Own the Challenge

As some of you may know, tomorrow marks the beginning of NaNoWriMo. Insane writers unite to take on the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in one month. Yeah. It's pretty crazy.

My good friend from English class (who, by the way, is a FANTASTIC writer) has been planning this year's NaNoWriMo since last December. She's so excited, it's totally contagious.

And then there's me, who decided to do this today, on the way to lunch.

Good job, me.

I have so much planning to do! This is going to be so great. I'm not going for such a lofty word count. I don't write that often, and there's no way I would have the stamina for it. But I'm going for a novel. Maybe a novella. ....or a novelette...whatever. It'll be really, really hard to stay motivated, but I am going to do it.

SO, for the next 30 days, expect a lot of writing posts. I am going to be learning so much, and I am getting to know my characters as I write, so it'll be really intense.

According to the NaNoWriMo website, there are two types of writers: Planners and Pantsers. Guess which one I am??

You believe in hardcore spontaneity.You’ll spend the months before November stocking up on inspiration and mayyybe a vague idea or two (if you’re ambitious).On November 1, you’ll have a blank document and your imagination.  

 Yup. Except minus the parts about actually thinking about it months in advance. More like the day before...heh. But come on, let's look on the bright side! At least I won't be one of those in the "I Over-Planned My NaNoWriMo Novel" category.

Don't worry, I have my NaNo Pinterest board on secret, so you all out there who are following me won't be completely drowned. Yeah, you're welcome.

So, hey. Are you doing NaNoWriMo?? Come buddy me on the website! I'm sofafiabee and I'm looking for NaNoWriMo connections.

Let's own this.

A Teacher Affects Eternity

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." -Henry Adams

This isn't going to be much of a post, but can we just take a couple seconds to appreciate those great teachers that are just so enthusiastic you can't help but love the subject they teach??

I don't even like numbers! I honestly don't even know what I'm doing!

So... why am I enjoying this so much?

A teacher who truly embraces imperfection and allows you to struggle long enough for you to figure it out on your own is an incredibly wonderful teacher to have. 

A Shared Experience

Technology is a topic that is discussed a lot these days, and not without reason. Smart phones, computers, the internet -- they pretty much rule our lives. I recently got an app on my phone called Checky. The purpose of it is simple: it tells me how often I check my phone every day. It's crazy looking back at the numbers and seeing how much attention my phone gets from me, and it's also interesting to see the trends. I found out check my phone more often during the school day than on weekends. Which makes sense, since I use my phone as a calculator and resource more during school.

In English class the other day we watched a video of a speaker talking about connecting with others and technology. I can't link to the video, since it was my English teacher's personal recording (and I'm not even sure who the speaker was), but I'll explain a little bit. 

Basically, there are several feel-good chemicals our brains release: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin. 

Serotonin is the one we're mostly talking about here. Serotonin is that really good feeling when you do something good, and everyone else gets to know about it too. Serotonin is walking across the stage at your graduation, and everyone is applauding you.

Serotonin is the buzz of your phone telling you you have a message.

Phones give the illusion of productivity and experience. Each like, retweet, follow...it all gives you a little boost of serotonin. Working out gives you an endorphin boost, but does that in itself feel as good as posting your workout to Facebook and getting a large number of likes? Didn't think so. 

But it's not real.

The magic of serotonin is that it actually is for connecting with others. When you're walking across that stage, you feel really proud, but guess what?

The people applauding for you are getting serotonin boosts too. 

It's a shared experience. And there is where phones lack. When someone likes your post, you don't know what they got from it. And there, among the chaotic buzz of likes, comments, follows, retweets...

Among the little zaps of serotonin that make you feel so great and liked...

There is where you find the empty loneliness of yourself.

Just a Verse