So...I Went to a Bookstore Monday {and a Brief Recap of What I've Been Up to}

   Hello!

   I know, I haven't posted in awhile. I've discovered the wonderful world of fan fiction, and I have found it quite addicting. In fact, it has taken up all of my reading time. So far I have only read twenty-three books this year! I should have already read thirty-seven in order to keep up with my reading challenge of reading one hundred books this year. Fan fictions don't count on Goodreads, and that's almost all I read on Wattpad.

   Anyways, work has been going well, and I have been preparing to go to Ferris in the fall. I found a place to live. My schedule for the fall is all set. I've been looking for jobs up there as well.

   Monday I made the trip up to Big Rapids. I had a meeting with the adviser for my major. It went very well, as he helped me figure out which classes I've already taken and which ones to take in the fall. Afterwards, I went to the bookstore that my best friend (who already attends Ferris) introduced me to a few months previously. I actually only spent an hour in there, but I walked away with five books for only twenty dollars!

 My Book Haul

   The first book in the picture is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. This has been on my to be read virtual bookshelf for awhile now. A few days prior going to the bookstore, I was watching Gilmore Girls, and Rory was trying to convince Dean to give it another try. When I saw it on the shelf, I had to buy it.

   The second book is Four Word Film Reviews by Benj Clews and Michael Onesi. The cover on this one is what drew me in. 

Jurassic Park (1993), "Visitors feed the animals."

Forrest Gump (1994) "Dense Forest branches out."

Jaws (1975) "Eat ship and die."

I've flipped through it looking up various movies, and it is quite entertaining. I even spent an evening sending some of the reviews to my friend to have her guess what movie it was referencing (she got all but one right).

   The third book is The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll. I found it hidden on a shelf that sported books for fifty cents, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. I've been trying to branch out from reading mostly YA and romance novels, so I thought I'd give this one a try.

   The fourth book is Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan. I read the blurb on the back of the book, and that's what drew me in. It's about four different girls who are dorm mates and their adventures up to graduation. Since I'll be going back to school soon, I thought it would be interesting.

  The last book in the picture is Becoming Jane: The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen. It's a little book full of quotes from some of Jane Austen's works. I picked this one up because I am obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, and I have also read a few of her other works. I can't wait to read this one and highlight and bookmark to my hearts content.

  That's all I've got for right now. I may do a post of my favorite reviews from Four Word Film Reviews since the ones I've read were hilarious. Until next time, I hope you have a lovely rest of May!

Happy Tuesday!

   For some weird reason, Tuesday is my favorite day of the week. Sometimes it's been the only day I've been able to sleep in. That's really the only reason I can think of for loving them so much.
   Anyways, my post Saturday hinted that I had done something new to my hair. Luckily, I took a before picture the morning of.

         The picture the left is before, the right is the after.          

   I'd been thinking about doing this for about a month, and last Tuesday I had an appointment scheduled to get it done. I'd only had low-lights in my hair before, so this is definitely a change. I was going for a more coppery shade, but I do love this color. Plus, it will last longer than a copper shade would.
   I hope you're having a great Tuesday!

Writing...

   My life has been a bit crazy lately:

• Fall finally showed up around here last week; 
• I'm still working at my part-time retail job, but in a few weeks I'll start training for my new supervisor position;
• I have been experimenting more with gluten free/lactose free cooking; 
• I have a few ideas to work on for things to post on this blog, but I've been focusing more on my Write Michigan short story entry;
• I am also now part of a small group for single, twenty-somethings from my church; 
• And last Tuesday, I finally worked up the nerve to try something new with my hair (I'll post pics in the next week or so). 

The only things keeping me sane are the small snippets of time I get to write (and read).

Recent book purchases

   I'm trying to make writing more of a priority. I love it, but it takes a lot more brain power than, say, binge watching a series on Netflix or watching old British spy movies. It just seems harder to find uninterrupted time where I can just focus. Even as I write this, I have a specific time that I need to stop so I can run errands and get back to "real" life. Which is how it has been all week. I got to spend 45 minutes on my Write Michigan entry on Monday, then a half an hour on Wednesday, and I will hopefully have time to work on it at some point this weekend.
   Please don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth. I'm trying to be more consistent with my posts. Thanks for reading!

P.S. It only just occurred to me that not everyone knows what Write Michigan is. It's an annual short story contest open to Michigan residents. Submissions are due on November 30th. I've known about the contest for about two years, but this is the first time I will actually be entering. I tried last year, but I found it hard to write a short story. Nothing really worked, so I didn't enter. This year I've got a story and hopefully will finish it before the deadline. I'll keep you posted!

Well...

   I must admit, I had a very different topic planned for today. In my original post, I was going to talk about how orientation went, how my first day of classes were, and how South Carolina was compared to Michigan. But alas, I'm still in Michigan.

Trail by the Rockford Dam

   That's right. I didn't get to go. I ran into some unexpected financial trouble that I just couldn't find a way around. I will admit, I'm extremely disappointed. I'll also admit that I'm at a loss as to how to move forward. I still have my job at Kmart, and I'm going to start looking for a full-time job soon. But other than that, I don't know what to do. I'm thinking about entering that writing contest I never got around to last year. My cousin and I have plans to travel next spring. I'm not sure if I'm going to a local college in the beginning of this upcoming year, or if I should wait another year and try again. I miss going to classes. I miss the studying, papers, class discussions, and even the tests. I know I'll be okay, I just have to keep moving forward.

Whoops!

   I just realized I haven't posted anything in three months! Not too much has happened, but there are a few things that I should probably share.
   This fall I will be attending Charleston Southern University in Charleston, SC. I was originally planning on living off campus, but it didn't work out, so I'll be staying on campus in the dorms. My parents and I actually went to visit the college late last month. The campus was gorgeous, the people we met were friendly, and it was nice and warm! My high school class actually went to Myrtle Beach on our senior year, and I loved it and was excited to go back to SC. I still have a bit more paperwork to fill out, loans to apply for, and packing to do. (Which means I have no idea how often I'll be posting this summer!) Orientation starts mid-August, and I can't wait to start this new chapter in my life.

I found the Pineapple Fountain!

   That's pretty much the biggest thing happening in my life right now. My job cleaning at the school will end soon, unless they have a summer position for me. I'll continue the job at Kmart until a week before I have to leave. Also, the number of scholarships out there is quite daunting! (It's been taking up a good chunk of my free time applying for various ones.) I got a new (used) car a week ago, and I am loving it! The CD player and air conditioning work, plus it has cruise control. There's not much else going on, unless you count the fact that I recently discovered how awesome graphic novels(comic books) are. There may be a post about this in the future, but again, no promises! I also can't wait for Finding Dory, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the Gilmore Girls revival to come out.
   That is all I have for today.

October Musings

   Hey! I've been really busy lately, and I'm not going to get to the post I had planned for today. Instead, I figured I'd just post a long ramble about what I've been doing lately! [Please bear with me]

 

It's a gorgeous fall day here!

   I have made a schedule for this blog. I'm just having trouble sticking to it! All of my upcoming posts are guaranteed fascinating, but it seems I'm more interested in writing certain posts. Which means I don't spend enough time working on others. I've been putting anywhere from 2.5 to 11 hours a week writing! Granted, that is not all for this blog. Some of it's for various stories I have going. {I have yet to start work on my writing contest entry. I do have a solid idea for a story though!} I swear the blinking cursor of death is also giving me writer's block!
   I started a part-time job at Kmart two weeks ago and have started the process of getting another part-time job cleaning. I've been working less than ten hours a week at Kmart, but so far, I really like the job! The cleaning job is going to be a more consistently scheduled job. Yay money!
   Baking is another thing that has been taking up some of my time. I've been experimenting with different gluten free recipes. Homemade bread and pancakes were (successfully!) made this week. I may tackle a soup next.
   As usual, I have also been reading a lot of books, listening to audio books, and watching Netflix. I watched 13 episodes of a series on Wednesday and finished the latest season last night. With the audio books I've been listening to while cleaning and baking, I have gotten slightly ahead of my Goodreads reading challenge. I also visit various libraries throughout the week to browse and write. I've been to four different locations just this week!

I arrived at one library 20 minutes early, so I wandered around for a bit.

   That about sums up what I've been doing. I hope you're enjoying fall!

What I've Been Doing Since Graduation

   Just like my description says, I graduated in May from community college.  What you may not know is that I graduated with three degrees, one certificate, and honors.  I may have only attended for five semesters, but I learned a few things during that time about myself and the world in general.  In case you are curious as to what I've been up to since then, here's a short recap.

My tassel

   Since then, I have worked at (and quit) two different jobs.  One job I left because it was too hectic to work both jobs at once.  The other I left because I was having health issues and calling in sick a lot.  It took awhile to find out what was wrong with me.  Right now, we believe that my health problems are the results of being stressed out too much and gluten.  The stress was causing headaches that felt like someone had placed a vice around my head and was squeezing very hard.  Gluten seems to be something that my body can not process large amounts of.  I currently eat [mostly] gluten free.  The occasional deviance doesn't seem to hurt me too much.  I should know more after I see a specialist in October. 
 
   There has been about a month and a half between quitting my last job and now.  In that time, I have; filled out numerous job applications, been a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding, finished one series on Netflix and started another, come up with a strategy for my blog, and completely revamped a story that I have been working on for the last few years [I decided to change it from YA to NA].

Summer writing space

   I am currently going through the process of filling out paperwork before starting a new job.  I plan on working through next summer, then going back to college to pursue a major in psychology with a possible a minor in English.  I would eventually like to become a counselor who works with children, but that's just an idea.
 
   Something else I am currently working on is entering a short story writing contest.  I haven't really written a short story before, but I'm going to give it my best shot.  I have until November, which means I'll be cutting it close.  This will be the third writing contest that I have entered.

Another favorite writing space

   That's a short recap of what I have been doing lately.  I'm going to try to write on here more, but no promises!  I'm honestly more active on other social media sites.
Here's my Twitter: https://twitter.com/lyssiemichelle
My Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/amichelle94/
And my Tumblr: http://love-bookswillbetheendofme.tumblr.com/ 
I hope you'll visit again.  :D

Hey!

   My name is Alyssa Michelle.  I've been wanting to start a blog for awhile, but I just never got around to doing it.  I mean, I tried once, but it didn't last long.  The reason I started this one is for an English class assignment.  If you read my About Me section, you would know that I am currently a college Freshman.  It's going great so far!  (I'm one of those weird kids that actually likes school.)  
   Anyways, this blog is going to be all things bookish.  I'm going to try to blog about book-related topics and write book reviews about once a week.  Don't hold your breath though.  It may not always happen.  :)