Dan In Real Life Questions

1.       Dan writes a column on parenting advice but has a lot of trouble parenting.  Do you think it’s important to write about what you know?:  Personally, I find the most success in writing when I’m writing about what I know.  I think that the reason behind this is that I’ve felt the emotions that go with the situation.  I also find success in writing about situations that people I’m close with have gone through.  When making up a situation I don’t personally connect with I don’t have the best results

2.       What makes someone a “hottie” to you?: I am really attracted to musicians.  If you can sing or play an instrument I am probably into you.  If someone wrote me a song I would probably fall in love on the spot.  I like people that I can have fun and be extremely stupid with, but also have serious conversations with.  I REALLY like tall guys.  And I love blue eyes.  I’m not too picky with looks usually it just depends on if I like your personality.  But guys that are shorter than me or significantly smaller are not usually my type. 

3.       Dan and Marie aren’t supposed to fall in love.  Is illicit love more appealing to us?: For me personally, illicit love is a lot more appealing.  I don’t know why exactly.  And I realize how messed up it is.  But knowing a relationship won’t work out or knowing there are things standing in the way makes me want them more.  I think it may be due to the fact that if the relationship can’t happen, then nothing can go wrong.  So I build up this perfect idea of what it could be in my head, knowing I won’t get hurt from it because it won’t happen.  But it’s kind of ridiculous my mind works that way.  That I want what I can’t have.  The even more screwed up thing is that when the door is finally opened to what I couldn’t have, I want it less.  Kind of like a “the grass is always greener on the other side” sort of thing.  I’m not saying it makes sense, or its right, but I definitely think illicit love is more appealing.

**Reel** Life Post

My favorite movie is "The Wizard of Oz".  It was my mom's favorite movie so I saw it a lot growing up.  When I was in preschool I would legitimately  watch it every single day.  I'm actually surprised I don't hate it.  I think one of the reasons I like it is because it reminds me of when I was little. As I said before, it is also my mom's favorite movie so when I watch it I usually watch it with her.  I don't spend as much time with me mom as I should, so its always nice to do stuff like that with her.


I do no like horror movies.  At first it started out as a fear thing.  I was scared and would have nightmares just from watching the commercials.  But as I've grown up, I just don't care for the story lines of the movies.  They almost always have terrible actors and scripts.  I can watch horror movies if they are well produced, but that doesn't happen very often from what I've seen.  I am also the kind of person who will watch a movie or show and say "Well, this couldn't have happened.." or "No one would ever actually do that.." so these types of movies are definitely not made for me.


I probably watch a movie every week or so.  It definitely varies depending on how busy I am with work and school.  I usually will watch movies on my laptop in my bed or in my front living room at my house.

I don't need too much to enjoy a movie.  However, I would prefer a dark room, a soft blanket, a box of red Mike and Ike's, and a QUIET friend.  Movie talkers are not okay.


The survey told me that I am 83% extroverted, 58% agreeable, 58% conscientious, 75% emotionally stable, and 92% open to new experiences.  I think, for the most part, this quiz was scary accurate.

If my life was a movie... hmmm. I would have Taylor Swift play me in a movie about my life because she is a bad actress which is a metaphor for my life. The movie would show my love for music, it would follow the process of graduating high school, love interests (But we would have to make that part up. We just need to make this movie interesting some how.), and it would show me moving out to Nashville after I graduate.  Wish my life was interesting enough to make a movie out of, but unfortunately it is very normal.

Six Word Memoir

Trying to wink and failing miserably

Six Word Memoir

Looking for approval won't find happiness

Six Word Memoir

Only like him when I'm drunk

Favorite Movie Quotes

"I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen" -Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything (1989)


"A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others" -The Wizard, The Wizard of Oz (1939)

"It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic." -Napoleon Dynamite, Napoleon Dynamite (2004)


"You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period." -Christopher Gardener, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

"I like to think of Jesus like with giant eagles wings, and singin' lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with like an angel band and I'm in the front row and I'm hammered drunk!" -Cal Naughton Jr., Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Memorable Passage

"My name is Hazel. Augustus Waters was the great star-crossed love of of my life. Ours was an epic love story, and I won't be able to get more than a sentence into it without disappearing into a puddle of tears. Gus knew. Gus knows. I will not tell you our love story, because like all real love stories, it will die with us. As it should. I'd hoped that he'd be eulogizing me, because there is no one I'd rather have. I can't talk about our love story, so I will talk about math. I am not a mathematician, but I know this. There is an infinite between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many days of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You have me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful"




This passage, from the book "The Fault in Our Stars", was one of my favorite parts of the book. I love the idea of a "little infinity". I hadn't ever really thought about it like that before. I also like the idea of appreciating the time your given instead of dwelling on how little of time it was.

Famous First Line Info

      My famous first line was "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.".  This was from the book "Back When We Were Grownups" by Anne Tyler.  It was published in 2001. The story follows a woman named Rebecca who was a 53 year old widow, mother and grandmother.  She takes a journey through the book to become the girl she once knew, not who she had become.

Some of My Favorite Quotes

"And please remember that you were beautiful before he told you that you were." -Unknown

"I only write when i am falling in love, or falling apart." -Unknown

"Remember that you were art long before he came to admire you, and you'll continue to be art even when he's gone.  A masterpiece is still a masterpiece when the lights are off and the room is empty" - Charlotte Geier

"If a writer falls in love with you, you can never die." -Mik Everett

"Stay away from people who make you feel like you are hard to love." - Unknown

Newspaper- Inspired Piece

Faith

The definition of faith, according to the dictionary app on my phone, is confidence of trust in a person or thing. A belief that is not based on poof.  Belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.  Faith can mean a lot of different things, but I think that for a lot of people it is associated with religion.  Religion is something I envy.  Something I've always so desperatley wished I could be a part of. Something I've always wanted to understand.  Even from a young age I had questions, which were always dismissed with irrelevant answers.  And I pretended to understand and believe for years.  Mostly for the fact that I was taught if I didn't accept this idea I was going to be sent to Hell for all of eternity.. I'm not sure what to do about religion.  Because I think some of the ideas are positive.  But I feel like there is a lot more of tearing people down than there is building people up.  I hate the idea of controlling others.  I don't understand the idea of people having an opinion and wanting everyone to see things the way they see them.  I think one of the most beautiful things about people is that we all have these different opinions and views.  This kind of turned into a rant about my problems with religion, which it wasn't supposed to be.  Faith is just an interesting thing to me.  Knowing something may not exist, that it may let you down, but still putting everything you have into it.

Readers As Writers: Book-Inspired Piece

Happy Endings

I have mixed feelings about happy endings. On one hand, I am, or at least I try to be, a very realistic person. When the fairy tale ending happens at the end of teenage romance novel part of me wants to roll my eyes because I know that kind of ending would never truly happen. Or if it did the two teenagers who have fallen in love at their beach houses over the summer will eventually go back home and forget about each other. But the other part of me knows that I would be disappointed if the mysterious boy didn’t have a good side or the girl really was a boring, straight A student not looking for an adventure. I always think about how the story progresses after it ends. The cynical side of me always has to think about how the romance may not last, or the girl with cancer will eventually die, or about any other number of problems that could occur with the characters. I want to be told a realistic story. But when I’m given one I’m pissed. To know the author intentionally killed the little sister, or make the girl the boy was in love with die, infuriates me. Why would someone choose for that to happen. I get angry both when books are realistic and when they’re unrealistic. I guess I just can’t win.

Famous First Line

Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.  She didn't know if it happened gradually or overnight.  If it was the product of the music she listened to or the people she surrounded herself with.  But as she sat there thinking through all of her choices and empty bottles she remembered the younger, naive, girl she used to look at in the mirror.  She craved the innocence she once knew.  The innocence she shattered attempting to somehow prove she was ready for the world.  The innocence she should have lost when she was ready, not when she was drunk with a stranger who didn't know her name.  She wasn't happy, although if you met her you wouldn't be able to tell.  She wanted to change.  She wanted to love herself.  She wanted a new story.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered it was okay to start over.

Thoughts on the Art Institute

When the Art Institute came to talk to the class the thing that caught my attention the most was that to get your degree you don't have to take "Gen Ed"classes.  I really like the idea that you can go straight into what you want to study without having to take classes you will never need.  I also liked how they have a summer program for you to try out the programs to see if it fits what you want. However,  I did have some questions about what the pros and cons to getting a degree at the Art Institute are compared to getting a degree at a four year school such as Missouri State University.  In one year I will (hopefully) be living in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and attending Middle Tennessee State University where I hope to major in Music Business.  In five years I hope to be graduated, or getting ready to graduate, with a bachelors degree and I will hopefully have an exciting job lined up for me at that point. In 10 years I hope I will still be playing music.  I don't really care if that means sitting on my couch singing songs to myself or if it means playing for a crowd.  I just want my love of music to remain.  I don't really know what I want out of my future exactly, so I can't say where I hope to be in 50 years other than the fact that I just want to be happy and successful.  

Dream Threads Story

A miniature whale jumped out of the fish tank.  I looked around for a worker, but I couldn't see any of the blindingly bright, yellow shirts the aquarium employees wore.  In fact, no one was even in the same section of the aquarium as I was when I turned to scan the room. I started walking to the door that would take me to the next section of the aquarium when I heard something hit the ground once more.  I turned around and saw another large fish from the tank lying a few feet from the miniature whale.  Only seconds after that three more fish came spilling from the tank.  "Hello??"  I yelled through the other door hoping an employee would come to my rescue.  As more fish began flopping to the tile flooring, I bolted through the door to the next room unsure of what to do.  No one was in this section of the aquarium either, and I began to get a little scared as fish started to escape the tops of this section now too.  The fish were bigger in this room, and even more were jumping to the tile of the room. When I entered the next room, I immediately heard a loud thud against glass when I entered.  When I turned to see where the noise had come from I gasped.  Behind the glass was one of the largest fish I had ever seen.  It was almost the size of a whale.  The fish was throwing its body against the glass and I immediately ran to the next room. However when I entered the next room I could hear growling and pounding against the walls as the creature neared closer and closer.



I'm sorry I'm so terrible at writing fiction stories. I have no explanation for how completely awful this is.

Maya Angelou: Questions and Answers

3. Angelou says she doesn't even like to talk about her bad dreams because talking about them "gives them too much power."  Do you think talking about bad dreams or bad news or other bad things (or feeding into the "drama" at school or in life) gives those bad things more power?  When have you know this to happen?

Yes I definitely agree that talking about these things, or even thinking about them in some cases, gives them way too much power.  Especially with drama.  A lot of people will say things like "I hate drama", but they continue to let it consume their lives.  I think just staying away from it, and from people who let them surround their lives, is the key to getting away from it.  By talking about it you are giving it more reason to exist.  If you push it away, and refuse to give even the thought of it the time of day it can't affect you.

5. After going through a major trauma at age seven, Angelou didn't talk for almost five years.  Could you live this way? Do you talk too much or too little? What could you learn if you listened more and spoke less?  How could you grow as a person by speaking more?

I don't think I could live that way.  I'm way too talkative, however I can't say for sure how I would act if I had faced the same obstacles she did.  If you sat back and listened to what people had to say more than talking, a thing I have trouble with, I think you would gain so much more knowledge about people, their lives, and just the world in general.  At the same time, I feel it is important to speak up and voice your opinions.  Without sharing your thoughts and letting others know how you feel about certain issues you will have trouble making an impact on things you wish to change.

7.Angelou says she often has "total recall" of the events in her life.  Are you a person who remembers everything or someone who remembers almost nothing? Which is better to be? Which periods or times in your life are clearest?  Fuzziest?  Do you have beter recall of the times you consider happy or the ones you consider sad or embarrassing or uncomfortable or humorous?

I would say I remember at least 75% of my life.  I think it is much better to remember everything because I feel you will gain more knowledge from the people and experiences you can remember.  Even small details you pick up from conversations you've had may end up being something you can connect to something you go through later in life.  However, if you don't remember everything I think there are benefits to that as well.  I think it would be nice to not remember a negative comment about a place or a person I heard in a conversation and be able to talk make my own judgement.  I think the clearest part of my life would probably be ages 14-18, just because they have been the most recent.  However, I do have a pretty good recollection of elementary and middle school as well.  The parts I don't remember too well are just the average days that have no importance.  When I'm on those days I kind of feel like I'm just on autopilot, not really paying attention to whats around me.  I remember the happy and sad days equally because I feel like those serve the most purpose.

If I Were In Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel pants
Rush hour traffic
Ferris wheels and also
6 a.m. alarms

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be 12 hours of sleep
Summer year round and
Millions of free red Mike and Ike's

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have racism.
You wouldn't have sexism.
You wouldn't have homophobia.
Or "You're going to hell if..."
You wouldn't even have religion

If I were in charge of the world
A large bowl of baked mac and cheese would be a vegetable.
All DMV employees would be happy.
And a person who sometimes forgot to put on makeup
And sometimes forgot to brush my hair
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world

I Hate Writing Poems About Boys

Everything felt joyful when he was there,

He bought her yellow lilies,

And made her feel elegant and,

Wild at the same time,

He infected her with butterflies,

Healing her previous misconceptions of love,

He tied her heart in knots she could never untie..

I incorporated at least one word from each these colors:

-Joyful Yellow Tulip

-Elegant Thai Silk

-Yellow Banana Peel 

-Wild Yellow Begonia

-Whimsical Fairy Lily

-Tied Yellow Ribbon

-Healing Arnica

Not Really About Tierra Brown At All

Tomorrow’s keep coming but,

I am tired of the days I’m living,

Everyday dull and the same like I’m,

Running on autopilot I’m,

Ready for the new chapter,

And ready for new characters,

But they say “don’t wish your life away” I’m still,

Ready to see the world and be my,

Own person not,

Who they want me to be,

Not who I’ve been

Make Believe

I miss the days of make believe and Barbie dolls.  When growing up and moving out seemed eternities away.  When the friendships I’ve lost, and the ones I can feel slowly dying, felt infinite.  When I didn’t need to care about gas prices, paychecks, or taxes.  When I didn’t I have to worry about what boys will think of the skirt I’m wearing or how much I weigh.  I miss the days of big dreams, sidewalk chalk, and whispered secrets.  The days when I didn’t have any regrets or mistakes.  The days of make believe are now over, and the days I’ve been longing for are here.  But I just want to go back.

Seashells

            Gulf Shores, Alabama was the destination of many of my family’s vacations as a child. It’s not extremely glamourous, but it was affordable and warm so it fit our description of the perfect spot.  I remember leaving extremely early in the morning when it was still dark with every single inch of space in the trunk taken up by our suitcases.  The agonizingly long car ride always put everyone in an awful mood, but as soon as we stepped out of the car and saw the beach it all seemed to go away. 

            My mom has always loved looking for seashells.  That’s the only thing she will spend her time doing if she is at the beach.  I loved going with her and taking sand castle buckets full of the shells back to our room.  We would sort through them and pick out which seashells were worthy of being taken back home to Missouri with us. 

One year the seashell selection was especially small.  My mom and I looked early in the morning to late at night, but we could not seem to find anything special.  I had my heart set on finding an huge, amazing, beautiful seashell to take back home with me as a souvenir, so my mom decided to take matters into her own hands. She went to one of the nearby souvenir shops and bought a huge conch shell.  She buried it close to the exit of our condo so it wouldn’t accidently get washed away or discovered by another seashell hunter.  She later took me out to hunt for this too good to be true seashell.  We started digging, but had no luck finding the shell.  My mom started to get worried that we would not find it, but about 20 minutes into our hunt we finally found it.

I think I was more excited about finding that shell than I’ve been for anything else in my life.  My mom let me believe that we just happened to find that shell by chance for several years, but eventually told me how the shell really ended up in our possession.  It was kind of like the moment you find out Santa isn’t real.  It kind of loses a little bit of the magic. 

I am…

ticket stubs and birthday cards I keep in a box under my dresser,

collection of soft, warm blankets at the end of my bed,

music I write at 2 am that I don’t show anyone,

big, blue eyes, painted with thick, black eyeliner,

dreams I have about moving far away and doing things no one thinks are possible,

songs I listen to at full volume when I’m driving on the high way,

late night drives through random neighborhoods with my best friend,

funny conversations with my mom sitting on her ugly, red couch,

the scar on my left hand,

gumbo on the kitchen stove my dad makes on Sundays,

concerts I make my mom drive nine hours to take me to,

scared about the future, but don’t want to admit it,

striped shirts and thick brown glasses,

the rare moments me and my sister get along and laugh together,

plastic cups and bags scattered around in my car,

big comfy sweaters on cold winter days,

long blonde hair,

Excited to see what I’ll become.