymore. That's of course, if the book is really good.


In other news...

Since that was such a short answer for today's challenge, I want to share with you how it went to visit my new school!

It was a less than 24 hour trip. My mom and I flew down to Long Beach and drove to a hotel near Knotts Berry Farm on Wednesday and then stayed the night before waking up at the crack of dawn to drive to my school. Traffic wasn't terrible, which is a shock because it's SoCal, but being able to drive in the carpool lane certainly helped!

When we got to my college, I went and checked in and then sat in the Student Union for nearly four hours (womp). I got to learn about the different opportunities my school offers to its students, how to register for classes, all about my business school in particular, and about jobs and internship opportunities. I got to meet a small group of people, and most of them were from around the area already. Besides the people who came from foreign countries, I was the furthest one away from home. One guy asked if I was going to take all online classes since I live so far away....he didn't quite understand that I was moving down there permanently, which is kind of funny. I was also able to finally take a tour of the campus and get my Student ID card. Feels good to finally be moving forward with the next life adventure!

Book Blogger Challenge: Day One

Day One: Make 15 Book Related Confessions

Confession One: I actually took a really long time to start reading the Harry Potter series. I started reading Sorcerer's Stone at a friends house, then had to start over a couple times with the Chamber of Secrets because I stopped reading too many times. The Prisoner of Azkaban was actually the first book of the series that I fell in love with, and I cannot stand the film adaption. It makes me mad just how much they strayed from the book and how much the director tried to be different.

Confession Two: I could never finish Eragon. This actually surprises me because it's one of those types of novels that sounds right up my ally. I don't know..it got boring for me. However it did make me cry...I'll always remember that for some reason.

Confession Three: I actually really liked the Twilight series BEFORE the movies came out. Those movies ruined it for me. Probably for the better, though.

Confession Four: I've read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a total of four times. All 734 pages through and through. (Yes I have memorized the number of pages..)

Confession Five: Breaking Dawn was probably the worst ending to a series I've ever read.

Confession Six: The Luxe series really needs to be made into a movie, or even a TV show similar to the Gossip Girl series. I think it would be a complete hit and you can even take the cast of Gossip Girl and use them for the series. They're pretty much perfect.

Confession Seven: I've always wanted to write a novel, but whenever I start one I can never get much further than the middle of the rising action. I've probably finished writing only one story on my own in my life.

Confession Eight: I recently realized that the reason why I'm so critical with movies is because of their storyline. I'm so used to reading amazing books that I expect movies to be just as good..which obviously doesn't happen much. Does this make sense? I might just be weird.

Confession Nine: I really adore Laurie Stolarz's writing style. She somehow finds a way to make you feel like you're actually the character or there with the character every single time. I really hope I can somehow write something like her work someday.

Confession Ten: I sometimes forget just how much I love to read. When I'm reading, I think, "Wow, why haven't I done this more recently?" and then I finish the book and go back into the recent bad habit of procrastinating on starting a new one. Which is actually something I'm doing right now....

Confession Eleven: I kept my creative writing class's textbook in case I wanted to do some of the writing exercises and projects included inside of it. I have yet to actually open it since the last day of class.

Confession Twelve: One book that's always meant the most to me is my journal. I've kept one since around Kindergarden. It's really the only thing that can make me feel better when I get so stressed out and venting to my friends doesn't work well enough. Plus, it's filled with the most interesting dreams I've had and it's basically my life story.

Confession Thirteen: I actually have six completed journals.

Confession Fourteen: I really hope school doesn't get in the way of me reading again. Working at Disney definitely did (but it was a good reason).

Confession Fifteen: I really hope I can continue book blogging like I originally planned. I really love writing and books and I just feel like there's so much potential with this kind of hobby.

This was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be! I'm really looking forward to continuing this challenge though!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge

Hey guys! I want to apologize for my super long hiatus on this blog..I got back from working in Walt Disney World about a month or so ago and I've been focusing on catching up on my Disney blog. I really want to get back into writing and doing book reviews (I have two books to do at the moment).

However, I also stumbled upon this 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge on A Little Shelf of Heaven (a lovely book blog) which was actually created by April on Good Books and Good Wine! I felt like it was a pretty neat way to get back into blogging on here, since the 30 Day Writing Challenge I posted earlier takes a little more work and dedication (I still want to try some of the tasks on there though).

Once again I really want to apologize for my absence. I'm actually going to be flying down to Southern California to visit my new school tonight! Super excited for the next chapter of my life to start in just a little over a month!