My oh my... Time Sure Does Fly!

As we enter yet another month and find ourselves face to face with fall, my life seems to be in a constant state of busy! Work is picking up as we near midterms and classes of my own seem to be taking more and more time to follow. I have a paper due this Friday and another shortly after. Also, I have a few major tests coming up that I am by no means ready for! One is on the 6th, but I have surgery that day on my tooth (another things that seems to be chomping away at my already limited time)! It does not, by any means, help that my practically new computer's hard drive crashed. Luckily, I have always kept my manuscripts backed up on a jump drive along with pictures, etc. But this does make it really difficult to maintain the speed I want with manuscript production and even more pressing at the moment, my mid-term papers!

Other than a few bumps however, life is moving right along. There are a few wrinkles that I would prefer smoothed out but I think it's going to take time and a WHOLE lot of patience. I am enjoying the falling leaves and the cooler weather however! I need to go take pictures of the park for my Y.A. Novel as I think it would be beautiful this time of year (and magical as always)!

Well, I must hop back to it, but I wanted to pop my head in and said HI, and Happy October! Until we speak again!

Creatively yours,
Kat

Life Lessons: Writing Exercise

A professor of mine recently pointed out that sometimes, the greatest lessons in life don't happen in the classroom. That often, it is what we learn in between class, while on vacation, or stuck at work that leave the biggest impact. The more I thought about this, I realized just how right she is. This naturally led to me over thinking the subject, but maybe that was ok for this certain topic!

I am sharing a personal journal entry I made recently after this "life lesson." Normally, I wouldn't do this. However, I feel that these are great things to share, and it is a great writing exercise! So, below are the important lessons I have learned while not in the classroom. I invite you to try it too! Grab a pad of paper and a pen and write out what you have learned! Let's get started!

- I've learned that you can keep going in life long after you "can't do this anymore".
- I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
- I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or quite frankly nothing and still have the best time while creating the greatest memories.
- I've learned that sometimes the people who are on you the most, constantly giving lectures about right and wrong and pointing out when you are messing up, are the ones who care the most.
- I've learned that maturity has more to do with the types of life experiences (most of which are out of the classroom) a person has had and what they've learned from them rather than how old they are. Furthermore, our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become and where we go in life.
- I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself which can often be even harder.
- I've learned that just because two people argue, doesn't mean they don't love each other. If there wasn't love, there wouldn't be a reason to fight to keep it together.
- I've learned that two people can look at the same situation and see completely different things.
- I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours, sometimes minutes, by people you have never met before, and may never meet.
- I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend needs you, you'll be there...chocolate in one hand, and tissues in the other.
- I've learned that the people you care about most in life are sometimes taken from you too soon...and often no matter how well you think you have prepared for it, you are still left wishing.
- I've learned that you can never figure out what real love is, but that when it happens, you'll know.
- I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
- I've learned that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
- I've learned that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that really counts.
- I've learned that it takes a long time to become the person you want to be; and once you start trying to rush the process, you often must start over at square one.
- I've learned that you never truly know who a person is, no matter how well you think you know them.
- I've learned that time doesn't always heal things.
- I've learned that if it is worth it, and if you want it bad enough, you will find a way no matter what obstacles stand in your path.
- I've learned that being a family doesn't always involve DNA.
- I've learned that life isn't like a Disney film, that there isn't always a happy ending; but rather a collection of beginnings and ends, both good and bad, that create a life worth living.
- I've learned that sometimes the experience comes first and the lesson from that comes later.
- I've learned that I will never run out of things to learn!

Life is made of both the little and big lessons. And the lessons come from both the mistakes and the victories. In the end, it all comes together to create life. Which, when you look at it, is a wonderful thing, no matter which point you are at in it. So create your own theory, but cherish the moments. And ask yourself, what have you learned so far?

Quote Writing Exercise

I am, and always have been, a big fan of inspirational quotes! They serve as little bits of inspiration and also, help me get out of a desperate state of writer's block. Journaling plays a huge role in my life, and there are days that I don't know where to start, but I feel like writing. So I simply pick a quote that applies to my life at that time, and write why it is that it does, how it makes me feel, and the in site it provides on situations!

I have decided to post a few of my favorite quotes to share! They are random, some from historical figures, others from television, and so many other people. All of which have inspired me in different points in my life with such simple, yet powerful words. Enjoy! And if these quotes don't fit you, that is ok! Find ones that do! The internet provides endless information and of course there are books that are filled with quotes! So find one that makes your mind start ticking, or your heart warm and fuzzy!


"He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we haven't been told, we've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day, still sometimes we have to see for ourselves, we have to make our own mistakes, we have to learn our own lessons, we have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore, until we finally understand for ourselves that knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping and that even the biggest failure, even the worst most intractable mistakes beats the hell out of never trying." - Meridith Gray, Greys Anatomy.

You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that. - Charlotte, "Charlotte's Web"

"Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life." - George Sand

"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt."- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent" Eleanor Roosevelt

"Have you ever wondered what marks our time here? If one life can really make an impact on the world...or if the choices we make matter? I believe they do. And I believe that one man can change many lives. For better...or worse." - Lucas, One Tree Hill

"There comes a time when every life goes off course. In this desperate moment you must choose your direction. Will you fight to stay on the path while others tell you who you are? Or will you label yourself? Will you be honored by your choice? Or will you embrace your new path? Each morning you choose to move forward or to simply give up." - Lucas, One Tree Hill

"Because it´s only when you´re tested that you truly discover who you are. And it´s only when you´re tested that you discover who you can be. The person that you want to be does exist, somewhere in the other side of hard work and faith, and belief and beyond the HEARTACHE and fear of what life has." - Lucas, One Tree Hill

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing it's best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting." - E.E. Cummings

"There seems to be a kind of order in the universe... in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the changing of the seasons. But human life is almost pure chaos. Everyone takes his stance, asserts his own right and feelings, mistaking the motives of others, and his own." - Katherine Anne Porter

"At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. Its like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And its not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away." - Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

"At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. Its like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And its not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away" - Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

"A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying." - Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!” - Dr. Seuss

“Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.” - Dr. Seuss

“If I were invited to a dinner party with my characters, I wouldn't show up.” - Dr. Seuss

"The universe wants you to succeed..." - Original author unknown...but repeated numerous times by by high school art teacher!

"Fall down seven times...get up eight." - Unknown