Officially Done

I am officially done with school! I am a college graduate (again)! I do not have to deal with the stresses of school anymore. No more literary analysis and constantly wondering if I have a thesis. No more endless reading and homework assignments. But seriously it was great going back to school to get my English degree. I learned so much and have become a better writer and editor with what I've learned and the feedback I received from great professors. I met some amazing people and made some great friends this time around. I interacted with my classmates this time around and it really did make the college experience that much better. Having personal relationships with my professors also helped me succeed and do well this time around. 

I had a lot of support and I enjoyed my time in school but I am happy to be done and moving on to better things. I can now put all of my focus on writing and breaking into the publishing business. My time working on Essais has given me the confidence I need to go out there and try. I feel like I have the skills to do it and to succeed at it if I put my all into it. The future is bright. 

~Teralyn

Essais Launch Night

Last Thursday, we had our launch night party where we presented the published copy of the journal I've been working on all semester. It was a lot of work, very stressful at times. I lost a lot of sleep worrying about how it would turn out but the finished product makes it all worth it. It was a great experience but it was so stressful and crazy and everything. I spent so many hours in my faculty advisor's office going over things for the journal whether it was making selections for submissions or editing or whatever was necessary. As stressful as it was I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The experience I gained is invaluable and will help me so much going forward. I learned that I can lead; I can be in charge of something as big as a journal. I know what I am doing and it helped give me faith in myself. I wouldn't have been able to do this without Christa D. Albrecht, Lydia Renée Kerr, Deirdre Nickel, and Landon Roper and the rest of the editing staff as well as faculty in the English Department.

~Teralyn

NaNoWriMo Winner

I haven’t been on here to post in a while because I’ve been working on my story for NaNoWriMo and I have been working on the journal and going to class. The last month has been one of the busiest months I’ve ever had in my life. Launch night for the journal is next week and school ends in a couple of weeks. I’ve been running around (in my head) doing everything to get the journal to the printer on time which meant making sure it is typeset correctly and that everything looks great. While also making sure I stayed on top of my school work for my senior seminar class.

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

NaNoWriMo began today. This is national, worldwide, event where you’re required to write at least 50,000 words in one month (the month of November) and this year I’ve decided to participate. I found out about it late last year so I decided to try to participate this year.

It's Never Too Late

When saw this picture it made me think of myself and my circumstances. It's never too late to decide to do something new. Just because you've put time and effort into something, it doesn't mean you're tied to that dream. If it isn't a good fit, then move on and try something else. In my case, I just had to accept what my true dream was even if it doesn't seem noble enough or seem like it will help the world like being a lawyer. I am a writer. And that's that. It is what it is. My passion is in writing. So I am dreaming a new dream and going for what it is I want with no fear for how it will turn out. It'll work out the way it is supposed to work out. Until then I'm going to keep writing and making up stories I hope will one day touch and help people.

~Teralyn

Moving On

I moved to Utah in September of 2005, almost ten years ago. Since I’ve been here I’ve lived in the same duplex. Ten years in the same place. It was the stability I needed after all the moving I did when I was younger. I hate change. I hate it so much that I don’t even like to change my room around. It takes me too long to get back comfortable so it really bugs me. But some change is good even if you hate it.

First Day of My Last Semester

Today I started the first day of my absolutely last day of my undergraduate career. And I can honestly say that I am ready. I’m ready to get my second degree and be done with school. The first time I graduated I wasn’t quite ready, maybe I was unsure of what I wanted to really do even though I’d decided to go to law school. I was unsure of if I would be able to do it that is. I still had that thought in the back of my head about being a writer; my mindset was that I could always be a writer after my career was over. This time I feel like I will have the degree I was meant to have in the first place.

Editor-in-Chief, yay!

Today Christa emailed to tell me that I got the editor-in-chief position of Essais, a literary analysis journal at my school. I’m so excited for this opportunity but also really nervous. Being the editor-in-chief means I am responsible for everything. I am responsible for getting a great journal out by the end of the semester. If it doesn’t turn out well then it is on my head; everyone would be looking at me wondering what went wrong. But even this couldn’t or wouldn’t stop me from taking on this task. This is a great opportunity for me to see what it’s like to run a journal and be in charge. It’s also a chance for me to see how I will respond when I am in charge. I am a quiet person until I get to know you. I don’t step up to lead very often, frankly it frightens me but I’m not going to let that scare me away. I can’t wait to get started and see what this experience brings.  

~Teralyn

Pray for Charleston

Last night, June 17, a man walked into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and opened fire after sitting with the people at bible study for some time. He killed nine people. For someone to walk into a church where people are studying the bible is just beyond words. As Cornell William Brooks stated, "There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture." What has this world come to? How have we gotten back to this? I feel as if we are reverting back to the days of Jim Crow. This shooting is reminiscent to the church bombing in Alabama that killed four little girls in 1963. 

The Terrible Twenties...

I am so guilty of this. I have spent most of my twenties up until now worrying about not doing what I thought I should be doing. I thought I should have my life together by the time I was 25 years old. I thought I was a failure because I changed my mind about what I wanted to do. I decided that being a lawyer wasn't for me and I felt like my life was falling apart because I was 23 and didn't know what I wanted to do. But now I realize that I do not have to have it all together. I still don't have it together. I have no earthly clue what I want to do with the rest of my life besides write and help abused and neglected children. I can't figure out what it is I want to do because I still don't really know. I have a general idea. Your twenties are supposed to be be for you to figure out what you want in life. And that goes for every thing from what job you want to pursue to the romantic relationships you want to try. To how many children you think you want to have. I know I want to adopt from the foster care system, at least one or two children and maybe have a child or two of my own. I still have a few years to figure out what it is I want to do with my life and then some. Life is unpredictable and messy and frustrating. It does not come wrapped in a neat little bow or with written out instructions. You just have to take it one day at a time and figure out what it is that works for you.

Dante's 3rd Birthday

My nephew celebrated his third birthday last Wednesday. I know everyone says this but where does the time go? I was just getting pictures of a newborn baby now he's three and talking and walking. He is the cutest little boy and I love him so much. I bought him a Spider-man costume for his birthday and it arrived today. His mom sent me videos of him with it on and some pictures that i posted below. I cannot wait to meet the little guy. Hopefully I'll be able to go to Louisiana in July and see him.

Creative Creations and Writing

Since January, I've been working on two baby blankets for my boss Kristen and my friend Heather. Kristen is due in June and Heather is due later this month. I was worried I wouldn't get the blankets done in time for the showers but I was able to finish both blankets. In the last few months, I've finished two crochet blankets, two fleece tied blankets, and two novels. A productive semester if should say so myself.

One Year Ago Today...

Exactly a year ago today around 8:30am I was being wheeled into surgery for my ankle. They put that mask on me and asked me to count down and I remember only getting to 8. A year ago I had surgery and was looking at recovering from the surgery all summer. I was going in thinking my ankle would be fixed after this. I cannot believe it has been a year and how much can change in a year.

It's been a while...

These last few weeks have been crazy and busy with deadlines, baby showers, semester winding down, finals, and mad dashes to finish blankets. I’ll try to include it all in this one post to give an update but I may miss something or decide to do another post a little later.

February...

I started Spring Semester in January. So far this semester is so much better than last semester. I am only taking four classes this time around and one of them will end on the 28th of this month. One of the classes I'm taking this semester is a publications class where I will be working with other classmates to publish two of our academic journals. I'm learning so much already and I am really enjoying this class. I am also taking a grammar class and the last ASL (American Sign Language) class I need. I just haven't had as much homework so far this semester so it has allowed me to write and work on my crocheting. This is exactly what I needed after the crazy, stressful semester I had this past Fall.

Goodbye Tigger... You will be missed

Yesterday I had to give my cat, Tigger, away. I've had him since he was seven weeks old. He was such a tiny kitten when I got him with so much energy. I watched him grow up and get so much bigger. He was a good cat and I loved him a lot. It was hard taking him to that shelter. I had to drive a ways and he was not happy about that. He cried and mewed the whole way there but once I got him out of the car he did well. He sat in his case on the counter relaxing not knowing that I was giving him up. I cried when I knew it was final and the ladies there were nice. I was still crying when they took him back but I knew it was the right thing because it felt right. I'll miss him dearly but it's what needed to be done.

New Year's Resolution

I never do this but I thought I'd give it a try after seeing my friend do it on her blog. Maybe having it on a blog will somehow hold me more accountable. It's worth a shot because I have quite a few things I want to work on in the new year.

New Year’s Resolution/Goals

· Figure out Ankle issue and how to get around it to exercise

· Lose weight (20lbs by April)
· Crochet for at least an hour every week
· Read/Edit Story for 1 hour every week
· Stay focused with school and try to get all As this semester
· Work on getting a car by April, May
· Create Landing Page for Freelance Business
· Visit my grandparents before the year is out
· Meet my nephew before the year is out
· Stay in Contact with Friends (Tierra, Heather, Rachael, Carissa)
· Do more fun things for Me/Get out more