Advanced Creative Writing Post #3: Sunset

Sunset, the opposite of sunrise. It's when the sun goes down instead of coming up. No, seriously though, it is just as amazing as the sunrise. The sunset symbolizes the end of the day. Although there are still several hours after the sunrise until the day is officially over, the day's work usually ends with sundown. The night is spent winding down and getting ready for the next day's work and activities. It's also the awakening time of vampires and other things that go bump in the night, but that's beside the point.

Random things about sunset:

• Sunset is the ending glory for heroes as well. Riding of into the sunset is the standard cliche for the end of a hero movie.
• Sunset marks the end of the day for Davy Jones (and later Will Turner) to return to the sea for another ten years in the Disney movie series Pirates of the Caribbean.
• The Earth's atmosphere "bends" the Sun's rays and delays the sunset by about three minutes.
• It looks different on different planets due to the atmosphere and terrain.

I find it interesting that not as many things are called to mind about the sunset as there are about the sunrise. You would figure that, being opposites, there would be just as much. I guess I am just not too knowledgeable about the sunset. *shrugs* :)

Advanced Creative Writing Post #2: Sunrise

Sunrise. The beginning of the day, at least to me. The day should never begin in darkness. It should always begin with the beauty and grace of the rising sun. Besides, that would make school start later haha. Anyways, sunrise is one of the natural beauties of the world. If you have never experienced a sunrise, I mean really experienced it, then it is something you should add to your bucket list. Watching the sky change colors and hues and radiate them out through the clouds....it's amazing. It reminds me how precious the world we live in is.

A sunrise marks a beginning. The beginning of a new day, a new life, a new story. Letting our days and our spirits rise with the sun, alighting our lives with the beauty and grace of opportunity, of joy is a truly astounding thing. It reminds us to live in the moment, to live in the here and now. To let the problems of the day set with the sunset and a blank slate to rise with the sun in the morning is extremely hard, make no mistake. But to be able to wake up each and every day and bask in the ability to meet the day fresh in mind, body, and spirit. The sunrise reminds me to keep looking forward. It also reminds me to be conscious of the world around us. I want to be able to wake up every morning and know that I can watch the sunrise. But if we, as inhabitants of this lovely planet, don't start treating it with the respect and care it warrants, we won't have that opportunity. There won't be a rising sun clipping the peaks of wintry mountains, creeping across the sprawling forests and waters. There will only be the harsh rays on a world condemned. We have to take care of the world, to give back what we take.

A sunrise has a lot of meaning when you really think about it. Mostly though, it is a constant reminder to live every day for what it's worth and make each day the best we can for everyone.

Advanced Creative Writing Post #1: A blog about rambling thoughts and nothing in particular

Okay, as the title states, this blog entry is supposed to be about my rambling thoughts and nothing in particular. This is what happens when you sign up for an independent study with a teacher and then when you come back from break he forgets that you did. It's entertaining in some respects. He gets all flustered and you do random assignments like a blog entry about rambling thoughts. I don't even know how long this thing is supposed to be. I'll probably do my best to make it close to 500 words. Oops, going for word count, so five hundred words :).

As much as this is supposed to be about rambling thoughts, I am going to at least try to gear it towards school to some degree, seeing as this is a class and all haha. So it's only the second day back from winter break but it's apparent that the administrative policies and habits are still the same. Time with family has not mellowed their resolve to suck, it seems it is just in their nature. My schedule is way better though :D. I am no longer taking two boring math classes, let alone one after the other. I am now taking this independent study class and another class called EC Reading. EC Reading is literally a class for reading books. I was very happy to be enrolled in that class :D (that smile isn't big enough to express my gratitude for it). I am still taking AP Chemistry first period. I am going to stick with it and even try to learn enough to attempt to pass the AP Exam at the end of the year. I don't expect that will happen though haha. I am also still AP Literature second period. That class is okay, I am still hoping that we will get into a book that I will really be able to enjoy. Slaughterhouse-5 isn't horrible by any means but it's certainly not one of my favorite books. Third period is this wonderful gem of a class and fourth period is my reading class. Irelan keeps telling us we need to pick books our reading level but I have no freaking clue what she thinks is our reading level. I am going to pick a couple of books and such off of my shelves at home and find little reviews for them (and possibly their supposed reading levels) and run them by her to see what she thinks. I showed her The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton today and she said it was below my reading level and that it was the only book that could be. So I am curious as to what she considers my reading level. My fifth, sixth, and seventh periods are all the same, with only a few differences this semester. My fifth period has one new student and our goal is supposed to be more sales-oriented this semester. We will see how that goes. Sixth period now has Maria and Amber in it so I have more reason to laugh and enjoy that class. Drake teaches history in a way that I can actually learn it without wanting to bore through my head with a large drill. We swear we learn through osmosis in that class haha. Seventh period is going to take an interesting turn when we get our teaching field placements. I am excited and I know I will be teaching either at AC Middle or at Alsup Elementary, more likely the former. It will definitely be my first true experience in the world of teaching :D.