Blog Featurette: I Wrote This For You

I have yet another blog to share with you! I seem to be on some sort of blog-promoting kick.

This one is called I Wrote This For You. Basically, what it is, is that every day a story is posted with a picture. The stories are short, many times only a couple sentences, and they are always very general, using the pronouns me and you. This allows readers to place themselves in the center of the story. Iain Thomas, co-creator and author of I Wrote This For You says that "There’s no story [he] can tell you that is as powerful as the story you can tell yourself." This means that, by making the stories vague, people are able to fill in their own experiences and make the story apply to them.
Iain also explains why the stories are so short: “The point of a story is, more often than not, a single sentence. I try to write that sentence.” In each entry for I Wrote This For You, Iain tries to explain a single human experience or emotion as concisely as possible. In doing so, he achieves everything from power, to truth, to poetry. What Tyler Knott did for love stories with his haiku, Iain Thomas has done for just about every other life situation with his words.

If you like poetry, profound quotes about life, or reading statements that really hit home, I suggest checking out I Wrote This For You. If you're not into that stuff...well, I still suggest checking it out. It's a pretty interesting concept, and the stories are short, so it wouldn't even take you a minute to read a couple. I'm really into this kind of stuff (and by "this kind of stuff," I guess I mean profound, "deep" stuff), but maybe I'm the only one. If you do check it out, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! I love hearing other people's opinions on things.

The beauty of language

I have always enjoyed reading, at writing poetry. To be honest, I never got that into the haiku thing, but I just came across this guy Tyler Knott, who writes some of the most beautiful haiku I have ever read. He is doing a series called "Daily Haiku on Love," and maybe it's just me, but I find the poems absolutely breathtaking (which is not a word I would usually associated with a written work). Here are a few examples:

You are sewn from the
fabric of my dreams and the
thread of my wishes.
-Daily Haiku on Love by Tyler Knott Gregson-

I watch the smile grow
across your lips, up your cheeks
and into your eyes.

-Daily Haiku on Love by Tyler Knott Gregson-

I will rest my ear
directly above your heart
and miss not a beat.
-Daily Haiku on Love by Tyler Knott Gregson-

They are so simple, yet so powerful. I suppose that is the point of a haiku. I highly suggest you check out his site and read some more of them, because they are absolutely wonderful!

I'm still alive!

So, I am fully aware that I have not updated in over a month. This is mostly due to the fact that I haven't had much to say (hard to believe, I know), but also due to the fact that I have been extremely lethargic lately. The seasonal depression has definitely set in hard-core and I find myself sitting around listening to music about summer and hoping that spring will come sooner rather than later.

That said, I realize that almost anyone else living in snow-country (which is actually most of the US right now, apparently there is snow on the ground in 49 states) is probably feeling the same way. Therefore, I would like to share a blog that has certainly been a ray of sunshine for me throughout this dreadful Michigan winter. It's called 1000 Awesome Things. Basically every weekday they post one "awesome thing." Some examples of previous posts include:

#572 Learning a new keyboard shortcut
#585 Figuring out the plot twist just before they reveal it
#916 The sound of scissors cutting construction paper
#921 Snow days
#937 The smell of rain on a hot sidewalk

As a person who tends to get really excited about little things like this, I find myself nodding in agreement every time I read the newest post. If you are like me and you enjoy trivial things, I highly suggest adding this blog to your Google Reader or RSS feed of choice. It's definitely a spirit-lifter.

My Life Is Average

Quite possibly the most entertaining website in the world. Mostly because a lot of the stories are about people who are as big of dorks as I am! Here are a few of my favorites from tonight's perusal of mylifeisaverage.com:

Today, I found out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 comes out on my birthday. I am now going to spend my 21st birthday with Harry instead of getting drunk. I still think this will be the best day ever. MLIA

#305297
Personally, I think this is a better way to spend your 21st birthday than getting wasted.

Today, I mentally replaced each room in my house with the name of a location in Hogwarts. When my younger brother asked me where the remote was, I told him to check the Gryffindor commonroom. He knew exactly where to go. I've raised him well. MLIA

#289253
I must admit, I considered the idea for a while after reading this.

Today I found out that Command+Ctrl+Option+8 on a Mac switches the display to negative colors. The librarians at school have yet to figure out how to change them back. MLIA

#291818
This is just straight up an awesome/fun thing to do for yourself. Although, I do want to try to trick someone else...

Today my mom called Dell to check on the status of her order. They could not help her because their computers were down. I laughed. MLIA.

#282294
Proving once again that Macs are better!

Today, after reading several MLIA's about people configuring speech recognition on their MacBooks, I decided to try it for myself. My laptop now responds to the name Megatron. My life is complete. MLIA

#279343
Hilarious. Now I need to think of an awesome name for my computer and do this.

Today, my roommate and I were leaving a restaurant when she saw a friend of hers walking in with a guy and stopped to talk to him. The friend's companion and I didn't know each other so I decided to throw my arms out and yell "Oh my God, I haven't seen you in so long!". Instead of being confused, the guy immediately responded with an "I know, right?!" and a hug. We started making up false stories about how I once broke his mother's hip with a trampoline. I have met my soulmate. MLIA.

#278551
You've gotta love someone who can go along with a joke!

Today was my first year of the new semester of college. I'd read reviews about one of my professor being on the mean side, and was terrified. When I came into the room, not only was he dressed as Snape, but every time somebody answered a question he'd yell, "TEN POINTS FROM GRIFFINDOR." MLIA.

#278068
I would be ecstatic if this happened to me. haha.

Today I was reading "100 Reasons Twilight is better than Harry Potter" (which isn't true in the slightest), and one person said that Twilight was better because it was real. I think somebody needs to have a reality check. MLIA.

#274469
haha.

Well, I think I should stop now, because this could go on forever. If you have a free moment, or need to lift your spirits, I highly suggest MLIA. I literally laugh out loud.
Check it out!!!