Don't Think, Just Do

Here's an example of a post about whatever I want

When I told my grandma that my new life motto was "don't think, just do," she got a little upset and reminded me that it's important to think things through. Understandable. Doing things without thinking isn't all that wise. So I guess I need to clarify.

When we want to do something in life, it's important that we do it-- without thinking. Sometimes thinking gets in the way of what we truly want because it leads to excuses. I can't do this because of this. That's dumb. I guess what I really meant by not thinking is not overthinking. When you are put in a position to put yourself out there even if it is something you really want, you will find reasons not to do it. It's in our nature to find excuses to not do something. We will always find something to hold us back. And we might end up regretting it in the long run. We NEED TO STOP THAT. We need to understand that it is okay to step out of our comfort zone. We need to understand that this is part of life. We must do things in life. We must stop the excuses.

I'm already pretty good at not thinking. I have no filter. I say what's on my mind. It gets me in trouble. Professors call me sassy and I am never expected to raise my hand. This is something I need to work on and I understand that. I have perfected the art of not thinking before speaking. 

I have somehow found myself returning to the same summer job year after year. I've never done anything too terrifying and now I'm starting to think it's time. It's time to stop finding excuses. It's time to start doing things with my life. It's time to stop thinking and start doing.

What my grandma doesn't know is that I recently got a tattoo, applied for a summer job in Maine, and I'm thinking about jumping an ocean after graduation. And the reason my grandma doesn't know these things is because it would have held me back. My grandma's opinion means the world to me. I don't want to be far away from her this summer, but I know that she will be here when I get back. And it's not her life, it's mine. She will love and support me no matter what, but I cannot let her hold me back from living my life. If I tried to please my grandma and everyone else in my life, I would never do what I want to do. It's time to stop thinking and start doing.

Significant Event

Another post from my original blog that I changed to work for a significant event in my life. This particular event wasn't in one day, but it was an entire summer. You should do whatever feels right for you :) AND THIS IS HOW YOU CAN EDIT 

Erin had been home from camp for exactly one week now, and this blog post was way past due. Mostly because she couldn't figure out how she wanted to sum up this summer.

Here is an entry from her journal earlier this week:
"I've been trying to compose a clever way to express how amazing this summer was, but all I have is 'Any summer spent wearing Crocs is a summer well spent.' That feels like it does zero justice to how wonderful this summer was. Although it somewhat sums up the acceptance and comfort of camp, and how happy she was to wear Crocs 24/7, there's no way it can capture the memories she made new friends in such a beautiful place.

Although this phrase doesn't seem all that deep, perhaps it's all people need to know. Unless you were there, it's difficult to understand. There's so much more that happened this summer, but Erin thinks the memories she made and the feelings she felt are something for her to hold on to.  She was struggling with everything that she had going on in her head, so she tried to put them on paper but she just ended up with a three page list of all the feelings she felt about leaving Kingsley Pines.

The most important thing for Erin to recognize is how great it was to step out of her comfort zone. She was terrified when she left. She had no idea what to expect. But she also didn't know that she would discover a new place to call home and meet friends that will last a lifetime. Erin is so incredibly thankful that she took a leap of faith and jumped into summer camp and discovered the way camp should be. KP came at the perfect point in her life. She was ready for a change and the change was great. She liked to refer to this summer as her adventure, and boy, did adventure hit her in the face.

 As Erin returns to school she hopes that she can find a way to keep the magic she discovered at camp a part of her life. One of the campers described this magic as a way of staying young forever. It's easy to get lost inside the craziness of this world, and as Erin embarks on the journey that is senior year she hopes to hold this message close to her heart.  In the midst of all of life's crazy changes, she hopes she can still find that little of part of her that remembers the magic and stays young at heart.

Erin owes a lot to Kingsley Pines and the people she met there. In the words of Glinda and Elphaba, "Who can say if I've been changed for the better, but because I knew you I have been changed for good."

A Day in My Life

     Here is an example of what "A Day in My Life" can look like! This is my very first blog post- ever!

     Working at a daycare has its ups and downs. I could say it's more of one than the other, but it really depends on your perspective. I love LOVE my kiddies and they actually do a pretty great job teaching me while I do my best to teach them the basics of living. We make sure to practice our ABCs and counting numbers and of course we use "please" and "thank you." We even work on potty training! I cant say that spending the day with a room full of 15 screaming toddlers is at the top of my list of favorite things to do, but surprisingly it comes close. These children have such a different and innocent view on life and it's great to see what they do with it. I can honestly say that these kids will prolly be a big part of my life- at least for the summer.

      When my boss asked me to come back to work, I hesitated, "I'm just not sure I can handle working with toddlers..."
      "Erin, you know that these kids will love you no matter what. Of course it's chaos, but I think that you are up to the challenge," she reassured me. 

        I think one of the most important things these kids have taught me is to enjoy the little things in life. They are so entertained by the simplest things and their smiles just make me so happy.  I guess I kind of wish we could all maintain the ability to be satisfied with the little things in life instead of constantly obsessing about money. I hope these kids are able to grow up and understand that money isn't everything (even though it is pretty important!). One of the best things I saw today was one of my little kids trying to blow a dandelion and when he finally got it, he was so excited and he said, "Wow! Did you see that?" His grin was adorable and my day got better. 

      On the other side of things, these kids have unknowingly taught me about how different backgrounds can influence the way they behave. It breaks my heart to see some of these kids come from broken homes. You can see how their difficult home lives affect them by the way they crave attention and refuse to listen.  I can only hope that I am able to give my children a loving family to grow up in.

        I don't want to be one of "those moms" who thinks their kids are cool but I am really planning on ensuring that my children are actually awesome. Seeing all these kids come in with different levels of education and manners has really impacted how I feel about this. I know it's easy to say that I will read to my kids every night and make sure they're potty trained by the age of three, but I firmly believe I will do this. I think about how my children will turn out daily. It's a scary thing I know, but to me that seems like the purpose of my life. I cannot WAIT to be a mom and I want to be the best mom I can be, even if that makes me one of "those moms." My children WILL be polite, be active, be intelligent, they will work hard and they will have HUGE hearts. I don't care if that makes me sound cocky. I'm gonna be a pretty legit mom and I don't care what anyone has to say about it.

       Some of these kids have also taught me how fortunate I am to have grown up how I did. I have two AWESOME parents who love me and who work their asses off to give me the best life they can, all while teaching me how to work my butt off and care for others at the same time. My parents have done the best they can for me and I think that I have taken it for granted. But I know that I am lucky to have food in my stomach, a bed to sleep in, a roof in my head and a pretty red car to drive around. I also know I am lucky to be able to go to such an awesome school and get such a bomb education. I am so blessed! 

       So even though we have some rough days at daycare, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I don't even mind when they say, "Erin! Erin! I peed my pants!" I just respond with, "Okay, well we better do something about that, huh?" 

       These kids are as amazing as they come and I feel lucky that I get to spend the day with them. They teach me life lessons and remind me of what I have to look forward to.  

       So I think that was okay for my first blog post... Kinda all over the place but that really is a day in the life of me :)

Narrative Writing Assignment

Narrative Writing Assignment

You are going to create a blog that allows you to showcase your narrative writing ability to your peers and the world!

1. Set up blogger (in class!) → http://learnitin5.com/How-to-Use-Blogger
2. Personalize your blog to reflect your personality
3. Start creating your posts!

Types of posts:

1. “A Day in Your Life” → Tell your readers about a day in your life. This post should be in first-person point of view and give your audience an idea of what it’s like to be you. Don’t forget to set up some sort of conflict!
2. “Significant Event” → Tell your readers about a significant event that happened in your life. This post should be in third-person point of view. Your significant event must have a conflict and a moral. (This would be a good post to use dialogue!)
3. Whatever you choose! → This post can be whatever you choose as long as it reflects the characteristics of narrative writing.

Post 1:

-Read posts of group members

-Comment positive feedback

-Discuss posts as a group and any improvements that could be made

-Make improvements to your post

Post 2:

-Read posts of group members

-Comment on posts with feedback

Post 3:

-Read posts of entire class

-Comment on posts with comments/feedback

-Discuss as a class