Weight of the World

Hey y'all,

Yes, I said y'all, don't laugh, I used to live in Texas. :P

So I asked Mr. T if I could do this next post because I have a question that I want to ask all of you. This is going to sorta be like the post Mandy  put but also sorta not. It is actually kinda the reverse of what she put.

So... Anyways...

I do this thing where i tend to put the "weight of the world" on my shoulders, and in the end, I'm always the person getting hurt. I take on everything, literally. I take care of my mom, trying to help my friend(who is starting to say some scary stuff), even do things for anyone else that needs my help, and whille doing everything for everyone else but myself, I end up getting really stressed out. Multiple people have yelled at me, and none of that will change my mind. In my opinion others are more important than myself, and I need to help make sure all of them are ok when they come to me for help. There is actually a lot more than what I am telling you with all this weight, there is just some of it that I wish to keep private. I'm sorry.

But this blog isn't about me, tha paragraph was only to introduce what my question is going to be.

This is something that I want to know from you guys. Do you put the "weight of the world" on your shoulders? Or are you someone that takes care of yourself along with others? What would you do if you were in a situation like mine? And if you feel uncomfortable to answering this type of question since it is a little personal, you could always just give advice to people like me if you feel like it.

I am actually joping to hear about some of these situations, I want to see if there is anything that I can do to help with mine.

Sincerely,
Purple People Eater
A.K.A.
Abadee
A.K.A.
Abby :)

Reflections on a Life of Photography

Many people claim to have a photographic memory. There are varying degrees of truth to these claims, but for most, memories are still subject to bias and the gradual corruptions of time. I, however, do have a photographic memory, and I have evidence to support this claim. You see, I am a photographer, so my memories exist not only in some deep recess of the mind but rather in the physical form of the images I create.

My passion for capturing memories has given me many unique experiences and has taken me to some incredible places. I have captured the blues of the oceans, the greens of the jungle, the reds of the desert, and countless other shades that would rival the palette of even a master painter. I have also had the pleasure of helping people celebrate a wide range of momentous events. I have been invited to numerous weddings, birthdays, and other special occasions. It is true that I sometimes feel like I’m being used only for my talents, but I can’t argue with the good times I’ve had while doing my work.

Of course, my job is not always so glamorous, and there are times where my very nature has gotten me into trouble. Sometimes, people run when they see me coming, as they do not want to be photographed. For this reason, I must be especially careful when I visit beaches, swimming pools, and any other place where people might feel vulnerable.  Heaven forbid I should run into a celebrity! That can turn absolutely ugly! I have learned to accept that there are simply times when I am just not wanted.

Another unfortunate aspect of my work is that I am somewhat mistreated at times. I have been beaten up on several occasions and have been downright neglected while completing my work. I have frozen in the snow, been drenched in the rain, been smacked against countless walls, and worst of all, I’ve been exposed to windstorms on the beach.  Do you have any idea how bad sand can be for a photographer? There are some places that you just don’t want sand to go! Despite all of this danger, I do not think that anyone sets out to harm me. I think that people just forget about me since I work so efficiently.

Even though my job is not without its difficulties, I still can’t think of anything else I’d rather do. It is nice to be able to look back on my creations and relive my experiences all over again. With time, the bad memories begin to fade and all I see in my photographs now are the great experiences and adventures of my career. There's a saying in my profession that has been used so often that it has become cliché. I'm sure you've heard it before, "a picture is worth a thousand words." It makes sense that this statement would be overused, as it represents a truth of photography. Given the nature of my work, it only feels appropriate for me to end my memoir today with a photograph of myself.  I may have used 500 words above to tell you about myself, but perhaps the included photo will give you a better picture of who I really am.

Guest Writer: Mr. Allen

The Heart's Inscription on Cold Stone...

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/epitaphs.html

http://dying.about.com/b/2006/11/03/more-than-just-rest-in-peace-write-your-own-epitaph.htm?rd=1

http://www.everlifememorials.com/v/headstones/epitaphs-inscriptions.htm

Words can last forever, so what do you want to be remembered by?

Only a Writer Would Know

There's a lot of things we as writers experience that are unique to writing. Things like chess or football are a lot more predictable than writing. Like in sports you have all these plays you can go through with, but they are all uniform for the most part. Yes, there are things in writing that are always the same like grammar and spelling and all that, but a writer has no rules as to where a story is going to go. A writer can throw in a completely unseen twist to make the story spin around in a tornado of awesomeness! If an athlete does that, he gets heavily criticized for it, regardless of the outcome, because it was way too risky. But this is just my way of kicking off what I really want to say in this.

The real point of this is that I want you to share the joys and pains of writing that are only applicable to writing. 

I know I hate it when I get really excited about something that I wrote and I go to show my sister or parents and get completely shot down. I'll go into my sister's room and ask her to read something and she'll reply very whiny, slurry, and loudly, "I don't wanna read it!" if it's over a paragraph long. Which, of course, is impossible for me to do. And then if she does read it, (after a lot of persuasion) she will only say, "There. I read it." if anything at all. It really kills my excitement for a while.

On the other hand, I LOVE it when a bunch of writers will come together to bounce ideas off each other or have a big swap-meet type thing of different stories or poems. If even just to say, "Hey! Look what I did Guys!" The sense of camaraderie is just absolutely amazing! 

So yeah. I want to know what super awesome things you love about writing. Or the super annoying things you hate about writing (But are never going to be enough to make you stop writing).

P.S. This was inspired by a conversation I had with Emily on Monday

P.P.S. Yes, I did write this whole thing in blue!

How To Live A Life...

In class, we discussed a quote by Mahtma Gandhi during a journal entry. As we continue in our creative nonfiction unit, we are talking about and writing about the lives of others. The events that make them who they are. The emotions that they experience. The stories that they tell.

As we meditate on how to live a life, ponder Gandhi's quote and further discuss how the quote fits into the context of our world.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Places to pick back up from class:

• This quote could be used for positive AND negative ends.
• Subjective to the reader.
• Open to interpretation as to what that "change" should/could be.
• It doesn't simply have to apply to the "world". It can be on any scale.

Comment AND reply.

Go deep and bleet...

Thoughts

"Your reputation is only a shadow of your life, but your character is the tree that casts the shadow."
                                                                                               -- Dr. Robb Thompson

"Ther is so gret diversite in Englissh and in writyng of oure tonge."
                                                                                               -- Geoffrey Chaucer

"When I fall, I make sure I fall on my back, because if I can look up, I can GET UP” 
                                                                                               -- Les Brown

"Thinkers think and doers do. But until the thinkers do and the doers think, progress will be just another word in the already overburdened vocabulary of the talkers who talk."

                                                                                                -- Unknown

 

"Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples don't count on harvesting golden Delicious."

                                                                                                -- Unknown

 

"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind."

                                                                                                -- Buddha

... Thoughts???

(I'm sorry that this post is so short, but I had already in mind what I wanted to do, and this was it.)