Welcome 2013!

         

                               

                                                                 Welcome to 2013!

  

                                 So much has happened over the past year and have gained a lot. One of the things that I gained was a brother in law. A wedding happened on October 6th, my older sister got married that day and had my younger sister and I as bridesmaids. It was an exciting day for my family and a start to a new future for the family. Months after the wedding I learned I was going to be an Aunt this upcoming August. 

   One of the other things I am looking forward to is the idea of going overseas this Fall. I haven't applied yet so I don't know if I can go or not. That is one prayer request that I have. I will also be 21 years old this year, I am excited about it though I don't know what I will do that day other than go to classes. xD

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Time sure flies when you are busy, does it? It flies fast for me, I think it was just this March that I signed up for a Missions trip to Guatemala. Just a little update on how that went:
  In April I started to raise my support for the trip. I had to raise up to $2,500 before June 5th. The Lord had it all promised before the end of the month which was amazing. :D June 5th was the day that I flew to JAARS over in Waxhaw, NC. (Jungle Aviation and radio services) I spent the whole week learning about linguistics and about the language that I would be needing to speak over in Guatemala. The week flew by fast and I found myself in Guatemala that Saturday. The main reason we went there was to learn how missionaries live and to experience life in a village for 2 days. It was really fun, my team and I got to see some ruins.
It is very interesting going to the markets over there when you just want to look. People would come up to you and ask you if you wanted to buy something and that it was a good price. Most of the time it was a price I could not afford. One reason barganing is the best thing to do. The secret is walking away and they will call you back with an okay price.  
On the 26th of June I flew back, I was not feeling well because I was sick early that morning. (I sat in First class from Guatemala to Atlanta.)
  Right now I am visiting family and friends before I head off to college this August. I am very excited that I am able to do this, but I am not looking forward to 21 hours in the car. I can't wait till I am able to go to college.

The Songs of Aldra proof copy

I finally got my own proof copy of my book. The current update is that it is getting edited and proof read right now to help make it clearer to my audiences. It may take a long time before it can be published professionally. I really hope that it can.

Fascination of the Chinese language

Ever since I was six years old I have been fascinated with Mandarin Chinese. The reason that I used as I grew up was that I wanted to buy a panda. Once I grew up and matured my wanting changed to something other than buying a panda. I learned that it would be impossible to buy one and keep it, but I also felt a love for the people in Asia. I studied about China in school with my mom and tried the Rosetta stone software which I did not really understand.
   God blessed me with a chance to visit the country of my dreams several years ago. I got to go walk on the Great Wall and see the Forbidden City. I experienced a new and exciting culture, exciting enough to want to go back again. I felt that I was more able to learn the language over there and remember the words that I knew to practice. I just want to end this post with some Chinese words:
Ni Hao ma? - How are you?
Hen hao, xie xie, Ni ne? - Very good, thank you, and you?
Yesu ai Ni- Jesus loves you
Zai jian!- Good bye!
 

What is "The Songs of Aldra"?

Hi, The Songs of Aldra was not going to be made into a novel with Ninja's in it as it is now. I had first thought of having a place called Aldra and a girl that goes there; Aldra  was a place of escape where she took a book called, "The Songs of Aldra" it was a land of elves. She was running away from the king of the country that she lived in. The King was afraid of uprising. But this plot did not last long as I entered into the writing competition of Nanowrimo. I had no idea of what to write then, but I decided to use the same name and write a story about a ninja. (Was inspired by the anime Naruto) The book took off and I wrote. I finished writing on the 13th day of November, the novel was the first that I ever finished and shortest time a book was completed by me. I was so excited. Right now I am working on getting proofreaders and help with editing so that the book can be good.
   I am writing the second book right now and am currently on chapter 8. I love writing when I can. The second book will be full of excitement, suspense, and danger. I hope you will enjoy it whenever you get to read it. I doubt any of my books will be published though. My sister LolitaDreadnaught has inspired me with a new character in my story who will help carry the book onto new chapters. :D Thanks LD!!!!
(I am hoping on writing more stories with Aldra soon.)

Freedom to Fail scholarship essay

I watched the YouTube video based on the book New Threats to Freedom. Michael Goodwin spoke in the video called “Freedom to Fail”. He talked about how at different schools teachers will pass students who deserved to fail. I noticed this when I was taking distance learning classes. The teachers would grade on a curve allowing me extra points on my exams and letting me pass a test I ought to have failed.

My point is that we need to give and have the opportunity to fail. America should step up their education passing only those students who have worked hard and actually deserve it. Goodwin talked about when we pass something that we fail in we do not really know what we are supposed to do when we get in a situation that requires that knowledge. What is the point of going to school if we are not allowed to fail, then learn to be the best that we can be? Schools these days do not allow for growth when they pass a failing student. Many students will not be able to go to college because of their lack of learning or lack of motivation to learn.

Here is an example: if a parent pays some of their children for just sitting around all day and also pays those children who do their chores, the unproductive children will not learn to be productive with their time. They will also not learn how to be mature adults when they grow up, since the majority of the time of being an adult is work.

If everyone passed at everything we would not have good presidents or star athletes since they would not have learned their profession well. If a book publisher passed every single book that an author sent to them without editing and published it, then the author would not learn how to make his writing better. Failure brings growth when you take a step further to learn the solution. It will not always be easy to grow through your failure; it is the only way to really grow as a person. We need time to grow and failing, when we need to fail, is a step heading in the right direction.

Major prayer request

I am sorry I have not updated my blog recently. Several things have happened since my last post. Please pray for a friend of mine who has leukemia and has been given only one week to live, Please intercede for her family during this hard time. thank you all!