Yesterday I had the great pleasure of seeing Julie and Julia with Mom and Vera. I had heard great things about the movie, and honestly? It had Meryl Streep playing Julia Child; I knew it would be a movie to remember. What I didn’t realize is that it would be a movie I’d relate to [...]

It’s been a while since I posted, and this was too much of a gem to keep to myself until morning. I’m at my parents’ this weekend, helping them get ready to start showing their house (a story for another time and another essay, which is in progress), and we’ve been going through boxes and [...]

When I was a kid, I had this fantastic child’s roll-top desk with a matching chair. Dad says it was my Aunt Ruth’s desk originally. Aunt Ruth wasn’t really an aunt; she was a good family friend who was called Aunt Ruth. I loved that desk. Actually, it was more than love. Some kids have [...]

While tutoring freshman English composition students last year, and participating in the English tutoring seminar, I learned pretty quickly that when a student, or a writer in general, has a contradiction in their writing, it usually isn’t really a contradiction–it is where the interesting part of their argument lies, and it needs to be further [...]

You know that thing where life just keeps going without breaks? I’ve been experiencing that the last month or so. I finished my thesis, presented my research, had a big party to celebrate, and summer classes had already started. It felt like there should be a longer break (or any kind of break) to regroup, [...]

I am not usually a person who believes in “The Muse.” I believe I get “brilliant” ideas from experiences in life. In those times I get bit by the “writing bug,” and I must write. I suppose, in a way, that’s my muse.
Sometimes, though, my muse is cruel. She gives me a fabulous idea that [...]

Last fall, I applied for a research grant to help cover some of the costs of my senior thesis. The application required a letter of recommendation from my thesis adviser. The letter he wrote was extremely complimentary–quite frankly, more complimentary than I felt I deserved. One thing that my adviser said about me in the [...]

Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a girl whose life was far from a fairy tale. To get away from the reality of her life, she would read and read and read some more. She was enchanted by great literature and even fairy tales. Masterpieces filled with tragedy, romance, comedy, and [...]

I’ve been incognito. I apologize. I have a good reason, though. I’ve slowly been bleeding out words for school requirements, and it’s left no words for my blog. Those who know me will not believe that is actually possible, but it is. Really. See…
Once upon a time, in a far away land…oh, wait, it was [...]

Those of you who know me well will probably not believe what I am about to say. I have nothing to say this week.
Okay. You’re right. That’s not totally true. I had LOTS to say this week. Unfortunately, it all went into school writing. I’m just plumb tired out. There are ideas in the head, [...]