Cosette Playlist

I've told a few people about a playlist I made for one of my classes. It was actually the same class that I made The Yellow Wallpaper picture for. The assignment was to create a playlist that describes your favorite character in literature. I hope you are realizing how cool this class was. I kind of wish I hadn't taken it freshman year, because it totally spoiled me for what a good English class at UNC should be like and it was taught by the head of the English department here. Most have not been up to par with this class, and the budget cuts didn't help any. Anyway, I chose Cosette from Les Miserables because it's one of my favorite classics of all time, and I thought I could come up with the best playlist for her out of all the characters in the novel. The songs I chose are meant to describe her life from the time her mother sent her to live with another family to the time she realizes how wrong she was to turn away from Jean Valjean. There is a more detailed description of the reason for the song choices and the links to the songs on this page. The songs I chose were:

"Welcome to the Cruel World" by Ben Harper

"Good Times Gonna Come" by Aqualung

"I Will Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie

"End of Our Days" by Howie Day

"Open Your Eyes" by Snow Patrol

"Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer

"Good Woman" by Catpower

"Where I Stood" by Missy Higgins

Another cool thing about posting this playlist is that it totally represents my favorite kind of music for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love plenty of other kinds of music including country (there's just something about summertime and country music), rock, rap, etc., but if I had to pick one song to listen to for the rest of my life it would probably be something by Missy Higgins. Let's hope my life isn't that repetitive, but you get the idea.

Chapter 1

So, I went home this weekend and although it was a short visit, I did find the inspiration to write chapter 1. Laying on a blanket outside under the trees that are starting to turn was the perfect setting for me to give life to a story.

It took me a little while to get started, but I made myself make an outline first and plan out all the major plot twists in the novel. I can already see the characters forming and the story seems to be writing itself, as often happens when I write. Until now, I've only written short creative pieces, so this is a really big leap for me. What I have learned so far is that I don't think I need to worry about planning out all the little details, because they will come to me as I write. I have established the relationship between the main character and his father, which I need for the background of at least the first half of the story. I wrote all of this freehand, so when I type it up, I will probably edit the chapter again. There's just something about writing at home though that begs for me to use a pencil and paper. It reminds me of the years and good times I had writing as a child. When I was younger, I definitely read a lot, but I probably wrote just as much. I miss having the time to do both of those things as much as I used to. Taking childhood for granted... it never fails. Okay, well that's the book update. I'm in class on Sunday right now, so back to paying attention for a little while. I'm really excited, everyone! Keep reading :)

My Book

Okay, I have decided I'm going to write a book. Seriously. I'm going to make time to sit down and write. Most people's reactions have been, "Well, that's awesome! I mean, if you have enough time to do something like that, go for it." The truth is, you have to make time for what you care about. Everyone knows this if they think about it. We make time to hang out with those we care about. We all know that if we decided to work out and stay fit, we take 30 minutes out of our day to do so. I'm going to spend at least 3 hours a week writing. I'm going to keep it fun, so it's not like another responsibility or a job, but I'm going to think of it as free time. I'll spend it exercising my imagination.

The reason I'm telling you guys this is because I'm going to keep you all updated on my journey to becoming a novelist. It's going to be a fiction novel and so far I have an outline. For the sake of keeping my ideas private, I'm not going to reveal the gist of the story, but I am going to keep you posted on how far I've gotten, character development, struggles I have to overcome, etc. Please stick with me on this! I need support to keep going. I know it's going to be hard... I've tried before but I've never had an idea this good and I've never been this resolved. I believe I have reached a point when my writing skills are good enough and they will only improve on this journey. Stick with me! Free copies to all that read and comment when I get published.

I will reach this goal, readers. Just wait and read.

Book progress to date:

• outline started
• main characters decided upon
• plot twist decided

Next step:

• complete chapter by chapter outline
• begin writing
• develop main character
• develop setting

More to come soon! Don't worry, I will still post other interesting stuff too:)

Movie Mondays: My Top 3

My roommates and I have dubbed Mondays "Movie Mondays", in hopes of making this horrible first day of the week more enjoyable. Tonight was the first night of this fabulous, new tradition and the first movie on the list was "Love Actually". I don't know how much of the movie we actually watched, since the night turned into more of a social event than anything, but the point was to bring us all together for fun anyway.

But this got me thinking about the next movies on the list. Since I live in an apartment full of girls, it's safe to say that most of these viewings will be of sappy love stories and romantic comedies. Some timeless favorites of mine are:

1. When Harry Met Sally

If you haven't seen this movie, it's a great one to sit down and watch with your mom. I can just about guarantee that she's seen it and loves it. The classic diner seen may be a little awkward if you are younger, but watch it anyway. No one does New Year's Eve like Harry and Sally!

2. Pride and Prejudice

This one is for the Jane Austen fans out there, or for those that just love a good "chick flick". It's hard to beat the classic story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. You can see from one of my earlier posts that I love to watch this one. If there's a rainy afternoon when you can't think of anything better to do than immerse yourself in one of the greatest love stories ever told, spend a couple hours with these two. It will probably ruin real life love for you, but maybe it will just help you keep your standards high, ladies!

3. The Notebook

You probably knew this one would be listed from your first glance at this post, but there's good reason for it. It's been over-watched by millions of us, to be sure, but it will always bring a tear to your eye. It's fun, exciting, and, let's be honest, we all wish for a love like Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gossling share in this film.

Okay, that's the end of my girly ramblings for the night. Girls, watch these and see if you agree with my top 3. Guys, pick any of these three to watch with your lady on date night and I can guarantee cuddling:)

The Yellow Wallpaper

For those of you that have read this crazy short story, you will understand this picture. For one of my classes freshman year, we had to create an image interpreting a story that we were interested in. This was mine:

Here's a link to my portfolio for that class. This is definitely my favorite that I've taken since being in college: Literature and the Other Arts. I learned so much and loved the whole class!

My Portfolio

Penny Passions

I keep my passions

in my change-purse

collected together as if

they are all the same.

I keep them snapped in tight

instead of scattered

untidily, offensively

all around.

I would not want

to get my change

mixed up with yours

because there would be

too much to sort through.

Mine are copper to your silver;

too tedious to count and trade in,

too insignificant to do anything other

than collect.

But my penny passions are mine.

And my jar is nearly full.

"Don't wish your life away"

I'm not wishing my life away, anonymous-person-who-is-older-than-me. I just want to be out of college. And yes, I can hear you, person-who-still-wishes-for-college-life. I know you're saying that "college is the best time of your life". College is pretty great, but all I have to say is, I sure hope not. I hope the best time in my life is when I have finally reached the goals I have set, one of which is to graduate. I look forward to not having to worry about my freaking GPA for a change. All I have done my whole life is school. I will always "do" school though, since I plan to be a high school English teacher, but I'm ready to be the one grading. I'm excited to have my own house, start a family, and live for my family and not for school. My priorities have changed over the years. At some point my tunnel vision for school dissolved and I was able to see the landscape of life around me.

Now don't get me wrong; I love learning. I'm a fan of school and being educated, but I don't understand why years and years of education are required to get a job now. I'm sure it has to do with the economy, but even before the economy started its downward slope, "college," as one of my friends worded it, "has become the new high school and grad school is the new college".

Wouldn't it make more sense to expedite the education process if so much more education is required for a good job, rather than making people spend a third to a quarter of their life in school, just to make a decent living? What about doubling up the middle school grades? Put third and fourth together and fifth and six together. We are already moving to the year-round school system, so why not learn more as well. Just a thought. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this. Maybe I burned myself out by going to a high school that felt like college. I'm a junior and I feel like I should be finished. Two more years. In the meantime, I'm going to work on another way to make money.