Just another fan-girly post about Divergent

     I might possibly be the last teen alive who has not yet finished reading the Divergent series.

I must admit that I avoided it because I didn't like it's cover.

I know I am defying one of the most important bookworm rules here; don't judge a book by it's cover.

Sorry about that. I am truly sorry... Because I also defied another very important bookworm rule: read the book before watching the movie.

Yes, I watched the movie first. But it made me realize that I was missing out big-time on something amazing.

All of this to say, I started reading the book. 

YES it's amazing, and YES I'm totally in love with Tobias. The minute I started reading Divergent, I could not put it down. I just started book two.

     I'm sure there are already a billion other blog posts out there about this series, but I think it has some philosophical content which should definitely still be shared HERE. I quote:

   "A brave man acknowledges the strength of others."

...

"I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different."

...

"Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear and how to be free from it."

These statements bring tears to my eyes. Especially the last one; it is so, so important to remember we cannot be fearless, that knowing our flaws is what brings us strength and what helps us surpass them.

I made these to illustrate this quote. Which do you like better?

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

Want to know something cool?

My mom is an AUTHOR!

And... she is hosting a giveaway! Three lucky winners will win her book! You have six days to enter. All you have to do is like her Facebook page. Here is the link to the giveaway:

https://www.facebook.com/TrailingAMemoir?sk=app_228910107186452

The book is called Trailing: A Memoir. It chronicles the experience of a "trailing spouse" who followed her Médecins Sans Frontières husband to the frontlines in East Africa (in other words, it's the story of five years of my mom and dad's life in Africa, in which I happen to be born). It's been voted one of the best Indie Read of 2013!

Silence

There are some things, in this world, which are irreplaceable, rare, and precious; you have to look out for them and appreciate them fully while they're still happening.

Like the sound of silence.

In a noisy city like mine, how often do you find yourself in complete and total silence? Whether it's outside or inside, there is ALWAYS some sort of noise:
The tick of the clock, the motor of a car.
The sound of my brother eating cereal, the clickety-clack of my mom's fingers on her keyboard.
A baby's cry, the whoosh of the wind through the trees.
So when I find myself enjoying a book on the sofa, while my brother, next to me, is doing the same, and my dad is upstairs, and my mom is sipping her coffee without a sound, I literally

d
r
o
w
n

in the silence.
I drown in the silence, willingly, because it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.
Silence, I've come to realize, is one of the loudest things you could ever hear.
Your ears are overwhelmed, in the best way possible, by the piercing absence of any noise, and your thoughts are crystal clear.

Remember to treasure these moments of silence: they don't come often and they are just as beautiful as a melody.

image is from pinterest

OVER 100 POSTS!

Hey peeps.
I JUST REALIZED that I've written over one hundred posts on this blog!!!
This post is number #105, in case you're wondering.

It feels surreal to me, and although 105 posts might not seem like a lot to you, it feels like a lot to ME, me who is on a quest to being a writer.
I'd like to thank all of my followers and supporters for reading my blog, following, and commenting!
Somebody once said that writing is a muscle that needs to be exercised every day, or else it will seize up (remind me who said this? It's brilliant).
I believe this is true and although I don't write every day, I come close to doing so, not only on my blog but in my homework agenda, my diary, sticky notes, and letters. Writing truly is a passion and this blog has helped me in so many ways to become a better writer.

Speaking of passions, most of you haven't ACTUALLY met me PHYSICALLY, which means you probably don't know that I play guitar... I don't blog about it much. The reason for that is, I have way too many activities going on in my life and I feel I can't consecrate time to practicing guitar outside of my one-hour class each Wednesday... so I'm thinking of giving up on it.
But thinking of GIVING UP on something makes me feel terrible about myself and I am overwhelmed with a deep sense of guilt. I feel that my dad, with his "it's your choice, I guess..." is extremely disappointed in me, that my guitar teacher is extremely disappointed in me, and, most importantly, I am disappointed in me.
This question, whether I should continue guitar or not, has brought on a lot of stress to my thoughts lately and therefore, I ask you, do you have any insight to offer?

Any piece of advice will help.

Love you all. :)

On time and the present moment

I'm sitting in class, zoning out while the teacher explains something about irrational numbers, and I start thinking about what I'm going to wear for thanksgiving lunch. And that reminds me: I still need to bring all my summer clothes to the basement! Oh, but first I need to practice guitar before my lesson this afternoon; I'm not ready yet to perform in front of the others in my guitar class!

I can't wait to get home, and start getting these things done, I think to myself. Instinctively, I look at my watch- but wait-WHAT?! Oh no!!! IT'S NOT THERE!!!

Did I seriously forget my watch at home?

It's the strangest feeling. It's like I'm floating through space. There's no clock on the wall. The kids around me aren't wearing watches either. 

How am I supposed to know what time it is? How weird it is that I have NO WAY of knowing when the bell will ring, and how much time is left before I go home? 

In that moment, I did not feel at ease. That was yesterday morning: it was a very short school day, of only three hours. But the number of times I checked my wrist only to see- again- that my watch was missing, is astounding.

It's made me realize how dependent I am on my watch, and more importantly, how much I depend on time.

It's almost like I've become a watch myself, without even knowing it. In my life, I calculate every minute, deciding how much time I can give myself for this, how much time I should spend on that...

Because time, I feel, is always escaping me...

What if we had no time, no deadlines, no parts of the day; what if we could just be, with no worries, no goals, no clocks ticking...?

How would our lives be conducted?

I can't imagine it. I start thinking too hard, and it muddles my brain.

But I do know that something might need to be done; because I've just identified the major source of the stress I carry in life: time! I have no TIME! I need more TIME!

Where does time go? Where does the present disappear to?

I do my best to live in the moment; but it still makes me nervous to think that the clock is ticking...!

Take today, for example. There will never, ever, ever be a 21st of November 2013, ever again. Never in the future of the universe, ever.

Do you have some light to shed on this matter?

Girl and Laptop

I remember a few years back when my mom was writing her first book, and she was constantly trying to fit some writing time into her crazy schedule. I observed her with wonder as her fingers flew across the keyboard of her laptop, like she was transmitting a secret code to the screen.
How can she type so fast? I always wondered. And why won't she let me use her laptop?

"My laptop is my baby" my mom would explain to me, "I don't want anybody other than me to use it. If something were to happen to it, I'd be devastated. One day you'll understand."

Today I understand. My grandparents just gave me a brand-new laptop, one which they had bought for themselves but didn't make use of, and now I don't want ANYONE but me touching it. I get testy when my mom spends more than fifteen minutes on it!

I couldn't quite grasp the idea of what it means to have an object so close to your heart, one that you can pour all your thoughts into. It's like an instrument for creativity.

Now, when I have a burst of inspiration, when words form in my head and I feel I could use them one day, I just open up my laptop... it's never been so easy!

A laptop is a totally different experience from a desk computer.

I know that this post is materialistic. I just find it funny to realize how much we value some things and not others.