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TEN WORD TUESDAY- Modified to five word Tuesday for time's sake

1. Jollification

Noun

Jolly Merrymaking

The jollification of the party was coming along wonderfully, with games and lively chatter.

2. Plonk

Noun (Brittish)

Cheap Wine

As we couldn't afford the more expensive types, we had to live with plonk this season.

3. Meritorious  

Adjective

deserving praise

I am a meritorious person...never.

4. Runnel

Noun

A small brook or stream

The runnel trickled through the park, with various bridges and scattered points.

5. Beastie

Noun

a small animal

The beastie ran up the large grandfather clock, one step at a time.

Dreams

Before reading this mini essay on dreams, I would like to briefly remind you to sign up for my writing contest here. It took me less than thirty seconds to fill out the form, and you have two more weeks to put together a submission. Writers of all levels are welcome! Learn more here.
Also, a quick apology for the new header picture. It's been cut off, and I'm working on that.
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          Dreams. We’ve all experienced them when we lay down our head and say ‘Good Night.’ To Sigmund Freud, dreams were unconscious wishes. He thought that something was wrong if you had boring dreams or constant nightmares.
          Since Freund, many more theories as to why we dream have been drawn up. One possibility would be that we dream to practice responses to certain situations. Finnish Cognitive scientist Antti Revonsuo displayed that the amygdala (the fight or flight portion of our brain) is more at work during our dreams. Revonsuo and others believe that, because of the changes in the amygdala, we are practicing those reflexes.
          Some scientists see that dreams could be when our brain goes through and cleans off what we need to forget and saves what we need to remember. They reached this conclusion because the brain is much more random during this dreamy la-la land. This randomness could be our mind’s attempt to find old memories to clean out to make room for new information.
          Still other scientists believe that there is no meaning to our dreams. Maybe there is no conscious behind the film, maybe it is our consciousness that wants to see this unknown meaning.
          You, too, may have a theory on why we dream. There are so many; how will we ever know which one, if any, is the true reason? I’ll let you sleep- or, shall I say, dream- on that.

Ilana Simons. "What Do Dreams Do for Us?" Psychology Today. N.p., 11 Nov. 2009. Web.

Growing Up: A Poem

growing up

isn't always easy

growing up 

isn't always hard

growing up

brings new surprises

growing up 

all along

when we are little

there isn't a care

we think we are old

but we're not

when we are little 

we snuggle with innocence

not realizing 

what is to come

we grow a little

and find out a lot

we grow a little 

and love

we grow a little

and then regret it

we grow, and then

we can't stop. 

but when we are old

we realize the good things

when we are old 

we are grateful

when we are old

we see what it was all for

when we are old

we wish to go back

so snuggle with innocence

and stay with innocence

think of the good

stray from the bad

just be grateful

instead of hateful

i promise, things will turn out. 

#writing_wednesdays Just Do It

I have not done a single #writing_wednesday since August, when I wrote about getting in the mood to write. Today's topic? Motivation. To make my point? I'll be sharing my story as a writer.

Several years ago (I believe it was three), I decided to write more. I had an old computer that I could use, and I enjoyed the hobby. So why not?

The remains from this period are horrid. I remember writing a sentence- just one sentence- that I was so proud of. Re-reading it, it was a sentence that today would pop up on a regular basis. That year I was very proud of myself. But I gave up. Gave in. After that high from that sentence, I collapsed.

The next fall, I began writing my first book. It was an improvement, and I still have the copy that I printed out. I went on to write Behind The Rebel Mask, my 40,000 word accomplishment. I felt successful. I started a writing blog, the very same writing blog you are reading from this very minute.

The blog was getting success. I had a different old- but younger- computer that I was writing on, and I could write almost everyday. In April, the computer died, pulling my habit with it. I could write only scarcely, and my following had plummeted. In May and June, I wrote nothing. People were still reading old posts, but there was nothing new. In July, I posted eight times. In August, September, October, and November, I posted a total of six times.

In December, I got a new computer, but life was hectic. I had no time to write- how was I ever supposed to make my great comeback? I had so many 'comebacks,' there was no guarantee I actually would comeback after posting one.

But now, I'm trying as hard as I can to just write. If your held back by something foolish, say no. Write. Don't be lazy. Set the mood. I have faith in you.

Now write. Nothing will write itself. And history must be told.

Prickles of Heat

A wave of heat passed over the stuffy classroom, urging the beads of sweat to drip off of my damp forehead. I adjusted my arm over my paper and glanced up at my water bottle. Empty. It had been empty since lunch four periods ago when I had savored the last drops. I had had no time to refill it in the passing periods, and none of the teachers had been willing to give passes to any of the dying students Instead, they cracked their windows open and hoped for the best.

So we were stuck. Stuck in the classroom for five more minutes, waiting, waiting for the bell to ring and to go home.

Though of course that wouldn't be any better.

I had to walk the three mile trek in hardly any shade, which normally took an hour, and in this 90 degree heat? I could only hope for a ride in an air-conditioned car, and those chances were slim. So I had to bear the walk.

When we learned that the school's air conditioning broke a week before the last day of school, we knew that we were doomed. It was bad enough that we had no cooling, but after factoring in the biggest heat wave in the past decade, us students were wishing for the last few days to be canceled.

I turned back to my essay. Though the lettering was neat and crisp, the paper was crumpled and edged with dust. I had took this paper home night after night. I was ready to finally be done with it.

Three minutes were left on the clock. I stood up and walked quietly to the front, letting my paper drift to the desk below me. Dr. McArthur glanced up from his papers, nodded at me, and returned to his business, not seeming to notice the insane heat at all. I rolled my eyes. He was immune. I was not.

Two minutes were left in the class period. Across the classroom, pencils scratched papers, working to finish their essays before the end of the period. They begged for more time. I begged for the 23rd of June to be over. But the day seemed infinite; the last two minutes seemed like forever.

Two minutes ticked down to one. I watched as the red hand steadily ticked around the wall clock, wondering how much time the walk home would take. At least the air conditioning was working in the house. I had something to look forward to.

Ten seconds. Nine seconds. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two.

And then the clock froze.

OG Mandino Quote Analyzation

A while back in January of last year, I did a compilation and analyzation of quotes by Somerset Maughm (here). Since then, I sorta forgot about the whole 'compilation and analyzation' label for my blog. But I feel like one today, and I've chosen OG Mandino, and American author of the 20th Century. He wrote The Greatest Salesman in the World, Mission: Success!, A Better Way to Live, and many more!

http://www.quotehd.com/quotes/author/og-mandino-author

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. This quote is nice. It doesn't touch me deeply, but I do like it. It definitely could give you a little push towards success. I think it means that you are immune; you cannot fail if you want to succeed so badly.


http://www.quotehd.com/quotes/author/og-mandino-author

I will love the light, for it shows me  the way, yet I will endure the darkness, because it shows me the stars. To me, this quote means that though the light is how you get places, the darkness shows you the stars, and those bring back the light.


http://www.quotehd.com/quotes/author/og-mandino-author

You never know what events are going to transpire to get you home. This quote is my favorite of the ones I've found today. To me, it means that anything that happens in your life is working for a common goal- to get you home; wherever that is. Every little thing- whether good or bad- is working towards good.

Thanks so much for reading this! I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a comment below if you want to see more like this or what you want to see or whatever. Share with everyone and hope to see you back!

Also, if you want to be super helpful and have extra time on your hands, I'm trying to reach a viewer goal so if you read other posts, that will help me get there! Thanks.

What's in My Pen Bag?

I recently posted a video to youtube on what is in my pen bag, where I go through and review my pens. Check it out, and comment what else I should put on this channel.