http://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Life-1-Olivia-Wood/dp/1453669787/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292976381&sr=1-5
Not much else to say.
My dad says I have set the bar too high for self-acceptance. I still insist that this doesn't count as really being published.
a) It is not available in a physical bookstore. I preach about the power of the internet, but the truth is that the majority of our world does not use it.
b) It is self-published, which is cheating.
Off to watch Lost. We're halfway through Season 1 now.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Lunar Eclipse
Hm... I was going to put a funny quote here, but seeing as how my english teacher intends to "totally stalk my blog," as I believe she put it (and I'm doing nothing to disuade her- in fact I'm going to send her the link later tonight), perhaps I don't want that particular quote being the first thing she sees...
Don't worry, though. It'll come in a week or so. It's just not something I want as a first impression. :)
As I'm sure most if not all of you know, there was an eclipse last night, made super-extra-special by the fact that today's also the winter solstice.
I got up at about 2 a.m. to watch.
Clothing that was worn:
Later, Dad and I got up and stood in the backyard away from the streetlight. That was after totality started, so the moon looked really cool and red and so close that we might have been able to pluck it out of the air.
I figured with an English project to present first thing in the morning (which I feel went well, but we'll see once I get the rubric back), I should probably get some more sleep, so I went inside...and ended up watching YouTube videos until a bit after 4. Oops. They were good ones, though. Such as The Uncultured Project's Project for Awesome video, which was the most awesome one I've seen out of the entire project.
Fortunately, someone gave me a piece of Dark Chocolate Infused With Expresso at lunch (and I love coffee-flavored chocolate), plus I had a cup of Sunkist at dinner, so I'm not feeling tired. Ha.
Dad ended up staying outside and awake wearing his Doctor Who scarf wrapped around his face along with more clothes than I knew he could fit on his body at once until 5-ish, at which point he came in and went to bed before getting up again at 6 to take me to school. He's on vacation from now until the end of the year, so he could sleep all morning (which he didn't).
My cousin (who is in college except also on break) and his friends drove out to a nearby lake to watch the eclipse. Apparently it was pretty cool, except it got cloudy so they went to someone's house and hung out until morning.
In conclusion: totally worth it. I can't wait for the total solar one in South Carolina in 2017. We're going to make hotel reservations well in advance.
Also, Emily (rougewriter Emily) and Daniel, I had a dream you guys came over to my house to celebrate the solstice with me...except you didn't bother waking me up. You just got out candles in the middle of my floor and I happened to get up and notice and you said "Hey! Want to join us?"
Don't worry, though. It'll come in a week or so. It's just not something I want as a first impression. :)
As I'm sure most if not all of you know, there was an eclipse last night, made super-extra-special by the fact that today's also the winter solstice.
I got up at about 2 a.m. to watch.
Clothing that was worn:
- Shirt
- Dad's giant awesome fuzzy sweatshirt
- Coat
- Gloves
- Dual pairs of socks
- Slippers
- Hat-like thing
- Harry Potter scarf tied around nose and mouth
Later, Dad and I got up and stood in the backyard away from the streetlight. That was after totality started, so the moon looked really cool and red and so close that we might have been able to pluck it out of the air.
I figured with an English project to present first thing in the morning (which I feel went well, but we'll see once I get the rubric back), I should probably get some more sleep, so I went inside...and ended up watching YouTube videos until a bit after 4. Oops. They were good ones, though. Such as The Uncultured Project's Project for Awesome video, which was the most awesome one I've seen out of the entire project.
Fortunately, someone gave me a piece of Dark Chocolate Infused With Expresso at lunch (and I love coffee-flavored chocolate), plus I had a cup of Sunkist at dinner, so I'm not feeling tired. Ha.
Dad ended up staying outside and awake wearing his Doctor Who scarf wrapped around his face along with more clothes than I knew he could fit on his body at once until 5-ish, at which point he came in and went to bed before getting up again at 6 to take me to school. He's on vacation from now until the end of the year, so he could sleep all morning (which he didn't).
My cousin (who is in college except also on break) and his friends drove out to a nearby lake to watch the eclipse. Apparently it was pretty cool, except it got cloudy so they went to someone's house and hung out until morning.
In conclusion: totally worth it. I can't wait for the total solar one in South Carolina in 2017. We're going to make hotel reservations well in advance.
Also, Emily (rougewriter Emily) and Daniel, I had a dream you guys came over to my house to celebrate the solstice with me...except you didn't bother waking me up. You just got out candles in the middle of my floor and I happened to get up and notice and you said "Hey! Want to join us?"
Monday, December 20, 2010
Epic YouTube Announcement
And now it is time for the announcement I told you I'd have by the end of last week. In my defense, this is within a week of my saying that.
I am starting a new YouTube channel. Here is where I descrive what and why:
Juliet, Naked was recommended to me by rock4ever95. So thanks to him.
I don't really know much about "reviewing" books. Just how to talk about them. So we'll see how this goes.
I am starting a new YouTube channel. Here is where I descrive what and why:
Juliet, Naked was recommended to me by rock4ever95. So thanks to him.
I don't really know much about "reviewing" books. Just how to talk about them. So we'll see how this goes.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Globalization and the Internet: The Video
"Be the change you want to see in the world." - Gandhi
The third part of my English project (1 being speech and 2 being Powerpoint) was to make a video describing my views on my topic. I wanted to make a vlog, since that style in itself related to my topic, but we were supposed to make a "commercial" type thing. Below is my video.
Things I learned from the making of this video: I'm a terribly geeky optimistic liberal. (although perhaps "learned" isn't the right term considering I already would have used all of those adjectives to describe myself.)
My dad's reaction to me confessing that realization to him: "Sounds like someone raised you to be a geeky optimistic liberal."
Me: "No, you raised me to be a pessimistic geeky liberal."
Him: "Maybe you're only optimistic because you're too young to see how screwed up the world is. Or maybe you're optimistic because you're young and have the tools to work the change in the world that I didn't have."
Let's see...
My dad is awesome.
Also, I suggest Google imaging "censorship." There's some funny stuff there that...wasn't school-appropriate. Plus some funny stuff that was, of course, but didn't make it into the video.
The third part of my English project (1 being speech and 2 being Powerpoint) was to make a video describing my views on my topic. I wanted to make a vlog, since that style in itself related to my topic, but we were supposed to make a "commercial" type thing. Below is my video.
Things I learned from the making of this video: I'm a terribly geeky optimistic liberal. (although perhaps "learned" isn't the right term considering I already would have used all of those adjectives to describe myself.)
My dad's reaction to me confessing that realization to him: "Sounds like someone raised you to be a geeky optimistic liberal."
Me: "No, you raised me to be a pessimistic geeky liberal."
Him: "Maybe you're only optimistic because you're too young to see how screwed up the world is. Or maybe you're optimistic because you're young and have the tools to work the change in the world that I didn't have."
Let's see...
My dad is awesome.
Also, I suggest Google imaging "censorship." There's some funny stuff there that...wasn't school-appropriate. Plus some funny stuff that was, of course, but didn't make it into the video.
The Internet: Expanding Our Horizons, Expanding Our World
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent." - John Donne
The following is the speech portion of my English project. While the Powerpoint has some things not within the text, I won't be posting that-- not for any specific reason.
The following is the speech portion of my English project. While the Powerpoint has some things not within the text, I won't be posting that-- not for any specific reason.
The Internet: Expanding Our Horizons, Expanding Our World
“You are the first generation to be born on the internet. I don’t know how your mom did it, but she did,” said self-proclaimed “Professional Internet Moron” Hank Green in his “Message to the Class of 2009.” We’re a few years behind them, but he may as well be talking to us. The internet came into wide-spread use in the 1990s, and by 2007, according to Global Issues in Context Online, almost three quarters of North America and nearly half of Europe had and used internet access. In 2008, 22% of the global population was online—three times as much as in 2000 (“Internet”). This trend manifests in two ways: increased individual and group reach, and the integration of the world’s myriad of cultures.
Not only is the world using the internet more than ever, but we seem to think that we need to use it. According to a poll by the BBC World Service in 2010, about 67% of Japan's population strongly feels that they could not survive without the internet. 56% of Mexico feels the same way, while only 24% of Americans need to be constantly "plugged in." These percentages do not include those who stated they only "somewhat disagreed" with the statement that they could not live without the internet. When those numbers are added in, the statistics change to 84% for Japan, 81% for Mexico, and 36% for the United States. Companies like Google provide us with dozens of tools that many people—including, I confess, myself—are coming to depend on for day to day life to progress smoothly, and more are announced each year.
It goes without saying that billions use and love the internet. However, it is the young people who know the true power of the internet. Towards the end of his message, Hank tells us that “Not only do (we) understand how it works, but we have a unique understanding of how the world works,” (Green, “Message”).
He means that we know the internet is connecting the people and countries of the world into one collective of shared information and cultural content (“Internet”). This phenomenon is known as globalization—the connecting of distant regions of the world into one global unit. Since the 1960s when the original internet-like technologies were created, some scholars have feared that such globalization will lead to an eradication of cultural diversity, insisting that “Earth's diversity of languages, accents, scripts, musical forms, and artistic styles developed before globalization, during the period when most people were in regular contact only with people in their own social group, (“Internet”) and therefore the unification of these social groups will result in a “uniform global taste.” Whether or not a "uniform global taste" is being created remains to be seen, however, as the internet is simply too new to tell. What is certain is that the internet is exposing people to opinions, images, and information from other countries, fostering greater understanding and knowledge between nations.
I am inclined to believe that diversity will not be lost. When Catholicism took over Ireland, they did not lose the old ways—only adapted them into the new regime. If a priest declared that a stillborn baby had not been baptized and therefore could neither go to heaven nor be buried on holy ground, the parents would leave the baby at the base of a fairy tree, entrusting it to their care instead. Even now, when most Irishmen will deny their belief in fairies, it is as good as illegal to cut down one of these trees (Wood). The current versions of our cultures will fade with globalization, of course, but that doesn’t mean our differences and national quirks will do the same.
If you are one of those who don’t agree with me, however, you need not worry. Countries such as Iran and China are working hard to censor both incoming internet feeds and outgoing uploads. Global Issues in Context Online reports that “"In June 2009, before and following their disputed presidential election, the Iranian government began censoring and blocking such Web sites as YouTube and Facebook and severely restricted foreign journalists from reporting on the protests and unrest that gripped the capital of Tehran." Furthermore, "China employs at least 30,000 full-time workers to censor the Internet and routinely imprisons people for trying to access forbidden Web sites or post dissenting views to the Web… In January 2010, Google announced that Chinese cyber-spies had attempted to hack into the computers at its Chinese office to gain access to the e-mail of Chinese human rights activists,” (“Internet”). Even the ease of communication for which the internet is so famous can become a tool for these governments; with more online freedom, people will share more, alerting organizations as to who needs to be blocked (Morozov).
Censorship is a grievous crime, and censorship of such an enormous source of information is even more so. Fortunately, "citizen reporters" continued to recount and comment on local events by blogging via proxy servers. The Iranian government could block individual servers, but were no match for the thousands of proxies being used anonymously (“Internet”). This past March, Google shut down its Chinese offices and began redirecting users to the Hong Kong site, which is not censored.
Efforts are being made both for and against globalization via the internet, but political arguments aside, it is difficult to argue that the internet does not have a staggering positive impact upon the world. A fantastic example is the Project for Awesome. As the Project’s website describes it, “Every year, YouTube's Community takes over YouTube for a day, and instead of being stupid or funny or informative, we promote charities. Just one day a year – we'll get back to being silly tomorrow.” Even as I wrote this speech, hundreds of thousands of YouTube users—including myself— were participating in the 2010 event. At the time of writing, over 80,000 dollars were raised in less than 48 hours—and that’s only from the raffles (Green, “About”).
My Project for Awesome video described the charity behind another world-changing event that would not have been possible without the internet: the Harry Potter Alliance and its Helping Haiti Heal campaign. This campaign consisted of many fandoms of various books, shows, and movies joining together through sites such as LiveStream and Twitter to raise over $123,000 to send to Haiti after the earthquake in January. Five enormous jets filled with supplies were sent via this initiative (Slack).
The vast majority of the Harry Potter Alliance and those involved in the Project for Awesome are in high school or college—not adults with plenty of extra money. The internet is not only promoting fast communication and increased availability of information, but it is also providing young people like us with the tools to make a positive difference in the world with an impact that our parents’ generation could never have imagined.
While novels are fiction, the concepts within them are often very real. In Cory Doctorow’s novel For the Win, union workers across the planet fight their bosses both in real life and within cyberspace on blogs, webcasts, and the massively multiplayer online role-playing games that are becoming increasingly more popular within our own world (Doctorow).
That’s not all, though; globalization is affecting the arts as well as youth empowerment, human welfare, and politics. Chris Anderson’s article in Wired magazine, “Film School,” reveals trends in dance: a six year old boy in Hawaii can perform moves difficult for adult professionals simply by emulating videos he has seen online, and groups of Californian teenagers invent their own sub-genres by building off of the videos of others (Anderson). The internet allows people to collaborate and expand to a degree far greater than they could have done on their own or within their immediate surroundings. Our cultures aren’t killing each other off—they’re growing exponentially and taking a trip around the world in far less than 80 days.
Globalization will only increase from here on out; the internet has grown too much and been too useful to take it away. Our duty as its users is to find safe yet productive ways in which to use it. Iran and China block users who are advocating social change—because it’s working (Morozov). YouTube is about more than cat videos and fart jokes (Anderson), as is evident in the Project for Awesome, and the Harry Potter Alliance showed that Twitter is about more than telling your dozen followers what you ate for breakfast. The arts aren’t less good—there’s simply a lot more art available for viewing. We ran out of space to explore here on Earth, and we don’t have the money to explore outer space, so we invented a new space of our own: cyberspace.
Works Cited
Anderson, Chris. “Film School.” Wired Jan. 2011: 23-24. Print.
“Can You Cope Without The Internet?: 2010.” Global Issues in Context. Gale, 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2010.
Coleman, Kevin. "Unconstrained Cyberspace Domain." DefenseTech. Military
Advantage, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
Advantage, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
Doctorow, Cory. For the Win. Ed. Patrick Nielsen Hayden and Teresa Nielsen Hayden. New York: Tor, 2010. Print.
Green, Hank. “About the P4A.” Project For Awesome. WordPress, 29 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. .
Green, Hank, and John Green. “A Message to the Class of 2009.” Vlogbrothers. YouTube, n.d. Web. 26 May 2009.
“Internet and Globalization.” Global Issues In Context Online Collection. Gale, 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
Morozov, Eugeny. “The Dark Side of the Net.” Wired Jan. 2011: 23-24. Print.
Slack, Andrew, and Paul DeGeorge. “Helping Haiti Heal.” The Harry Potter Alliance. The Harry Potter Alliance, Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. .
Wood, Don. Personal interview. 11 Dec. 2010.
Wood, Kathryn. Personal interview. Mar. 2010.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Educating Adults
"Soul meets soul on lovers' lips." - Percy Bysshe Shelley
Excuse my sappy quote.
A couple days ago, I was telling my grandma about my English project. I informed her that the Chinese government employs over 30,000 people solely for the purpose of internet censorship.
She said "That doesn't seem like very many people, considering the size of China." I thought "There's a problem."
Adults focus so much on educating their children, and I won't contest that it's a worthy and vital goal.
However, some adults need education as well. There's so much more of the world since when my grandma's generation was in school. Unless they're like my dad and obsessively keeps up with news in science and technology, they're not going to learn things like how when it comes to the internet, size and location don't matter.
I would like to say "Nothing against my grandma, of course," but I think there truly is a problem. Most people think that once they've gotten their degrees, they're done learning and are set for life. Obviously, that's not the case.
Educated, knowledgeable citizens are the most important commodity that we should value. Of course, governments would prefer ignorance, seeing as how it is easier to control and get away with stuff.
I'm not asking for adults to be continuously enrolled in a class or two at a community college (although that wouldn't hurt). I'm asking for them to be interested in learning, and to seek that information out for themselves. Listen to a podcast. Read the news. Talk to your grandchildren, not about how their day's been, but about the world as they see it.
In this case, actually, asking me how my day's been is completely useless because ever since this, I say "good," regardless of how it was. Not even "okay" is all right. If I say "my day was okay," the immediate reaction is "Oh no, what's wrong?" Nothing's wrong. I just had an okay day. So I say good and then don't have to worry about it.
I'd much rather talk about important, truthful things than little white lies, but many people her age have the mentality of "I don't understand what these young people are talking about, therefore I will smile and nod and pretend I do" instead of "I don't understand this. I think I'll ask questions and find out more."
The second is the one that should be used, and the second one is the mindset our teachers ask us to have.
I leave you with this: Life is a continuous stream of learning. There is no "graduation." You may not go to a physical school anymore, but that doesn't mean there aren't teachers of other sorts, or "independent 'study' programs" that you can use.
Excuse my sappy quote.
A couple days ago, I was telling my grandma about my English project. I informed her that the Chinese government employs over 30,000 people solely for the purpose of internet censorship.
She said "That doesn't seem like very many people, considering the size of China." I thought "There's a problem."
Adults focus so much on educating their children, and I won't contest that it's a worthy and vital goal.
However, some adults need education as well. There's so much more of the world since when my grandma's generation was in school. Unless they're like my dad and obsessively keeps up with news in science and technology, they're not going to learn things like how when it comes to the internet, size and location don't matter.
I would like to say "Nothing against my grandma, of course," but I think there truly is a problem. Most people think that once they've gotten their degrees, they're done learning and are set for life. Obviously, that's not the case.
Educated, knowledgeable citizens are the most important commodity that we should value. Of course, governments would prefer ignorance, seeing as how it is easier to control and get away with stuff.
I'm not asking for adults to be continuously enrolled in a class or two at a community college (although that wouldn't hurt). I'm asking for them to be interested in learning, and to seek that information out for themselves. Listen to a podcast. Read the news. Talk to your grandchildren, not about how their day's been, but about the world as they see it.
In this case, actually, asking me how my day's been is completely useless because ever since this, I say "good," regardless of how it was. Not even "okay" is all right. If I say "my day was okay," the immediate reaction is "Oh no, what's wrong?" Nothing's wrong. I just had an okay day. So I say good and then don't have to worry about it.
I'd much rather talk about important, truthful things than little white lies, but many people her age have the mentality of "I don't understand what these young people are talking about, therefore I will smile and nod and pretend I do" instead of "I don't understand this. I think I'll ask questions and find out more."
The second is the one that should be used, and the second one is the mindset our teachers ask us to have.
I leave you with this: Life is a continuous stream of learning. There is no "graduation." You may not go to a physical school anymore, but that doesn't mean there aren't teachers of other sorts, or "independent 'study' programs" that you can use.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Project For Awesome 2010
"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?" - Henry David Thoreau
For those of you not familiar with the Project For Awesome: http://projectforawesome.com/aboutp4a
My video:
This is not intended to offend any nuns, or people against Harry Potter, or Christians who AREN'T against Harry Potter. This is just intended for laughs and to raise money for a charity I support.
In addition, the HPA is not by any means the only good charity out there. In fact, I recommend that you donate to other ones.
Charities I donated to:
If you click through to the pages I linked to, you will see that I donated to PiH for the raffle prize (not that PiH is a bad charity. I just had ulterior motives.)
Make A Wish, however, was not for the prize. A length of time ago so large that it is rather shameful, I raised a bunch of money by crocheting and selling scarves and promised to donate the money to cancer-related stuff. Then I never actually donated it. So I donated it to Make A Wish earlier this evening, and the possibility of Star Wars novels is a bonus that I actually secretly hope I don't win. Not because I don't like Star Wars...but because I don't have the shelf space right now.
So am I selfish, donating simply because I want the prize in the first case and out of duty in the second? I couldn't have lived with myself if I transfered the scarf money from its envelope into my wallet. Therefore am I not doing it to help others...only to help myself? Is any charitable donation selfless, if it's just to make us feel good?
For those of you not familiar with the Project For Awesome: http://projectforawesome.com/aboutp4a
My video:
This is not intended to offend any nuns, or people against Harry Potter, or Christians who AREN'T against Harry Potter. This is just intended for laughs and to raise money for a charity I support.
In addition, the HPA is not by any means the only good charity out there. In fact, I recommend that you donate to other ones.
Charities I donated to:
If you click through to the pages I linked to, you will see that I donated to PiH for the raffle prize (not that PiH is a bad charity. I just had ulterior motives.)
Make A Wish, however, was not for the prize. A length of time ago so large that it is rather shameful, I raised a bunch of money by crocheting and selling scarves and promised to donate the money to cancer-related stuff. Then I never actually donated it. So I donated it to Make A Wish earlier this evening, and the possibility of Star Wars novels is a bonus that I actually secretly hope I don't win. Not because I don't like Star Wars...but because I don't have the shelf space right now.
So am I selfish, donating simply because I want the prize in the first case and out of duty in the second? I couldn't have lived with myself if I transfered the scarf money from its envelope into my wallet. Therefore am I not doing it to help others...only to help myself? Is any charitable donation selfless, if it's just to make us feel good?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Figment
OH LOOK! A 4TH POST TODAY!
I must be making up for the time I lost in November. Or maybe it's a snow day and I have a lot of time on my hands and a low desire to work on my homework. One of the two. But probably not the last one.
Today I learned about a site called Figment. It's a place for teens to share and talk about their writing. It's pretty awesome. No offense to The Strand for the 21st Century.
There's contests and book reviews and all kinds of stuff.
I entered the current contest with "Thirst." And yes, there is a Doctor Who reference in there.
So have fun with that. Follow my work, and leave a link to your profile in a comment so that I can read your stuff too.
I must be making up for the time I lost in November. Or maybe it's a snow day and I have a lot of time on my hands and a low desire to work on my homework. One of the two. But probably not the last one.
Today I learned about a site called Figment. It's a place for teens to share and talk about their writing. It's pretty awesome. No offense to The Strand for the 21st Century.
There's contests and book reviews and all kinds of stuff.
I entered the current contest with "Thirst." And yes, there is a Doctor Who reference in there.
So have fun with that. Follow my work, and leave a link to your profile in a comment so that I can read your stuff too.
An Abundance of Quotes Part 3
“That brief walk was one of those moments he knew he’d remember and look back on, one of those moments that he’d try to capture in the stories he told. Nothing was happening, really, but the moment was thick with mattering.” - John Green
"The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos." - Stephen Jay Gould
"Love is space and time measured by the heart." - Marcel Proust
"One can acquire everything in solitude except character." - Stendhal
I love 1 because I can identify with it a heck of a lot.
I love 2 because it rings with the humor of truth.
I love 3 because it sounds pretty.
I love 4 because it is good to know.
The Abundance Series:
Part 1
Part 2
"The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos." - Stephen Jay Gould
"Love is space and time measured by the heart." - Marcel Proust
"One can acquire everything in solitude except character." - Stendhal
I love 1 because I can identify with it a heck of a lot.
I love 2 because it rings with the humor of truth.
I love 3 because it sounds pretty.
I love 4 because it is good to know.
The Abundance Series:
Part 1
Part 2
Pain
"If you feel my pain, then you understand my pain, and then I don't feel so alone."
Translation: If I feel terrible on the inside, and I make you feel terrible on the inside, then I feel a connection with you and that perverse emotional intimacy makes me feel better.
I was writing a rant today on a topic that I won't disclose (mainly because it's so unimportant that I am embarrassed that it warranted a rant, but hey, I'm a teenage girl) in my online journal, and I looked back over at what I had typed while my fingers were flying across the keyboard without regard to my brain, and that quote up there stared back at me.
And I thought that it was rather profound, in the profoundest way that something can be when it has been said hundreds if not thousands of times before. I love when sentences cut straight to the crux of a matter. That's what writing is for, I think: to unearth truth. There is my truth, and probably the truth of every other person who has said some less-than-nice things when upset.
What makes it more profound, though, is that I came up with that of my own accord. I learned it through experience, as opposed to reading it somewhere or hearing it spoken in 3rd person as a proverb. When something is learned through experience (and if the experience is interpreted correctly), it pretty much has to be true. There are exceptions. I can think of many. But none of the "somethings" I'm talking about (emotional somethings) are in there.
On to the online journal, which I have probably mentioned before. This site is called Penzu. It's like a blog, except entirely private unless you choose to share and looks more like paper than like a text box. The formatting options are non-existent until you upgrade to Pro (which, of course, costs money), but it's a great place for people who type faster than they write to get their thoughts out. It's where I go when I don't want something on here and I don't feel like writing it in a physical journal. So mine consists of rants, sappy poetry that will never ever EVER see the light of day, and...that's about it.
When it comes to journaling, I really prefer the act of interring my thoughts into a notebook rather than a screen, which results in the only online things being stuff I want to share (here) and overly emotional things that are completely embarrassing to read even a few minutes after they're written.
I have 5 or 6 active physical journals. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned after all.
Translation: If I feel terrible on the inside, and I make you feel terrible on the inside, then I feel a connection with you and that perverse emotional intimacy makes me feel better.
I was writing a rant today on a topic that I won't disclose (mainly because it's so unimportant that I am embarrassed that it warranted a rant, but hey, I'm a teenage girl) in my online journal, and I looked back over at what I had typed while my fingers were flying across the keyboard without regard to my brain, and that quote up there stared back at me.
And I thought that it was rather profound, in the profoundest way that something can be when it has been said hundreds if not thousands of times before. I love when sentences cut straight to the crux of a matter. That's what writing is for, I think: to unearth truth. There is my truth, and probably the truth of every other person who has said some less-than-nice things when upset.
What makes it more profound, though, is that I came up with that of my own accord. I learned it through experience, as opposed to reading it somewhere or hearing it spoken in 3rd person as a proverb. When something is learned through experience (and if the experience is interpreted correctly), it pretty much has to be true. There are exceptions. I can think of many. But none of the "somethings" I'm talking about (emotional somethings) are in there.
On to the online journal, which I have probably mentioned before. This site is called Penzu. It's like a blog, except entirely private unless you choose to share and looks more like paper than like a text box. The formatting options are non-existent until you upgrade to Pro (which, of course, costs money), but it's a great place for people who type faster than they write to get their thoughts out. It's where I go when I don't want something on here and I don't feel like writing it in a physical journal. So mine consists of rants, sappy poetry that will never ever EVER see the light of day, and...that's about it.
When it comes to journaling, I really prefer the act of interring my thoughts into a notebook rather than a screen, which results in the only online things being stuff I want to share (here) and overly emotional things that are completely embarrassing to read even a few minutes after they're written.
I have 5 or 6 active physical journals. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned after all.
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