Poetry

Why is poetry so hard to understand?  Why can't we just say what is on our minds?  Why can't we take life at face value?  It would be so much easier if we could.  I would get more sleep, not worry about quizzes, and overall enjoy life much more.

But that is not what life is about, is it?  Life is full of twists and turns.  It is full of hidden meanings and messages.  It is full of people who look beyond the surface, and so we too must look beyond what we see.  That is the scary part of life.

The nice thing though, is when you begin to look beyond what is there, you begin to see what is hidden from view.  It is all quite wonderful... and that is my breakthrough for the day!

Alexandra

The flesh is the surface of the unknown.

- Victor Hugo 

The Horrible ....

.... part of life is when you get writer's block.  It is so not cool.  (and my imaginary friends are talking to me... so I don't know what is really going on up there).

I love to write (most of the time), but sometimes I can't get the words out.  That is just crappy.  There is no other word for it.  I am stuck and I suck at writing (when this happens).

So now I am listening to classical music, thinking about my life (never a good thing), listening to the wind howl, and trying to figure out how to get two to three pieces written by Wednesday.

Help!
Alexandra

Discipline allows magic. To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of that bitch.

-Lili St. Crow

Superhero Movies

I really like superhero movies.  They are wonderful and great and make me smile.  So instead of writing about superhero movies, I am going to list the ones that I have seen and or want to see.  (and you should totally comment on which movies you love in the Superhero Movie Genre)

Batman:

Batman Begins

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight Rises

Spider-Man:

The Amazing Spider-Man

X-Men:

X-Men

X-2: X-Men United

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men First Class

Captain America:

Captain America: The First Avenger

Thor:

Thor

Thor: The Dark World

Avengers:

Avengers

Hulk:

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man:

Iron Man

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 3

Happy Movie Watching!

Adding Another

I am (unfortunately?) adding another course to my schedule.  The nice thing, is that it is an online class.  The not so nice thing, is that it is an online class.  They are kinda a catch-22.  But I shall prevail.

This course, is Juvenile Literature.  I think it will be a fun class, but I could be wrong.  It is all about reading.  I am cool with that.

The books I will be reading are:

• The Lord of the Flies
• Monster
• Annie On My Mind
• Giver
• Go Ask Alice
• Catcher in the Rye
• Demon's Lexicon
• Diary of Anne Frank

Of this list, I have read 2, so that is good(ish).  I will be entertained by not knowing what will happen, and I can cross off a few more books from my 'Want to Read' list!

All in all, a somewhat good day!

Lots of Love

Alexandra

Sleepy Me

It has been an interesting week, but the thing that has gotten me the most, is my sleepiness.  I am so tired, and that is so unusual.  I 'try' to get a good night's rest, but I'm in college, and that doesn't always happen.  So I decided to look up some interesting facts and such about sleep (possibly to put me to sleep).... but I digress.

Here are some wonderfully interesting facts about sleep that I discovered from the National Sleep Foundation:

1. Man is the only mammal that willingly delays sleep.
2. The higher the altitude, the greater the sleep disruption. 
3. In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep and contributes to sounder sleep. 
4. Divorced, widowed and separated people report more insomnia.
5. More than eight in ten survey respondents think that people often or sometimes misuse prescription sleep aids.
6. Caffeine has been called the most popular drug in the world. 
7. In general, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours.
8. We naturally feel tired at two different times of the day: about 2:00 AM and 2:00 PM. 
9. Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise.
10. Newborns sleep a total of 10.5 to 18 hours a day on an irregular schedule with periods of one to three hours spent awake.
11. When infants are put to bed drowsy but not asleep, they are more likely to become "self- soothers," which enables them to fall asleep independently at bedtime and put themselves back to sleep during the night.
12. Eighty-two percent of healthcare professionals believe that it is the responsibility of both the patient and the healthcare professional to bring up symptoms of insomnia during an appointment.
13. There are individual differences in the need to nap. Some adults and children need to nap. However, the majority of teenagers probably nap in the afternoon because they are not sleeping enough at night.
14. Snoring is the primary cause of sleep disruption for approximately 90 million American adults; 37 million on a regular basis.
15. Scientists still don't know — and probably never will — if animals dream during REM sleep, as humans do.
16. Some studies show promise for the use of melatonin in shortening the time it takes to fall asleep and reducing the number of awakenings, but not necessarily total sleep time. 
17. One of the primary causes of excessive sleepiness among Americans is self-imposed sleep deprivation.
18. According to the results of NSF's 2008 Sleep in America poll, 36 percent of American drive drowsy or fall asleep while driving.
19. People who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite-regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase.
20. Rates of insomnia increase as a function of age, but most often the sleep disturbance is attributable to some other medical condition.
21. And did you know seasonal affective disorder is believed to be influenced by the changing patterns of light and darkness that occur with the approach of winter?

Well I hope you are all getting enough sleep!

Love Ya!

Alexandra

Goodreads

You know you have a problem when you type in the letter 'G' in your search box and the first thing that comes up is Goodreads (not Google).  But I am fine with having that problem.... it makes life fun and exciting and interesting!!

Reading is such an essential part of my life.  I live and breath books (and writing - heck, I might even post something of mine up here one of these days... food for thought).

My mother says I have a problem, but I don't really think so (well not too much of a problem.  It is just a tiny one!).  I am always reading and forgetting to do my chores.  But hey.  I could be doing worse things.  I could be going to wild parties or getting millions of tattoos, but I haven't... and I most likely won't.  But like a good child, I can see that I have a bit of a problem, but I am not going to change that one bit.  No.  Instead, I have decided to have a reading challenge.  75 books in the year 2014.  Completely doable!

I will stick up the little Goodreads Book Counter under the Themes Content so you can watch me 'struggle' through the year with my books.  Honestly, I give it until August to complete the 75 books, but I might just surprise myself.

As of now (when I typed up this post on Friday Night), I have read 4 books, but I have a feeling by the time you read this, the number will have gone up by one or two.

So I encourage you to check out my Books page to see what all I have read both this month, this year, and since I started this blog!

Enjoy and Read... Alexandra

Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.

-Joyce Carol Oates” 

Starting Anew

Classes started today.  Yay!  I am really, truly excited about this.  I am a total nerd and accept that.  My schedule for this semester is very appealing (which makes for a wonderful semester all in all).  My Monday's are a little bit fuller with five classes and giving a tour (I am an Admissions Ambassador, if I haven't told you that already).

I am really excited for my classes which include:

• Creative Writing
• I will be contracting this class as an Honors class, so I will keep you all up to date on my progresses, and might even let you read a few of my works .... possibly
• British Literature II
• I am super excited about this class because I love Brit Lit.  It is so fun and exciting (and isn't about some dead dude and his day to day business - written as a diary)
• Applied Animal Nutrition & Lab
• This class is for my minor (Animal Science) and I am super stoked.  I love learning about livestock!!
• German 202
• The only redeeming thing about German is it is my last semester
• Introduction to Independent Studies
• This class is an Honors Seminar class which are really fun.  I will (in theory) by the end of the semester, be able to submit my Independent Study proposal and begin my work on that

So that is my life until May.  Throw in working as an Ambassador and training for my position as an Orientation Leader (I help incoming freshman and their parents prepare for school and register for classes), my days will be filled with fun and excitement!

Happy Start of Semester

Alexandra 

America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.

-Jane Addams