Quote Me on Mondays!!

I am going to take a page of "quotes" from this book my mom got me, 1001 Things Every College Student Needs to Know (Like Buying Your Books before Exams Start) by Harry H. Harrison Jr., and write my opinion of them. These could be short or really long. It just depends on how it plays out.

Okay, so from page 123 (how weird):

393. You need to know taking notes will help you pay attention--which is, of course, the...uh...point

This is so obvious, but notes are VERY important. You can never have too many notes. Even if the notes you took on the chapter took 15 sheets of paper...Notes can decide the grade you get on that ridiculously difficult exam you took last week...(groveling)...er...The professor may or may not send you notes so take your own anyways.

394. You need to know if you can't read your handwriting now, there's no way you'll decipher them at the end of the semester.

Haha. I could point this out to a couple of my friends, but I think they already know. If you can't read you own handwriting, you epically fail. Just kidding. Seriously, not knowing what your own handwriting says is a major problem. I would suggest typing your notes in class or get a program on your computer that will type the professor's lectures. Recording the lectures works, too, but I wouldn't try it. However, it's up to you.

395. You need to know the Cornell Method for taking notes. Draw a 1.5 inch margin on the left. Take notes on the right side of the paper and add questions pertaining to the notes on the left side.

I don't use this. It's too much of a hassle for me to do in class. I use the list method, which is pretty obvious as to how to do it. You can try this if you want, but I know for sure that this won't work for me. There are other methods besides this one and the list method, too. Just look them up. I'm too lazy and tired to do it right now. Ask me later.

"In the beginning was the Word"

College life. It's always in motion. First, you're streaming down the fast lane, not quite sure how you got there or how to control the speed, and when you think you're just about to crash, you slow to a crawl. You have time. Spare time. The most precious thing for a college student.

I have classes. Those classes require me to read in textbooks and learn from them. And, once I'm finally finished, I now have always one more book to read. The Book. The Word. The Bible.

Yes, I have taken that leap into reaffirming my faith. My Baptist faith. I didn't just decide this out of the blue (well, maybe some might argue that but it's not out of the blue for me). Three of the greatest people I have ever met started the idea in my head because they have so many passages committed to memory. I barely knew what was going on.

So, on I shall read. I am in Exodus in the Old Testament and John in the New Testament. Sometimes I take a moment to connect the genealogy or reflect on the day's reading. I already feel closer to God even though I've only just begun!

I am learning more of the New Testament since I have a New Testament class, but it's different. My professor assigned us a paper in there, and my topic is the concept of Jesus' family (I picked it to make that clear). I never knew there were such controversies over Jesus' brothers or Mary's virginity. Fortunately, today I found a book in the college's library that talks about his brothers and how they can only be Jesus' brothers. I looked up passages in my Bible to verify what the author was saying and eventually came to this conclusion (I don't know yet if I am going to include this in my paper): Jesus had four brothers, James, Joses (Joseph), Judas, and Simon, two sisters, and two cousins (that I have read of so far), James and John, who became Jesus' disciples.

Other students here have different religions and beliefs. I understand that. I knew that. But, I want to stand strong in my faith. Stand as strong as a petra (or rock) that only God can move!

This won't take a couple of days, a week, a fortnight, or a month. I'll be finished in a year. Hopefully, I will have a few passages committed to memory, too.

But, I'm only at the beginning. And, "in the beginning was the Word" John 1:1.

The Family Diary

I came up with this story idea a while, long while ago. It's about a single dad, Charles Cris, and a single mom, Melissa Jones, falling in love and getting married. The only problem at the wedding? Both families of seven have never met each other. So, Charles and Melissa create the family diary, a collection of entries by everyone in the new family. From the oldest of 22 to the youngest of 7 (this may change I don't have all the characters yet), the family tells of their ups, downs, and everything in between as they try to become somewhat of a "normal" family. Tell me what you think. I will put up the members of the family (that I have so far), and each member has his or her own personality. Also, I am writing each entry in a different font. Some time later I might post their personalities (although some may be obvious through the name).

Cris Family:

Charles-father
Corbin-21 year old son
Ginger-19 year old daughter
Jasper-18 year old son
Whittany-16 year old daughter
Dakota-14 year old daughter
Kennedy-11 year old son
Rockel-7 year old daughter


Jones Family:

Melissa-mother
Nicholas-22 year old son
TBD-adopted
TBD-border
Steven-16 year old son
TBD
Achley-8 year old daughter
Ashley-8 year old daughter

My Latest Obsession

Lately, I have been obsessed with a couple of websites, writing websites. First, http://www.teenink.com/ because I can read some writing there and publish stuff. Next, http://www.facebook.com/ (self explanatory). And, lastly, http://www.webook.com/. Why WEBook? Well, I can actually develop a story there. It also lets you get feedback from other writers and even authors (one of the authors I met has a link to the right). From there you can put your stuff on it Page to Fame option. It costs some money, but people rate your first page. If they like it enough, you can put more on there. Another option it has is Agent in box. This is free. You can submit your completed manuscript for agents to look at. It's a really cool writing website. I would definitely encourage you to check it out.

Also to the right are some links to my Teen Ink publishings and fellow bloggers as well as that free online book.

Writing is SO Important

Where would we ever be if every person in the world stopped writing? I'm thinking choas, explosions, total mass panic because nobody knows what happened!!

People tend to take advantage of written works, and most don't even know they do it. No writing means no newspapers, no magazines, no Facebook, no Twitter, and no internet. How could anyone ever live in such horrible conditions? Nobody could. We rely on writing so much now, eliminating it is not an option.

Yes, you could make a video. But where would you put it? The internet is gone. TV? Take out all written words...and maybe it's possible. However, buying air time would be expensive and require contracts. Verbal words aren't as trustworthy. People need the evidence recorded. This way would get over complex and not worth the trouble.

What about communicating directly? This solution definitely would work if you had time on your hands as well. Let's face it we need writing and writers (you know the ones who do the writing?) or else getting through one day is not possible. At ALL.

I'm not telling you to go out and praise the first journalist you see (you can if you want but that is your choice). I just want you to realize that the smallest bit of information in a newspaper or magazine or on the internet most likely took a lot of work to get. Don't grovel. Just exhibit some patience and you will be rewarded. Words can't travel like speeding bullets.