...Said Mary: writing

the reading resolution

August 14, 2016

As someone who loves to write, I've come to learn that being someone who loves to read is just as important. A very important thing I've been completely slacking on. That’s why I made this goal one of my resolutions of 2016, to read at least 30 books. This goal would hopefully not only be my venturing in the literary world and learning through the words of others who share the same passion, but also a return to my childhood and how I used to read. I was such an avid reader as a (younger) kid. In the time before I had any responsibilities I could blow through books like this. A 300 page book? I think that could have lasted me 3 days tops. I was a raging bibliophile waiting for that next hit of a book. If you needed a review on a book before picking it up just ask me, I had read it.

But, as I got older this lightning pace of reading dwindled. It wasn’t because my love of reading had dwindled, or books had become less amazing - although they did go through a woeful dystopian era which got old as fast as it came on. I just didn’t have the time anymore. I had things like homework, and chores, and practices, and friends to spend time with. And when I wasn’t of doing these thing,s my activity of choice was usually something mind numbing.

Really mind numbing.

After a long day of being here and doing this, that, and whatever, I just wanted to chill. That’s where you can find yourself in a social media, or tv or netflix hole. Its never good. I was in a place where my list of books I wanted to read was getting longer and longer, but the last book I had read was a class assignment.

Ridiculous.

This year I set a goal, and through this goal I have rekindled the love I let so easily get overshadowed and I’m left entirely dumbfounded. I’ve dug myself into the lives, and stories, and characters of so many books and I’ve been enamored with the journey. Not only have I learned about my writing style, but I’ve learned what I like to read, new words, and new ways to percieve the world around me into something beautiful to tuck into my writing. Since I’ve loved these books I can’t help but hope these books will affect someone else in even just a touch of the same way they’ve affected me, so without further from me this is my literary experience of 2016 (so far) summed up.

{Books of 2016}

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random

favorite tangible things

June 01, 2016

These items mean something to me. I think all good items should have a good meaning lodged behind them. It's like on those home renovation or fashion makeover shows when the host says "You have to get rid of everything that doesn't have sentimental value." All of a sudden the victim of this show is forced to reevaluate their whole life and find themselves through these items. These are a few of the items I would keep.

{Watches}

This is my budding watch collection. You know that thing that happens every year around your birthday, or other holidays where suddenly you can't think of a single thing you could possibly want? That's pretty much what happened here. My dad asked and I had absolutely no idea, but after a little thought watches popped into my head. My dad has a bunch of watches, as they are a thing he likes to wear, so I thought why not try it myself. I have two so far, one for each birthday since the tradition started. The first is my little black skagen watch, the second is this Daniel Wellington watch from this January.

{Journals}

Journals are an obvious thing that are very dear to my heart. They hold all of my prized possessions, my thoughts, ideas, and hopes, for safe keeping and later reflection. This is one of many journals that I have accumulated and filled over the course of about 5 years. I can't wait to see this small pile grow.

(I removed the book sleeve so that I wouldn't destroy it while reading)

{Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone}

This item is a relatively new item to me, but its depth goes a lot deeper than that. Harry Potter was something I grew up with and like many children of the era I was completely obsessed with it. I started reading them in the second grade and was hooked ever since. I mean even to a 7 year old the premise is amazing. A completely ordinary boy, or even less extraordinary than that, gets to find out he can do magic and live in a whole other world full of wonders, witches, and wizards, and hone these magical capabilities in a castle beyond belief. All the while he has his very own villain that no matter his malevolent plans, Harry can always arise above. The artwork of this edition brings even more life to the book that encompassed my childhood for so many years. I hope to collect the full illustrated set and keep them for my children to marvel over.

(this is one of my favorite pages in the book as the castle ghosts look almost fluorescent on the page)

(look how much detail!!)

(vignette of the same picture pt.1)

(vignette pt.2)

{Roses}

These are the roses of the headboard of my bed. These hold significance because they are really my home base. No matter what happens from the time I leap out of bed, till when I return, or wherever I may travel I always have my beautiful petrified rose garden to return to.

-Mary

story

the want

January 06, 2016

I think the first time I said I wanted to be a writer was in the first grade. I probably called it an author at the point, before I knew the innumerable ways writing manifests itself in the world. That’s what I decided that day.

I Want to Be An Author.

I told my teacher right then and there, too. He gave us a celebratory second recess as a welcoming to the first grade, and every other normal first grader was instantly animated, working together to construct the lines we had perfected to a tee in kindergarten. Except little Mary. And, as a response to the teacher’s befuddlement at the lack of excitement to why any child would willingly turn down a free recess the little girl donning the long brains said “Can I stay inside and read this? I’m going to be an author”. This earned her a kind chuckle to the enigma that was this first grade girl. She likes to read?? And a bit of showing off to the other teachers along the same lines.

She likes?? to read??

But, she, over time, was pushed along, and nudged into more and more books and attempts at writing on her own by her mentors until she was a bigger girl. A young woman really, who still loves to read, still loves to write, and still like to be just a tad different than her expectations, and she will write in the form of a blog, or novels, articles, anything.

Mary

chat

Perception - Chat #2

June 23, 2015

Hello,

It’s 1:07 am on June 19.

This is Chat #2. Reprise of Chat #1 .

A thought that always comes about at this hour is the idea of comparativeness. Since I really should be sleeping, like my family is doing, I am alone. With solitude comes silence, a thing very easily broken . When you’re alone you become really aware of the sound you make. Usually in the context of dropping something loud or ‘When did all the appliances in this bathroom get so loud?’ Compared to the silence of the dozing house the staple sounds of your existence are giantesque. There’s something about that that is really pretty.

This thought on comparison also is applied to actual living hours as I’ve noticed. Major examples of this are people and insecurities. Insecurities, in my experience feel like these huge things. It feels like if I had noticed this thing, everyone else must have also. They are all hung up over that fact, just as I am, and think less of me because of it. Every single person. I’m speaking grand scale, everyone hates me.

They don’t.

That teeny little imperfection is that creak in the floor at midnight. In the small space we have, our own brainspace, that one thing is the equivalent of a personal tornado siren. But set to scale of what is actually going on in life,the loudness and weight of life and reality, that imperfection is still the creak of the floor. The creak would never actually be noticed, except for by the stillness of night, the stillness of your consciousness. Don’t stress too much about insecurities, you’re fine darling.

Yours, Mary

"The axe forgets; the tree remembers.

random

A Roadtrip Montage

April 12, 2015

Let’s set the scene for this blog post. You’re in the car with your family, them lulled to sleep by the movements. You sit comfortably seated and reclined in the shotgun seat, swaddled up in a blanket . In front of you, you can see the light rain grazing the windshield, and hear that rain along with the methodic swish, push, of the windshield wipers. Beyond the windshield, watch miles, and hours worth of cleared roads and fog dusted mountains cradling them. This was the scene driving home from vacation. Personally this scene is the perfect equilibrium of melancholy and gloom to accompany the drive home from a nice vacation, complete with beautiful sights and scenes of a mountain lazily rising for early morning.