Month: April 2015

Love of Letters

I love letters. And I realize that there are a couple of ways to interpret this statement. I love actual physical letters – the letters of the alphabet. Letters are what make words, and I think it’s been pretty well established that I like words. But that’s also not really what this post is about.

This post is actually about my love of handwritten letters. I’ll be honest; they can even be typed. But I’m talking about the type of letter where you take the time to write it and put it in an envelope and know the address it’s going to. You’ve bought stamps to put on the envelope. Sometimes you even go to the store and pick out cool stationery or awesome greeting card.

I love letters (and postcards and greeting cards) because they’re something that takes time. You have to take the time to think about what you really want to say because there’s no delete button. Sometimes you choose a special pen to write with. Maybe you seal the envelope with a sticker (I do). Maybe you buy special stamps because it’s the holidays (I do this too). In an age where communication can be done quickly and sometimes with little genuine thought, I think it’s important to keep writing letters, showing that you care, supporting the postal service.

I might be wrong, and I might be a romantic. Maybe I’m nostalgic for a time that’s nearly passed us by. But I just think that writing letters is important. I think it shows that you really truly deeply care. And it’s a practice I plan on continuing to participate in for as long as possible.

BrittanyM

Emotional Reading

Tonight I finished a book. This isn’t necessarily something that I would normally post about, especially since I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. It’s something that I’ve been working on steadily since the new year – reading on a more regular basis that is. But tonight was different.

I finished The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. It was a phenomenal book, and one that I highly recommend. The story was original, interesting and full of twists and turns. It had amazing characters that were easy to relate to. I was stunned by the ending which wasn’t at all what I had expected when I started the book.

This still isn’t why I’m writing this post. So the book was good. A lot of books are good. I’ve written about books that are good. I’ll write about more books that are good. Yay for good books. I’m writing this post because this book evoked an emotional reaction.

Emotional reactions aren’t something I have a lot of when reading. Don’t get me wrong. I get invested in my books. I get attached to my characters. I have authors that I love and look for everything they write. I take my reading seriously. But it’s rare that a book makes me want to cry, and even more rare that I actually cry. This book made me want to cry. I didn’t because it rarely happens. Movies and TV are much more likely to make me cry; I think it’s something to do with actually seeing the story play out.

Go find and read a book that makes you feel something. It can be any emotion, but go feel it strongly.

BrittanyM

What I’ve Learned From Blogging

I’ve had this blog up and running for almost two years now. I haven’t always posted regularly, but I have posted every month since the first post. Recently I’ve begun scheduling my posts in advance so that you, my lovely readers, aren’t left hanging, and that seems to be working nicely for me. There’s posts that can be counted on, and then when I have some extra time I can write about other things. I’ve also been inconsistently keeping a notebook with ideas for blog posts, and every once in a while I add something to it or draw from it when I need an idea. And in writing this post I found the title of “What I’ve Learned From Blogging.” And it made me think. Now, almost two years after starting this blog, I manage this blog and another one. I blog on a semi-regular basis. And I have to have learned something, right? The question is, what have I learned?

  • Consistency is key. I do find that when I blog consistently, people come and read my posts consistently. When I go through spells where I’m not writing consistently, people don’t come and check on the blog.
  • Write about what you know and love. There are definite themes in my blog posts, and I think that helps. It gives me consistent things to write about and it gives you, my readers, something(s) consistent to come and look for. I write a lot about grad school, my time at UConn, time spent with my family and friends. These are things I know and love. So I share them with you.
  • There’s something really wonderful about writing. To be honest, I already knew this. I’ve loved writing for a very very long time, long before this blog existed. And I’m sure, should this blog ever end, that I’ll still love writing. Blogging has given me a new creative outlet which I absolutely love. It allows me to write for an audience which is one of the coolest things I’ve done in a long time. It lets me connect with people, and it lets friends I don’t see often know what I’m doing. For me, writing is really wonderful and empowering and special. Blogging has confirmed this for me.

I think that’s the end of my list for now. For my fellow bloggers out there, what have you learned from the blogging experience? Let me know in the comments!

BrittanyM

Visit to UConn

I mentioned last week that I would be returning to UConn this week. I haven’t been back to UConn since I graduated almost a year ago, and I was so excited to go back. Even though deep in my heart I had already known this, being back on campus reminded me that I had left a part of myself there and that it would be there forever and always. To spend four years in any place is a long time, and undergrad is certainly no exception. I grew up a lot in my time at UConn, and I evolved a lot as a person. This is something I’ll be forever grateful for as it’s helped me get to where I am today, and it’s led me to so many things along the way. Let’s not forget that if it weren’t for my time at UConn I wouldn’t have this blog (2 years next month!) or my much newer blog. This is just one small aspect of my time at UConn that I’m grateful for, an I’m sure with time I’ll talk about many other aspects of my undergraduate career that I’m grateful for.

But back to my time at UConn. I spent yesterday morning there, and I really don’t think the timing could have been better. The weather here in Connecticut is finally getting nice so it wasn’t too hot or too cold. The sun was shining, the grass was green, and unfortunately the trees weren’t in bloom yet. It’s been too cold for too long for that to happen just yet. I had plans with a couple of friends but before it was time for those plans I had some free time to wander around. I made sure I got a vanilla chai tea and was glad to see that it was just as delicious as I remembered it being. I tried to catch up with some of my professors but my timing was off and I hadn’t made particular plans so that unfortunately didn’t happen. It didn’t help that my visit was on a Monday morning, and I hadn’t made particular plans to see my professors. I’d wanted to go for the element of surprise and that didn’t exactly work in my favor.

I had lunch with a dear friend and then met up with another friend after that. The chicken parm grinders are just as good as I remembered as well. I’m glad to know that all my food memories and dreams can remain in tact right now. It was great to see my friends and have an opportunity to catch up. I’ve been so busy with grad school and all my responsibilities that I haven’t been the best at keeping in touch with people, so it was nice to have a chance to see friends.

The trip ended with shopping at the co-op but no purchases. Pickings for what we wanted were either slim or outside of my price range. Some things don’t change even after graduating from college. Of course it doesn’t help that I don’t have a lot of disposable income at this particular moment. All in all the trip was pretty fabulous, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to go up. I know that I likely won’t be on campus again for some time what with my schedule and everything else that’s going on. I also know that part of my heart will always belong to UConn.

BrittanyM

New Endeavors

As many of you know, I’m currently in grad school and working towards becoming a teacher. It’s all very exciting, and I’m learning a lot and thinking a lot and evolving a lot. I’ll be student teaching in the fall, and I am so excited for that opportunity. Plus, through grad school I’ve made some great friends, taken some great classes, and learned a lot that I can’t wait to apply once I enter the working world.

The purpose of this post though, is to tell you about my other blog. Yes, I have another blog and have for about 3 months now. I created it as a final project for my ed tech course in January, and I personally am really in love with it. While with this blog I focus on a little bit of everything and share a little bit of everything, my new blog really focuses on education and teaching and the big wide world of English.

Much like almost two years ago when this blog was in its baby stages, my new blog is in its baby stages. I’ve only had it up and running for a couple of months, and I’m only now settling into posting on a semi-regular basis. I would love if you went and explored it and let me know what you think.

The blog is called englishnook and can be accessed here.

Have a great weekend!

BrittanyM

Some Exciting Things

Lately, life has been exciting. I just finished up a semester of grad school and have a nice break before my next round of classes starts up. Spring break is next week (at my internship), and I am SO excited to have a full week off with no responsibilities. I’ve been reading a lot and writing more. Things are going well at my internship. Overall life is pretty great right now. There are a couple of pretty major things that I want to focus in on though.

  1. Spring Break. Did I mention that? A whole week where I don’t have to go to work or school? Instead I can do things on my To Do List, hang out with my mom, and see my friends? Yeah, that’s pretty awesome, and I can’t wait for it.
  2. Trip to UConn. I haven’t been to UConn since I graduated in May – almost 1 year ago. Life has just been too crazy and busy to make the trip up. And while sometimes I miss it and sometimes I don’t, I can’t wait to be back. I miss my friends who are there. I miss the vanilla chai tea. I miss the classes and campus. I can’t wait to walk around and just enjoy being back. It’s going to be great, and I can’t wait to tell you some of the details.

To be totally honest, there were more things on the list when it was in my head. And then as I began to write the list I forgot some of them. That happens sometimes, especially if I don’t really think through what I’m going to write. But hey, that lets you see my thought process which has to be interesting sometimes, right?

That’s all for now. I promise to do my best to write more soon and to write more regularly. This blog is, has been, and always will be a work in progress.

BrittanyM