Reflections ~ End of Summer

As of today my countdown says I have 22 days left until school starts on August 20th, 328 days until my 3 year anniversary, 116 days until Thanksgiving, and 103 days until Zach's birthday. That's a lot of days and numbers, but those are important dates for me. But as I sit here planning for each of those days I think back to a few months ago when the countdowns reflected the days until I would finally see Zach after being apart over 6 months, the day I would graduate from high school and Zach's and my 2 year anniversary. Those have all passed and now I've moved on, but still part of me wishes I could go back and relive this summer.

I want to go back to pacing around the house while I constantly checked the time and waited for Zach and Mike to arrive. I want to go back to arriving at the hotel after 8pm, tired and stressed but loving the feeling of being the center of attention. I want to go back to running around a fancy hotel in my pajamas with Kyle and Zach. I want to stand on that stage again and say everything all over again, even though I felt like I was going to pass out from the pressure I put on myself. I want to go back to that morning in the hotel when I woke up and knew that Zach was right there and he was going to see me accomplish something special.

But I can only go back in my memories. I tend to spend a lot of time in those memories, because to be honest life is just a constant mess of drama, heartache and work. Then when school starts it will be all of that plus books, studying, tests and annoying facts I don't want or need to know. That's life and for those moments when life becomes unbearably dull I can go back to those memories. I know I can't spend forever in my memories, but I can't spend forever in the future. It's hard to live somewhere in the past and somewhere in the future but nowhere in the present.

"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." ~ Alice Morse Earle

For me it's hard to figure out how to stay in the present and not the past or future. Life seems better in hindsight and much nicer in the future. Can't the present be just as nice? Isn't living in the moment supposed to be amazing and freeing? That's what I plan to figure out. This year will be different. Life has had many ups and downs, along with a large amount of change just in the past three years, but I'm better for all of that. Well, actually I'm worse in many areas for most of it, but I'm going to move past that and become better.

The big question is always "Would you change anything if you could go back in time?", and I think about it hard. Would I? I want to say yes. I want to leave instead of being left. I want to prove I'm not someone who can be walked all over. I want to change many things and not trust anyone who ended up hurting me. But those who left I didn't need in my life. I may have been walked over, but I still kept my cool and didn't go for revenge. I trusted and it was betrayed, but I'm more careful with who I give my trust to now.

Still I may not be the same me I was, but somewhere I'm still in there. Scooby Doo stills makes me laugh. Princesses makes me want to believe in fairy tales. I still talk too much and get too loud. I'm always going to complain about all the work I have but the outcome is still pretty good.

So would I change anything? Yeah, I'd try to handle things better and remember that what I thought yesterday was going to the end of the world wasn't even close. And things always get better, no matter how bad they seem. Most of all, enjoy the small moments, like getting caught in the rain and being soaked, taking walks with nowhere to go, watching the stupidest movies and still laughing.

I leave y'all with my one of my favorite quotes. Enjoy :)

"Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page." ~ Unknown

Celebrate with a Competition

Hey y'all! One of my dearest writer buddies is holding a competition on her blog! Why is she hold this competition? Because she reached 50 followers! An amazing and awesome feat! So check out her competition, where she is offering five very wonderful prizes! Enter for a chance to win! Here's her site:

http://www.happyowlbooks.com/2012/04/fifty-follower-giveaway.html?showComment=1334182833394#c2818142889885605500

Even if you don't enter her competition, please subscribe to her blog. She writes amazing reviews about all sorts of books.

Enjoy!

~Laney

Nicholas Sparks Opinion on Writing Love Stories

So this week I heard some buzz on Twitter about an interview with Nicholas Sparks. Author of 16 novels, of which 9 have been or are being made into movies, he could be considered an expert on love stories. Here is the article: http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20120406/ENTERTAINMENT06/304060011/Love-story-lessons-from-Nicholas-Sparks?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

What caused sparks(haha that's punny!) is this comment from the interview, “Age informs dilemma. If you’re going to write a novel about everlasting love, the characters can’t be teenagers,” Sparks says.

Well, considering that many of Nicholas Sparks novels do indeed deal with teenagers and love, this might seem like it's a hypocritical comment. Here's a few example of his novels that deal with teenagers in love.

The Last Song: The story of Ronnie and Will. Both teenagers in the summer between high school graduation and their first year of college.

A Walk To Remember: The story of Jamie and Landon, 17 year old kids in high school.

The Notebook: The story of Noah and Allie. The book covers their first summer together, when they were teenagers.

So 3 out of his 16 novels deal with teenage love. It does seem weird that an author who has written 3 novels dealing with teenagers and love would say that teenagers don't fit everlasting love stories. Well I'm gonna play Devil's advocate here and show both sides of this.

Pro Teenage Everlasting Love Stories

Who says teenage love can't last? Many people fall in love as in high school and their early college years and go on to get married. Many stay married, others divorce. But still teenagers fall in love and can stay in love for a long time. Teenagers tend to be less damaged towards the ideas of love, they want that happiness. They may still see it through rose-colored glasses, but that's wonderful. Early love is one of the most beautiful and purest things. Think of grandparents and great-grandparents who fell in love young and stayed together. That's everlasting love right there. These are some of the greatest love stories because of how long they've been together and everything they've gone through together. Now let's here the other side of the argument.

Against Teenage Everlasting Love Stories

A lot of people say teenage love can't last. Anyone listened to some parents talking to their teenagers recently about their current boyfriends or girlfriends. Those parents would obviously say that teenage love doesn't last. In most cases, they probably are right. What can a teenager in their early relationships really know about love? They have very limited experiences, in life and love. It takes years for teenagers to grow fully into their adult identities and figure out how they feel about relationships and what they want out of it.A teenage relationship might look like it'll last but things happen all the time between the start and finish line.

My opinion on this matter is this: Both sides have good points, but neither is better than another. As a young adult writer and a teenager in love, I do  think young love is strong. It can last, but like anything else it takes hard work. I don't really think that everlasting love is reserved for the early 20 crowd or the after college crowd or heck, even the 30s crowd. Love can be found at 16 and a 99. And everlasting love doesn't have a real time measurement either. It could be a few weeks or years. Love can last longer than you think. I leave you with a quote that fit this well.

"True love doesn't have happy ending because true love doesn't end..."

Leap Year

Today is February 29, 2012. This is also the fifth leap year I've seen in my life so far. I'm excited about this one because it pushed my birthday to a Friday this year which is great for me! :-)

Anywho, there is a lot of lore about Leaps Years and February 29th. Most of it surrounds births and marriages.

If you're lucky(or unlucky depending on your outlook) to be born on February 29, then your birthday comes around every 4 years. So if you're 20, that's like saying your five, which isn't likely unless you have some Benjamin Button thing going on. Most countries either put your legal birthday as February 28th or March 1st.

Another fun thing about today is that it is a fun  tradition that women can propose on this day(though we are in the 21st Century so I'm sure women aren't bound to waiting for one day that comes around very four years). Amy Adams was in an enite movie inspired by this tradition.



Movie poster for Leap Year starring Amy Adams



While in Greece it is considered bad luck to even get married during the leap year. 

It's funny all the little traditons that go along with one day that only comes once every four years. 

Happy Leap Day!  

New Year Resolutions

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I know today is the 4th day of the New Year, so I'm a tad late, but forgive me. The New Year always brings the absolute rush to make promises and goals, but 88%(I think that was the statistic I heard on the radio, can't be too far off, either way) of the people who make these goals and promises don't actually see them through.

Tonight my mom and I were in Wal-Mart when she made the observation that "Either we're attacked by weight loss books or Southern Comfort foods". She's right too. The top resolution is losing weight and getting in shape. Gyms probably make more money in January than any other month of the year.

Well this year I've decided to make a resolution and stick with it. So here are my goals and resolutions for the year.

1. Lose 40 pounds by the end of April/early May. I'm keepin' my fingers crossed I can accomplish this, even if it is only half of my goal by then. That's better than nothing.
2. Read more this year. Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, Susane Colasanti, Stephanie Perkins and many other GenFic or Romance YA writers top my list of books.
3. Get a tablet. Simple, yet difficult. I am super picky.
4. Get back into skating and really move forward with it.
5. Finish Southern Charm, the first draft.
6. Plan and start the sequel to Southern Charm.
7. Get into college. Easy enough, but picking one will be hard.
8. Decide what I want to major in.
9. Decide what I want to do after college.
10. Zach. He is an entire goal by himself. Difficult boy, but I love him dearly.

Well that's my list of goals and resolutions. Some are silly, others normal or reasonable. But all of these are important goals to me.

The Weak and the Strong, In Sickness and in Health...

"The Weak and the Strong, In Sickness and in Health..."

All My Children is full of many weak characters(physically, mentally, financially, etc) and yet just as many strong characters. Many of those weak characters also can grow to become strong. Angie has struggled with the loss of her sight(hopefully she'll regain it), Cara and Amanda with cancer, JR with his anger, loss of his wife and mother, and his alcoholism(JR is always a work in progress type of character), Bianca's rape and then losing Miranda(she did get her back eventually), these are just many of a few examples. They have weaknesses, but they work to get through them.
 
Erica Kane is the best example of weakness and strength. She's battled a rape, alcoholism, good and bad media attention, multiple kidnappings, children in comas, and many many marriages. Plus a bear! Here's that clip http://youtu.be/h17XM_KoXcM. Erica has many struggles and her life goes up and down, but she always comes back out on top! She's Erica Kane and nothing can stop her. She'll forever be remembered for her power.
 
Another character whose life is a constant struggle is JR Chandler. Born into a crazy situation with a father who only cared about power and a family name and a mother who loved him but had a hard time showing him that love due to his father, JR had a messed up childhood, which resulted in many bad decisions as an adult. Every time JR seems to improve he faces a setback, which he's never seemed to adjust to, major character flaw. But that's the point! Characters are flawed! True, soap operas due tend to intensify these flaws, but that's purely for entertainment purposes.
 
Another big part of All My Children is the marriages. Marriages for love, power, and convenience. Erica and Adam are infamous for their many marriages and also the number of children they have. Erica has been 12 times, 7 of which were valid and 4 which weren't, and then her one vow renewal(which was to Adam). Adam has been married 13 times, 2 which were invalid and the rest ended in divorce (Adam fails at the whole idea of marriage. Ironically most of his marriages have been to the same women like Erica or Liza). Erica has 3 children and Adam has six. For both of them family is the most important and though both of them do go to some extremes sometimes, it is in the name of family.

Health and sickness is also a big part of Pine Valley and many scenes take places at Pine Valley Hospital. Cancer, comas, pregnancies, heart attacks, STDs and other ailments. Many main characters have had cancer, such as Amanda, JR and Cara. Adam had heart issues. Kendall, Bianca and many others have been in comas. Many of the show's main characters are doctors from Joe Martin and his sons Jeff and Jake Martin, and his grandson Jamie Martin. Angie Hubbard and her son Frankie are also doctors. Julia, Maria and Anita Santos also all entered the medical profession. In Pine Valley everyone either works at PVH or spends a great deal of time there. It is probably one of the old scenes in All My Children(though I'm sure it has had many face lifts over the years).

Many characters struggle to overcome their sicknesses and become healthy again and many due. There are a few rare occasions where the don't though. Like Gillian Andrassy Lavery who died and her heart was given to Laura Kirk English. Or Leora Hayward who was David's Hayward's young daughter that died after a heart surgery. There have also been many miscarriages in Pine Valley, all with different effects on the women who experienced them. There are also a few mental health case, like Janet Green or Annie Lavery(In Annie's case I think it was just a way to get rid of her for Ryan and Greenlee to be together. The story was always too far fetched and dumb for my taste).

Pine Valley has always been a place of birth, life and death, that's what all soap operas are. They show us life and how people struggle to overcome any fate, and many do, but it also shows the few ones who don't overcome that fate. And that's just life, not everyone gets a happy ending(especially not on soap operas, drama sells). Children, marriages and family are all a major part of All My Children. That's why it has charmed so many of us for 4 decades now, and it will forever be in out hearts.