My relationship with sleep.

I don't know why but the thing that I so often crave the most, is the last thing that I want to do at night: sleep. It is the life-force that gets me through the long hours of the day, but yet, so often I refuse to give into its calling. If only schedules worked in such a way that sleep could come when it desired and everything else could work around that. Unfortunately, my sleep has to work around my insane schedule.

During the day, I could probably spend twelve hours in dream land, watching the back of my eyelids as I float perfectly along in a state of unconsciousness. I don't, but I could. Then, when you know 10pm, 11pm, 12 midnight comes along, the last thing I want to do is sleep. My creativity thrives in the late hours of the day. My ideas come alive and I have energy once again. What the heck is up with that?

I know I will regret it in the morning, I know that I will be drowsy for hours on end, but more often than not anymore, I tend to push back my "bedtime." I am in bed at the same time, but the light does not go out until hours later than planned. And then, sleep still evades me as I think about whatever is on my mind. I am just not tired at night. Perhaps I am turning into a nocturnal animal. That would be so strange and not beneficial since most of the world functions during the hours when the sun is shining.

Honestly, I think of the strangest, most creative ideas when it is hours past the time when I should be sleeping. Maybe someday my body will actually get it right.

Why I write.

Hey everyone!

So every once in a while I will go somewhere and run into someone I am friends with on Facebook, follow on Twitter, or just know from my goings on in life, and they tell me that they like to read my blog. I see how many people have already stopped by to check out what's going on and I am so excited!

This got me thinking. I have to write a blog for my placement right now and tonight I wrote about how we are all writers. So I thought that I would post that post here as well. I am challenging all of you to respond. I want to know why you write. Take a second and read through my post below and then leave me a comment. If my sixth graders can do it, then I know you all can too. =) Oh, and it's National Writing Day, so that's another reason why you should tell me why you're a writer! =)

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We are all writers. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, everyone is a writer. Some people only write when they are making a grocery list, taking a test, or sending a text to their best friend. Other people write to make sense of life, to get away from reality, or to create something new.

When I was trying to decide what to write about tonight, I jumped on twitter and saw this:

Penny Kittle is one of those people who write for a whole bunch of reasons. She is an author as well as a teacher. My professors have used her textbooks in a couple of my Teaching English classes. The blue lettering before the black represents a conversation that is going on. People who also want to respond to “why I write” simply put a # and whyiwrite and then type their response. It is a way to have a conversation across cultures and boarder lines.

This gave me an idea. Since we are all writers, I want to know why you write. But first, let me tell you why I write.

I write because I love putting words together in patterns that I’ve never seen before, or imitating patterns that caught my attention. I write because sometimes I just need a break from everything that I have to do. I write to make sense of my life and to help other people see a glimpse of what I see everyday. I write because I think I’d go insane if I didn’t.

So why do you write? Parent or student, I want to know why you write, even if it’s just to make a grocery list or take a test. That’s this week’s activity. It can be one sentence or a paragraph. I just want to know. I am a writer, as we all are, and I like to know what makes other people writers too.

Creativity and it's place in life.

So, I feel as though I haven't had a chance to be creative and pursue my interests rather than school mandated work recently. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to teach and I know it will all be worth it in the end, it just saddens me that I feel as though I haven't been able to really write in a long time.

My friend has been talking about taking a year off after he graduates to just write. I am envious every time I hear him mention it. I have such a hunger for taking time and creating whatever comes into my head. So often, life just gets in the way of what is going on in my subconscious.

My friend said something tonight that made me think. It was something like, "I want to see what I can produce when I put my all into writing because right now I am producing what I think is pretty good stuff. I'd like to see what I can come up with when I don't just write when I don't have time." Now that wasn't exactly word-for-word what he said, but it just got me thinking.

What would happen if I didn't have to get through life before I could sit down and write my heart out? What if I could just grab a journal and a pen anytime the muses shine down on me? (Okay, I don't really have "muses" but you get the point ...) How many ideas are lost because when they come to me, I am in the middle of something "more important" and cannot entertain it?

Well, that's it. I just wanted to get that out there =).

Laugh, Love and Learn

This weekend I embarked on my first Millersville-affiliated spiritual retreat. It was seriously the best time I've had in a while. The Navigators (Navs for short) are a Christian group that is spread internationally on college campus and military bases. They also have missionaries in several countries around the world. I found out about Navs from a friend of mine this summer and attended the first meeting. I've been attending one of their weekly Bible Studies and have made it out to a few other Nav Nights as well.

After over a year of having zero Christian friends on campus, it is wonderful to finally know people who believe the same way I do and go to the same school. I truly believe this is just one more way of God showing me His faithfulness in my transfer.

So anyway, back to the weekend. I started out knowing umm, well maybe like 5 people on this trip; I now know a significantly larger amount. =) Millersville University and University of Maryland meet up each year for this retreat (sometimes they are joined by Rutgers and Bowie State, but not this year unfortunately). Believe me when I say, I had no idea what I was in for.

The weekend provided numerous occasions to laugh, love and learn. The messages and testimonies were solid and the people were completely genuine. The talent show on Saturday night was nothing but hilarious. It really gave me a chance to relax while getting to know some other awesome Christians and getting to spend some much needed time with God.

The word for me from the weekend was undoubtedly "trust." Every message, every small group, every devotional, that idea was there. It took me until the last few hours at camp to realize in what area exactly I needed to be more trusting. God spoke to me a lot in that final time. Although I don't always remember, I am graduating in May. I need to trust God that He has exactly the right path laid out for me. He also has the right person for me as well. That's the other area I need to be more trusting in. Thankfully, God has it all figured out so therefore, I don't need to. =)

Overall, the weekend was a blast. I am so happy I went on the Navs 2011 Fall Retreat. =)

Reading Prose

Yesterday (Friday Sept 30th) I read at another poetry reading at school. I'm in this club called the Creative Writers' Guild. It started up last semester and we meet every Tuesday night to talk about writing and share our work. Occasionally, we arrange a date with the Javateas on campus to have a poetry reading. Now, despite the title, it doesn't have to be poetry. Readers can sign up for a 5 minute time slot and fill it (or not fill it) with whatever they want basically.

This time, we had several people come out to read, but unfortunately not as many as last time. Several readers shared works from professional authors while others shared self-written pieces. We had a few people take up two (or three) time slots, but due to the lower number, it all worked out. It was a blast and great fun to hear people's work. I'm always amazed at the talent people have.

I decided to record myself sharing my 3 pieces of "prose ... with a poetic flare." Hopefully later in the year, I'll get to share it with my 6th graders, but for now, I'm sharing it with you.

The three pieces I read were entitled (in order): "Window in a Coffee Shop," "Paper," and "It's a Gift." Hopefully you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed sharing. =)