The Lists that Govern my Life

Briefly describe your feelings concerning books. Sometimes I think I love books more than people, though in the end, human beings end up winning (usually). Books are magical. Words take my breath away. The fantasy and imagination of fiction expose the depths of human thought and I am continually amazed at the stories that our brains can weave. There is something incredible about words taking you in and out of several different worlds and leaving you with intense feelings about those experiences. I love the stories of real people too; I probably spend too much time with history books, and the people who see me leave the library with fifteen books about the Soviet Union must no doubt think I'm crazy. But really I just like books more than most people do. I'm obsessed with gaining as much information as will fit in my head, and so yes, I will bring my copy of "A History of Intellectual Thought" to the doctor's office and strike up conversations with my comrads abou...

Assignment: Write about your least favorite holiday. I hate Valentines day. And not just because I'm single. I think it's mostly just an excuse to spend more money and be more commercial than we already are. People shouldn't need a day to tell someone that they love them; we should be constantly reminding the people around us that we love them (though I probably wouldn't be opposed to a Friendship day). So I hate the consumerism and the shallowness of Valentines Day, not to mention those disgusting tokens of love people carry around all day. We don't all need to see that someone loves you; keep that personal please. If there was ever a day to experience being blind for a day, it would be Valentines day. I'm also a PDA hater. And I guess I hate Valentines day too because I'm single, but it's not like I have a real positive view of relationships currently. So I might loathe this day even if I had a boyfriend. Apparently I just like to hate t...

Everyone needs to do some free writing every once in while (thus my break from list format; I actually might never go back to lists). Sometimes the best listener is a piece of paper and a trusty pen. Assignment: Write for five minutes on your college experience thus far. I loved college when I first got here, even if I was really sad about saying goodbye to Colorado Springs and childhood. And I still like it a lot, but I want to go home more too. The problem that I've had this semester is general discomfort with myself and my shell. I have come to realize that I live in a cave of hypotheticals and I often fail to recognize reality from the dancing shadows on the wall. I have always been a thinker and a dreamer, but when it comes down to something happening directly to me, I'm hopeless. I don't act. I hide in my shell or my cave and I pretend the actual problem is hypothetical. So the problem with that is that real problems aren't solved with hypothetical solutions. ...

It's an art. There are rules and exceptions. You can sound really stupid or remarkably intelligent when you master grammar. Yes, most of the time we know what you're trying to say. But it makes you look lazy if you are twenty years old and never bothered to learn the difference between "there," "their," and they're." You should have learned that in second grade. Good grammar makes your writing clearer and more beautiful; sometimes a paper really needs a good semicolon. Learning the rules allows you to play with grammar. While sentences that start with a conjunction are usually frowned upon, you can use them for an extra kick. And then people will think you're creative. As shallow as it may be, people will take you more seriously when you speak correctly, and they will judge you when you use an adjective instead of an adverb for describing how you did something. Or maybe just I will. Good grammar and good diction compliment each other; if yo...