Hello hello!

Long time no write, I know. It’s because I have another blog now: emilyscollegechronicles 🙂

Anyway, I just thought I would mention that I have been writing! I’m working on a fairytale of sorts right now. I got the first 20 pages out in a day, but it’s hard to keep working on it. A super rough draft is actually up on Figment. It’s very much a work in progress, but I would love it if people looked at it and gave me feedback. I have a lot of other writing on figment as well. 🙂

Summer is almost over. Which means it’s almost time to start school again! And pay for tuition…less exciting.

Anyway, just a reminder ICU is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (and book sales do help pay for tuition 😉 ).

Enjoy the rest of your summers! And check out my new blog.

~Emily 🙂

Hello!

So, I’m not exactly sure why, but I’m now writing two blogs. 🙂  I have a feeling I will be writing more for my new one: emilyscollegechronicles. That being said, here is the link. Hopefully I will be linking the two accounts soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! 😀 I enjoyed writing it.

~Emily 🙂

Hello!

I have exciting news about ICU (I know, something I haven’t talked about in a while). Today we made the paperback version available on Amazon! The kindle version has been up since last year, but I think it is great to have a paper copy as well! I’m quite excited about it! You should check it out here.

 In other news, I’m back on campus for work for the summer. When I first arrived I was a little terrified because the room was really small and some of the re-arrangement plans my summer roomie and I had didn’t work. But in the end, we fit it all together like a puzzle!

Mondays are my days off so I spent the day reading. Late last night/early this morning I finished Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell (she also wrote North and South). It was an excellent book, and I would highly recommend it. This afternoon I finished reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That was interesting. There was some food for thought, but I did not find it the most engaging read. After that, I read Notes from Underground. Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite books, so I looked forward to reading this book by the same author. It was depressing, more depressing than I expected, but still very good. It is broken into two parts; the first is a stream of consciousness giving the reader a glimpse into the sad heart and mind of a sad man. One would not like to admit anything in common with such a man, yet on further reflection, the little things he points out about himself are all too often sitting at the bottom of the heart. The second half is a telling of a tragic event from the narrator’s young adulthood. It is indeed sad. The book was not uplifting in any way, yet it was very powerful. The ending was poignant. I would recommend reading Notes from Underground.

Well with that little glimpse, I shall bid you all farewell. I wish you a pleasant summer! Read as many books as you can get your hands on! If you want a light pleasant read there’s always ICU…which again, is now available on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback.

~Emily 🙂

You will have to forgive me, for I simply have to rant. I have been followed by very unwelcome suitors all day. They have taken various forms but one word describes them all: bugs! I do mean that literally. From cicadas to bees to ticks to unidentified black bugs, my day has been unpleasantly full of them.

This morning I awoke very early to go for a walk and take some pictures of the property where my parents are living. It was breathtakingly beautiful. However, as I was walking around, a small field of hay I heard a buzz. I couldn’t see it, but there was a bug buzzing from one side of my head to the other, and nearly hitting it with my hands did not scare it away. It stayed with me for the remaining thirty minutes of my walk. It was some small bee, I think, and no matter how much I protested, it would not go away.

Later in the day, I was heading out to go to some thrift stores with my mom. I stepped directly on a plump juicy cicada. I confess to a fear of squishing things. I bolted off the patio and to the car in terror. Avoiding more cicadas as I hopped from step to step.

I suppose most of the rest of my day was fairly bug free. But the scariest encounter was as I was about to go to bed, I was putting on my pajamas when I saw what looked to be a freckle on my hip…except that I don’t have a freckle there. Only one word came to mind: tick. People are really paranoid about those out here (justly so, from all the stories I’ve heard). I dug my nails in and ripped out the creepy crawly along with a little chunk of my own skin. I don’t know if my eyes were playing tricks on me but it looked like it had wiggly legs and I threw it like I was trying toss a Frisbee to the moon (bugs have often brought out the secret Olympian in me). I panicked for a moment then asked a friend if I should be worried. We decided against it, and I finished getting ready for bed, turned out the lights, and crawled under the covers (trying to get the creepy-crawly feeling out of my mind).

Suddenly, as I glanced once more at my computer I felt something crawling down my back. As paranoid as I knew I was, I knew I wasn’t imagining it. I flung my hands to wipe off my back then stumbled to the light. Sure enough there was a strange black winged bug of some kind crawling around my pillows. Somehow, it ended up on my piano then I looked up and there was another one on the door frame. I heard a rattle and glanced up. In the light fixture, I could see the silhouette of another bug as it tried to crawl up the sides and out into the open.

End result, wearied and worn I gave up and moved to the couch. I’m currently writing this with eyes wide open for any more unwelcome visitors. Confession time: As much as I adore Northern Virginia for it’s beauty and even weather, I miss the good old simple mosquitoes back in my lovely California. Though even there, once upon a time…a black widow did bring out the Olympian side and I think I might have teleported form one side of the room to the other.

Well I wish you the best! Stay away from bugs. I know people say they are needed for the ecosystem…and I believe them. But I can honestly say that I would be just fine if they kept to themselves (that’s better than the curse I wished on them earlier…I do try to be nice 😉

 ~Emily

 

I found life in a character today, something I’ve never done before. I was writing, and for the first time, I wanted to write the character so her story could be told. It wasn’t as if I made up her story; it was as if I simply needed to tell it.

I was watching a show the other day and there were two whole episodes dedicated to a “side character.” I had never truly realized it before, but side characters are what make a story real, and give it depth and dimension. I started thinking about one of the completely flat, “side characters” I had tried to create. Sure, she was talented, nice, and a great friend to the main character, but who was she? I didn’t have an answer and then slowly her story came into my mind, as if I was watching something that someone else wrote, or a life not my own to live. She was there coming to life, laughing, changing, growing, loving. But it was all inside of my head. I had made her, but I hadn’t given life to her yet, she was just a picture. I’ve never wanted to write my characters to life so badly. It was a strange sensation, but it reminded me why I love writing so much. When you write, you discover so many things that you never would have dreamt.

Words really are a portal to another world—not an escape but an adventure. When you write, you are picking your own adventure. Whether you are saving the galaxy, solving a murder, falling in love, or even dying. You write and choose a great adventure. It is something that you will never live, but you can still experience. You are creating.

It’s a little late, and my mind is a little full of a character who is suddenly important, so forgive any topic jumping. And on that note, I shall bid thee farewell. I hope that made a little sense. Just know—writing takes reading to a whole new level, not only are you living a hundred lives, you are making a hundred lives. It’s kind of scary, but at the same time, it’s kind of wonderful! 🙂

~Emily

The other day, while on a walk with my roommate, I picked up a dandelion and harshly blew off its feathers. I was focusing intently upon the stem as always, because as a child I had been told that if you knock all of the seeds off in one breath you can make a wish. I know it’s a silly superstition, and I’ve never believed it, yet I always practice the method (it is the same as holding my breath under tunnels and making a wish).

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw the little white fluffs floating away in the sunset. I focused my eyes away from the bud and onto what I had sent into the wind.

It was a little speck of heavenly beauty on earth, like a fleet of angels flying off to serve their maker.

“I’ve never watched them float away!” I gasped, wondering what I had been doing with the last nineteen years of my life.

My roommate was momentarily appalled and then smiled. “It gives you a bit of perspective doesn’t it?”

I leaned down and carefully snatched another dandelion then blew against the seedlings, this time, watching in awe as they flurried away with the wind, glowing against the setting sun. “Indeed it does.” A half-smile broke onto my lips, and we continued our walk.

It is so easy to focus on the big picture, which is often simply getting everything done, but that makes it impossible to enjoy the little things in life. And it is the small wonders that God has given that make life truly beautiful. Never allow yourself to be so caught up in life’s duties that you forget that you are a creature of the most magnificent artist. Take time to enjoy the stories he has painted into life and the world he has created around you.

~Emily Rose

Outside! That word pretty much described my last week. Between papers, tests, classes, presentations, homework, walks, reading, and naps, I spent almost all of my time outside (I’ve was even dubbed a hobo, because I practically lived outside).

The sun was bright, the flowers popping open, a new tree was in bloom every day. Even my yellow burst of color outside D1 danced in the sunshine (my Easter flowers). People emerged from their winter dens, donning bright colors and cheery smiles. Couples flocked into every sunny seat around, lost in the warmth of each other’s eyes (pardon the sappy hehe).  Professors wore smiles and a few even had class outside. It was blissful. Being inside at all was challenging for me, and I even woke up early some days so I could sit outside and work. 🙂

I was expecting last week to be extremely challenging and not very uplifting because I had quite a lot due. However, when I was outside in the newly warm sun, I reacquainted myself with the motivation that has been running from me for most of the semester. It was quite a pleasant discovery.

Even though I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked and was even a little stressed at some times, I was so happy to be able to be outside. They do say that Vitamin D makes you happy; I think it is very true! I think watching my skin go from ghostly white to pleasantly tanned/burned also made me happy hehe. Even my hair is starting to get a little blonder. Ah, the joys of warmth!

I think my favorite part might have been the late nights outside though. After the sun went down, the air cooled and crickets chirped. I had a paper due for my children’s literature class, and you cannot really write a paper outside on your computer when the sun causes such an awful glare. So I wrote the paper outside during the night. The first warm night, I wrote outside with a couple of friends until curfew. The other nights I worked until about eleven, with random study people and then took naps. I brought out a blanket, coffee (sometimes iced…if I dared to get ice from the security guards…which I felt almost guilty for, but they need something to do too, right? And I did end up using the ice on a really bad bug bite too), books, water, pens, my computer, and headphones. I sank into my little world on the grassy patch right in front of my dorm and wrote! That was my study spot and my nap spot. It was the best place to take a nap, because I knew that if I fell asleep, no matter how much I wanted to stay asleep, at 12, security would force me to leave and go back into the dorm (it forced me to get more schoolwork done, because I know if I tried to nap in my bed…there would be no getting back up). I napped outside twice. Apparently it was stranger than I realized and my roommate was very tempted to put a sign asking for money in front of me. I guess I really could pull off the hobo look.

I loved it though. The nights were cool and the air was so clean. I wrapped up in my giant blue blanket (fondly called the giraffe), laid on the patch of grass, and took an hour long nap. The first night a couple of people woke me up at 11:30 (apparently after trying to figure out who I was for a few minutes). They warned me that it was almost curfew, I put my head right back down and got up at 11:45 when some friends got out of play practice. The second night, my roommate warned me that it was 11:59 and then security kindly told me I had to go inside. I wasn’t as enthralled to get up that time, but in the end my roomies and I went for a walk once my other roommate got back, so I didn’t have to stay inside too long. I found out later that I got a lot of strange looks from people walking by, and a couple of people even snapped pictures…future blackmail I’m guessing lol. Honestly, I don’t care what people think though, it’s probably the happiest place to nap in the world. I obviously am a flower-child not too deep down hehe. 😉

Ah, I can’t get over how wonderful it was to breathe warm, fresh, springy air! I think I’ve fallen in love with spring, and I’m very excited for being outside as much as I can over the next few weeks.

Happy almost summer! Happy Spring! Go take a book and read it outside! There is no excuse not to enjoy this lovely weather (assuming it’s lovely where you are…whoever you are)! Sorry if that felt like a long winded gloat or rant or overjoyedness…it was. 😀

Christ is Risen!

He is Risen indeed!

Happy Easter everyone. Today I woke up at 4:25 to go to a sunrise service at the Arlington Cemetery. I met up with my ride at 4:50 and we headed out. I tried my best to sleep on the hour plus drive towards D.C.

The sky was still pitch black when we arrived at 6:17. A short walk led us to the shuttles taking throngs of people to the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater.

Uniformed men handed out bulletins for the service. Our group sat down on the frozen marble seats and listened silently as the United States Army Band began to play. The music was beautiful against the stillness of the slowly lightening sky.

At 6:35 the service began. Everyone rose to read the Apostles Creed then joined in singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” with the band. The Chaplain walked to the pulpit, introduced the service, and led us all in The Lord’s Prayer.

The Band played another song and the Army Chorus sang with them. A young man sang the first verse as a solo. His voice was stunning.

There was another responsive reading and then they read a passage from Isaiah 65. In the middle of the passage a large grey dove landed at the peak of the Amphitheater stage roof. The sky was beginning to glow a soft pink despite the covering of clouds. Though cold, it was beautiful.

After a few more songs and scripture passages the US Army Deputy Chief of Chaplains gave a short sermon. Afterwards we joined in song to “Hallelujah! What a Savior.” There was a benediction and the band and chorus ended the service with the Hallelujah Chorus.

It was a beautiful service.

On the shuttle back to the parking area a friendly middle-aged woman sat in the empty seat beside me. She held a pot of yellow flowers that had been offered at the end of the service.

“Was this your first Sunrise service here?” she asked pleasantly.

“Yes. It is my first ever actually.”

“It’s my first one here.” She addressed the four of us that had gone together. “Do you go to college around here?”

“Yes, Patrick Henry College.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that school. That is a Christian School right?

“Yes, it is.”

“Wasn’t there a big controversy there a couple of years back?”

Danielle, one of the people I had gone to the sunrise service with, spoke up, “Yes, it was mainly involving teaching methods and curriculum, but it isn’t really affecting us now, other than the stories you find when you Google it,” she said with a bit of a laugh.

“I really like it there. So are you from around the area?” I asked.

“I moved here when I was a teenager, but now I’m a missionary in Japan, I’m back in the states for this year.”

I admit I was very fascinated now. “What is it like?”

“I’m stationed in Tokyo helping out youth programs with the church. I like it, but it’s very spiritually dark there. It’s very westernized, but only 1% of the population claims Christianity as their religion. It has been so rejuvenating to be back in the states.”

“When do you head back to Japan?”

“Lord willing, in September.”

“That is really neat.”

By then the shuttle had arrived at its destination. Before we all got off the bus, she handed me the flowers.

“Here, it will brighten up your dorm room.”

I took the beautiful yellow flowers. “Thank you very much.”

She smiled and then we parted ways.

I think more than the sun-colored flowers will brighten my room, talking with her had brightened my day. They say don’t talk to strangers–I would like to politely disagree, at least  in some cases. Happy Easter! Remember that Christ is indeed risen from the grave!

Emily 🙂

This Thursday-Sunday is Easter Break. It is also know by many students as the “last time to sleep before the big push to finish classes, write papers, and take finals, break.” Now, this brief lack of school (and on campus work) means that mornings are once again able to become part of the day that is to be enjoyed from dreamland. Only, that’s not always how it works.

This morning I was up very early. My step-dad was heading off to work and I was going with him and taking the car back home so my mom and I could go thrift shopping later.

At 6 my eyes opened at a rustling noise as my step-dad was preparing to leave, I rose and quickly got ready as well. We left about five minutes later.

The moon was bright and high in the sky, casting a silver glow on the passing clouds. The thick morning air was a gentle, transparent white.

A few minutes later he pulled up to work, said goodbye, and let me go my way. I climbed over into the driver’s seat and drove past Market Street Coffee, which wouldn’t open until 6:30. From there I headed down Main Street towards Harris Teeter.

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve driven, and I’d forgotten how lovely of a feeling it could be. Not only was I driving, but I was alone. No human voice pressed against my ears, and I had nowhere to be. It was just the car and its driver.

I went to Starbucks and used the last of a gift card to buy coffee and a pastry. When I got back to the car, I realized that I wanted to drive somewhere. I wanted to go on a road trip right then, maybe not a long trip, maybe only to Leesburg, but I wanted to go. I wanted to stay in the peaceful solitude of the early morning and watch it unfold from the front seat of that car, driving down a winding road, as the sun peaked over tree-tops, or absorb the breathtaking awe of a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean (which due to location would have been impossible).

Of course, I knew better. I drove right back to where I came from. I didn’t go on an adventure. There was nowhere to go now. The streets were empty, the stores closed. It was just the morning sky, which was slowly lightening to grey as the air cleared to invisibility.

As I drove back, I was reminded that loneliness can often be a blessing. Reflection and peace go hand-in-hand.

When I arrived and went back inside I knew that sleep would visit me again if I wanted her. However, I also knew that the sun would visit and break the pale of the sky. I think I wanted to see her far more than sleep.

Though I’m only watching from a window, the morning is unfolding gloriously, and the periwinkle sky grows brighter and brighter. Maybe someday I will just drive until I lose the road and get lost in the beauty of creation. Someday I’ll watch the sun rise over trees, mountains, water, and city skylines, all from the front seat of a car that I’m driving all by my lonesome little self.

~Emily

My creativity generally takes three forms of expression: fiction, music, and poetry. I seldom have inspiration in more than one category at a time, and sometimes I will be completely dry. Since last summer I have fallen more into the category of dry, nothing creative or at least decently creative has come into my mind and I’ve lived life without penning words. But the bug is back! Its poison of choice: poetry. And so, the poor poet in me has arisen to the surface and is attempting to mold a verse sweet to the tongue and ear. I hope you will find some pleasure in the lines that follow.

 

Creation’s King

An angel’s breath stole through my hair,

As I sat soaking freshest air,

The sun brought blush to pallid flesh,

I like a child free from crèche.

 

A tangled branch had slowly wrung,

‘round twisted limb, stopping the lung,

As fairies danced on trembling twigs,

And bushes full of dying sprigs,

 

Then clear as water’s crystal face,

I heard a thought I had erased,

“Come forth and worship nature’s king,

The God to whom the wind will sing”

 

I bowed before the Lord most high,

In his embrace was lifted nigh,

For using gentle beauty’s call,

He had reminded: “I am all!”

 

~Emily