#my mom's an english teacher i want to be a writer and i took a film class

[sgtmickeyslaughter]

Weekly Tag Wednesday !! Woohoo!

thank you for tagging me @jrooc, @mybrainismelted, @iansw0rld, and @lingy910y

Name: Gigi

Age: 24

Location: brooklyn baby!

And now, think about your childhood and tell me:

I'm thinking about 10 and under vibes, right?

Did you have a nickname and is it still used? Gigi! all you nice people and some of my friends call me that when they're being cute

What did you want to be when you'd grow up? I wanted to be an artist when i was really young, then i wanted to be a writer a lot of elementary/middle school, then i kept my options open through highshcool and last minute decided to go to architecture school and it was a very very good gut decision and in a way im an artist, fanfic writer, and soon to be licensed architect, best of all worlds!

Your favourite cartoon: when i was a kid me and my brother would wake up early to watch pokemon, I also liked the pbs show Sagwa, curious George (hey frank!) and clifford

Your favourite TV show: zoboomafoo !!!! fucking loved that guy!

Your favourite book: I had this book when i was a kid called Millions of Cats which was kind of a fucked up story and I would be very interested to see someone analyze what that book says about love. I also really liked Too Big bc look how cute the coloring is !

I also adored Ferdinand, I always thought that if i were to get a tattoo i would want to get Ferdinand sitting in his flowers

Your favourite toy: I just loved stuffed animals, I had so many

Your favourite thing to eat: Just like, soups in general. but my favorite was saimin which weirdly I cant STAND now. its like ramen but instead of ramen noodles its thick, gnarly egg noodles and take half the flavor out and just add salt, genuinely think it would give me heart attack now

Your favourite school subject: I really liked all subjects except I hated biology and I hated spanish, not bc the language is bad but bc my teacher was a white lady from colorado who im not really sure actually spoke spanish. I really loved physics and english and history and art

How did you spend your summers? I lived in a very safe place so free roam go to the or the beach near us, if you didnt like the kids in your neighborhood you were fucked cause those were our built in play mates and on the hottest days i would find the coldest part of my house and just lay on the tile reading all day

Did you listen to music? If yes, did you have a favourite band/artist?

my mom had the elite early 2000s music taste; amy winehouse, tracy chapman, dolly parton, green day, the chicks, tina turner, smashing pumpkins, spice girls, alanis morissette, jack johnson, Lauren hill, so good, I still listen to them all today

And lastly, tell me something you did as a kid that your parents still don't know about:

I used to cut pieces of my hair periodically with the kitchen scissors but it wasnt like super noticeable so my mom was just like i really cant figure out why your hair grows like this

I also took the bus by myself a couple times when i was wayy to young to but it was a really simple bus system so i just got on and went to town and took it back, idk seems like it worked out okay!

what about you? @juliakayyy @krysmiss @darlingian @gallavichroom @vintagelacerosette

#sgt says #tag game

[jmflowers]

Ok I got a little carried away so you can choose all of these or just like one or two. For the Writers Truth & Dare Ask Game

🍓 🔪 🏜️ 🦴

Thank you!!

You absolutely did not get carried away! Thank you, this was fun. I don’t usually do this on my phone, but I’m too tired to get up so please bear with me. (Is it bear or bare? I argued with my grade 11 English teacher about this and I still don’t actually know the right answer…)

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

I started writing fan fiction when I was probably about 12 or 13? I literally did not have any reference point to the concept - I just loved TV and creating things and writing was an important hobby. I think I was frustrated with a topic not being given the attention I wanted in the show Ghost Whisperer (I was obsessed) so I just wrote it myself. The only way I knew to connect with fandom was through YouTube, as I’d been making fan montages for a while. I edited my story, chapter by chapter, into videos and posted it there. I didn’t end up finding fandom spaces for writing and community until I was about 18, when I joined tumblr and started reading on livejournal and fanfiction.net. I discovered screenwriting around that time, too, and fell in love with the idea of combining these things to make a career. (Only took me another decade to finally bite the bullet and dive in.) I’ve been writing and telling stories literally my entire life, and have studied the art form profusely throughout my education, but I definitely think I’ve seen the most growth in my work through the act of writing fan fiction - it fuels so much discipline while still giving you the space to experiment.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I looooove to research. I spend a lot of my time looking up words in other languages and reading articles about child development. For Vofreude I read a lot about the history surrounding the clitoris and its accurate portrayal in diagrams. I think the weirdest thing I dove deep into was how to hotwire a car, for Epithet.

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

Anything. I get really overwhelmed by long comments and freak out on how to respond, even though they mean so much. (I worry that people think that means I don’t care about those ones.) I love when people make jokes or compliment in a way that’s silly. Also a huge fan of bookmark notes - I go and read those a lot. I die when someone mentions that they loved something else I wrote for a different fandom and that they’re happy to find me again in a new fandom - that feels pretty life changing. In real life, anytime I can create something that makes my mom cry is an absolute win in my books - she doesn’t cry often, but I’ve gotten her with a few specific things through the years.

I will say, I find it easier to respond to comments in the first few days after a piece is posted. I adore getting comments later - that email notification is one hell of a dopamine boost - but I get anxious about answering. And then I get anxious about there being a comment I haven’t responded to. And then I get anxious about how much time has passed since the comment was posted and I’m not sure if it’s too late to answer. Vicious game.

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

Music. Everything I create always leads back to music. It’s how I yank myself out of blocks, usually. When I listen to music, I start to visualize how things might look or feel and then I try to emulate that in whatever I’m working on. It’s easiest for editing videos, as I picture the scenes that will match up to things. For writing, I just go with the vibes. Most of my stories have an accompanying playlist that I listen to when I’m writing in that universe.

#writers ask game #ask game #Janelle’s asks #thank you!!!! #iamthelegman #I feel like I’ve told the story of my start in fic sooooo many times are y’all bored of it yet? #I was such a little brat back then and I’m pretty sure I put threatening messages in the video descriptions 🤦🏼‍♀️ #karma got me back with those classic death threats and calls for my suicide on FFnet

[starhvney]

any tips for us beginner writers? :3

honestly this sounds super cliche, but practice! i’ve improved in my writing skills just from a few weeks ago because i’ve been posting so much. writing is a skill kind of like art.

although that’s cliche, here’s a few resources i use to improve my writing:

☆ pinterest | i have a board full of character descriptions, prompts, word substitutions, world building tips for realism, etc. that i reference all. the. time. look up writing tips on pinterest and you’ll find millions of suggestions. i’ve scrolled for hours on there.

☆ plan | have a general idea of where you want the story to go, even if it’s for a short story. if you don’t know that you want your character to end up from point A to point B by the end of the story (because you don’t even know what point B is), then you’re writing can become drawn out and pointless.

☆ online dictionary/thesaurus | sometimes i end up reusing a word too many times, but still want to convey the same idea. look up that same word and find a synonym for it that works!

☆ grammarly | sometimes checking my own spelling is too time consuming and i don’t want to do it. gradually it’s useful for pointing out places with spell checks (but don’t always take its advice if it wants to shorten or reword a sentence, it’s not always right for creative writing)

☆ walk away | if you feel like you’re just not in the creative headspace and you’re getting frustrated, or you’re not sure of what you wrote is good, get up and do something else for a bit! once you’ve cleared your mind, come back to it and look at your work with fresh eyes to correct any mistakes or think of new ideas.

☆ listen to music, ambience, or even asmr | i do this a lot! i find a playlist of mine that fits the vibe of what i’m trying to write, and it helps me focus on the story. for instance, if i want to write a scary scene i listen to film soundtracks that are intense and eery, or listen to an ambience from a horror game. if i want to write something peaceful, i listen to soft music or a spring morning ambience. this really helps if you struggle to get in the writing zone like i do.

☆ shut off your left brain | sometimes when we write or draw, our focus and thoughts become too critical of our work, and we stunt ourselves or get frustrated and completely give up. you have to switch over into the creative side of your brain, and not care if you make mistakes as you write! you can edit it later, but just focus on getting the story and thought out of your head. i do this by daydreaming the situation first, and then writing it out while listening to music.

☆ study other artists! | similar to art, you need to study others works to develop your own style. look at the works of a fan fiction writer who’s really good, or a popular book that made it big. when do they break off their paragraphs? how do they change scenes? how do they form their sentences and describe the scenery and characters?

i’ll also say that i did grow up with an english teacher mom and much older sisters who also became teachers and had an extensive vocabulary, so writing came easier to me than others because of that. BUT! even still my writing was awful a couple of years ago. it took a lot of practice and trashing my old work to get to this point.

i’m not that great of a teacher myself, but i hope this advice helps! best of luck to anyone who wants to try writing, don’t be scared to start!!! i believe in you :)

#☆ star's inbox!

[pool-floatie]

I feel the need to share my g/t experience with erryone since its been on my mind for a while and I find it interesting how early on It showed up.

Ever since I was a little kid, probably 5-7 years old, I had little daydreams occasionally about giants taking me to their houses or a park or wherever and they would tease me and have fun with me, I was always scared of course because apparently ive always liked this fearplay bullshit, but i still found it exhillirating and fun. Of course it wasnt romantic or anything until I got older, just,,, like a really tall roller coaster, scary but exciting.

When I started reading, i found one of the borrowers books, i think my mom actually got it for me (maybe i had mentioned the daydreams??) ! I think it was The littles and The Biggs families, but yeah. I loved it and i tried to find more but they werent at my school library 😭 so Iworked with what I had, a book and a dream. (lol cringe-)

While i was in 4th- 6th grade I had kind of repressed it, I still thought about it on occasion but i started to realise that nobody else had that interest and it was just a wierd thing with me... Until I watched the BFG (cliche right 🙄) it was when the movie came out and people were talking about it! For a while it held the title of my favorite movie just so I could talk about it when people asked that particular icebreaker.

One night in like... 7th grade I had a dream that i was at church (lol cringefail imagine being religious...) and I picked up a piece of paper inviting people to come test out an experiment... Then i saw a flash And somewhere from the depths of my memories, my brain pulled out one of my old daydream scenarios.

I was in a laboratory with several other humans and we were all in a big glass box. Surrounding us were giants who took us out of the container and gave us baths, undressing us and scrubbing us down with toothbrushes so we would be clean for the examination.

I was taken away to a desk and meticulously examined from head to toe, the giant tried to probe me with questions but I was too shocked to speak.

Thats all I can remember but I was so fascinated by the dream that I started telling my family about it, now of course nobody wanted to hear me talk about my dream for 20 minutes, so my mom encouraged me to write it down.

And oh hell did I write.

My first long form writing stemmed from a dream I had, i wrote for months, of course, I was 13 do it was flaming garbage but I was so happy about it and thought it was a masterpiece.

So naturally as anyone would, I emailed it to my english teacher.

She never responded.

I wonder why.

To this day I pray that she never opened it, her emails being too cluttered with important school things that it got lost and never crossed her eyes.

But still, it was through this little writing that I began to realise my potential (lol cringe origin story-)

I still have the draft of the story, its plot and characters were a good foundation, and perhaps one day i will look it over, change a few things, get cancer and die.

During quarantine I discovered Sanders Sides, which led me down a fanfiction rabbit hole, which led me to tumblr, which led me to a creator called delimeful , not sure if they want to be tagged in this so I wont... They wrote some marvelous G/t Sanders sides fanfic and i soon realised... This is a community, it wasnt just them.. There was, so /much/ so many artists and writers that shared this niche interest, a community of people who g e t i t .

It started slow, I continued interacting with the tumblr community ( hell, the husk of my old blog might still roam this site (|||O⌓O;) )

Only ever looking for safe, wholesome g/t.

But where was the stomach-dropping exhilliration I had felt before, that rollercoaster feeling? What was missing??

I needed the fearplay, and in looking for it i stumbled into vore and that dynamic, playing with pred/prey and even more teasing. I was hesitant at first.

But lo and behold that was the gawd damn ticket. I started to write again, finding new stories and creators and tropes galore! I learned about the community, the terms and the subgenres!

Finally I gained confidence in my writing ability through a class that helped me grow my skills and practice.

And I eventually decided i could share all my hard work. All this time I had spent worrying if i should just keep it to myself, but i reminded myself of all the non beta read and unfinished work i had seen, and looking back at my own I was less afraid, people still liked it even then... So what could they say about mine ?

There ya go, thats my,, I guess life story told through the g/t Timeline.

Hopefully I was vague enough to not give away any behind the scenes, yall will never know who I am 😈😈😈

Also im not trying to bash any creators, I appreciate everyone who contributes to the community with anything they have.

#g/t #giant/tiny #giant #tiny #g/t backstory #micro/macro

[robbiefischer]

i p r o m i s e i will send you more of these tomorrow after i have slept but for now... what about 📚 🚫 💘 🎂 for my boys alexei and elijah????

Aaaaaah tysm for sending me this for my boys (and for all of your lovely asks) ily! I welcome anything else you want to send me about anyone.

📚 BOOKS — what level of education has your oc most recently completed/is currently in (GED, undergraduate, grad school, phd, etc)?

Alexei got his bachelor's degree in English Lit, then completed a teaching credential program. A couple of years after he started teaching, he went back to school to get his M.Ed because he's crazy like that. That's the last thing he's done although in the future he's going to do an MFA in creative writing. He enjoys being a student. Yeah, I don't know where he gets it either.

Elijah got through undergrad and got his bachelor's degree. He wasn't especially interested in going to college (he'd managed to build his streaming stuff up really well throughout high school, and was signed to a pro esports team), but his parents insisted and he wanted to shut them up. He majored in art partly because he's actually really interested in it and it would make the four years tolerable, and partly because he knew it would drive his parents up the wall (they really wanted him to major in something more serious and "grownup", and kept trying to push him into premed like his sister) and make his father's forehead vein pop.

🚫 PROHIBITED — does your oc drink/smoke? do they do it regularly, or is it more on occasion or for special events?

Neither of them are big drinkers. Elijah may have the very occasional hard seltzer if he's doing a fun, chill stream, or something if they're out on a fancy date night but he's just not a big fan of it overall. Alexei's pretty similar - might have a cocktail if they're out on a date or if he goes to a happy hour with his co-workers. If he does have a drink, he likes his sweet, fruity and preferably with a tiny umbrella.

Neither smoke, but they both enjoy edibles on occasion. It's usually a weekend thing - Elijah will make them some fancy snacks, they'll both have a gummy and spend the day catching up on a favorite show or watching movies together and just hanging out. Sometimes they'll go out for a walk in the park near their apartment and commune with nature, do a little people-watching, grab lunch together and chill.

💘 HEART WITH ARROW — what and/or who do(es) your oc consider the most important to them?

Elijah's absolute favorite people in the entire world are Alexei, and his older sister, Lucy. He's also ride-or-die for all of his teammates (Jude, Apollo, Omar, Flora, Nico and Noelle) and his boss, Rosa, who's basically a second mom to him (he's been working at her coffee shop since he was about 15 and she adores him).

Alexei is very family-oriented and, next to Elijah, his moms, younger brother and older sister are the most important people in his life. After that, it's Chase and Reiko. Chase is a teacher at the same school, and they've become incredibly close friends. He took a few of Reiko's classes in undergrad (and is going to take more with her when he goes back to get his MFA), she really took him under her wing and mentored him as a writer and they've developed such a close friendship.

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE — when is your oc's birthday? how old are they? what are their sun, moon, & rising signs (if known)? what about their tarot card, ruling planet, & ruling number (if known)? do they fit the typical traits of these sun, moon, & rising signs?

Alexei's 29 years old, and his birthday is on July 19th. He a Cancer sun, Libra moon with a Virgo ascendant. He embodies his big three traits pretty well. He's very family and relationship-oriented, is nurturing and compassionate, hates conflict and is a natural peacekeeper. He tends to be really well-liked no matter who he's around - he's just got fantastic, soothing energy and tends to be very diplomatic so he can get along with almost anyone. He's hyper-organized, especially at work. He's absolutely that teacher that has weeks of sub plans stashed away if he needs them, and they're all incredibly detailed. He can be a bit fussy sometimes, and a little indecisive when he's stressed. He can definitely be prone to having some very Cancerian big feelings, but the Libra moon tamps those down a bit and mostly keeps them on the inside.

Elijah's 26 years old, and his birthday is on November 18th. He's a Scorpio sun, Leo moon with a Gemini ascendant and he's classic. Think all of the Scorpio intensity and emotional depth, with the charisma, creativity, desire for recognition and self-confidence of a Leo. Throw in a twist of restlessness, curiosity, adaptability and such a way with words and you've got Elijah. Those traits can definitely clash a bit sometimes, and he has to keep himself from flitting from one thing to the next rather than being focused on one big goal, but he usually manages to strike a good balance and make it all work together cohesively.

#asked and answered #oc ask meme #my ocs #oc: elijah #oc: alexei #tysm for this you're the best 🥰🥰

[starsweepers]

15 Questions For The Writer

1. Are you named after anyone? nope! my mom just liked the name.

2. When was the last time you cried? lol i almost cried today because Hormones. but actually i'm not sure when? it's been a bit... i've done some "tear ups" but i can't recall the last time i actually cried cried. i want to imagine some time in november/october when work was killing me.

3. Do you have kids? does my cat count? she's like five kids in one little eight pound body.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? yeah but mostly in person ( my sarcasm tends to get lost on people a lot in texting... ) or with people who know me very well or i have to include a stupid image with it to show people i'm being teasing. it's almost always teasing sarcasm.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? i'm not sure? it kind of depends on the situation i think. clothes, seeming age, hair, or physical state are probably the like... first things i really take from a distance since those are usually the most obvious standouts to tell you about the person you're seeing. when i'm looking at a picture or up closer, i actually tend to notice teeth and smile... sometimes skin condition. which i know all sounds really shallow and kind of is, but also i've battled a lot of teeth issues and skin issues so i think i just subconsciously look at those after staring at my own for so long.

6. What’s your eye colour? blue.

7. Scary movies or happy endings? i've never liked watching scary movies tbh. i like watching let's players do scary games and sometimes i like the plots of scary movies, but i never have much an interest in watching them. they just never clicked with me. especially if they're the sort with exceedingly over the top g.ore deaths. i don't mind tension and darkness ( criminal shows like svu for example ), but the main sorts of films to fall under the general trope of "scary movie" aren't really that sort usually. so happy endings by default i guess lol.

8. Any special talents? i can squish my nose flat against my face and i can bend my pinky finger without my ring or middle finger moving.

9. Where were you born? laupheim, germany!

11. Have you any pets? currently just my cat, mazey. growing up i had a cat, dog, a gerbil, and two hamsters.

12. What sport do you play/have played? oh gosh. i currently play soccer, indoor soccer, flag football, and tennis. i have also done swimming, horseback, softball, gymnastics, inner tube water polo, inner tube water basketball, street hockey, wall ball, basketball... i've tried a lot of things, i really love sports.

13. How tall are you? 5'9"

14. Favorite subject in school? idk. i enjoyed art and the marine biology classes i took. i hated math, but i was good at it. i had social studies teachers that were so much fun despite hating the studies... some good english teachers despite not liking most of the topics... uh. can i include college? robotics with legos was my favorite LMAO.

15. Dream job? i mean dream job would be getting to travel whenever i want and never have to pay for anything but not have to create content for it lol. but idk what i want job wise that is like. logical lol. i'm working a pretty cool gig right now i know a lot of people would love, but i'm not sure i would label it the dream position. i'm just kind of... vibing my way through life.

tagging: whoever might wanna do this... or whoever read all my answers tagged by: @yukikorogashi ( thankies! )

#&&. ooc ( the queen sunshine princess )

[fanficwriter284]

Yo fan!!! Here with another (kind of long) writing prompt in case you get writers block again!

Dear [character], she wrote in the silence of her room. How's prison? I hear it isn't very fun. I've been doing great in school. I have all A's!

MILESS!!!! Great ta see ya back!!!! And thank you for this!!! After giving this some thought I think I finally figured out who to write it around!.

The was near the end of the day. Thankfully the last class for the week. English. There a young Tiffany Valentine sat beside her best friend Charles Lee Ray. Their teacher had decided to give a final assignment to write a letter to a friend or family member, for it to be mailed to them. Tiffany had sat cross-legged, fiddling with her pencil, thinking of who she could possibly write to. Since she didn't have much family that she knew of. Out of curiosity, she peaked over Charles' shoulder curious to see who he was writing to. Only to be confused upon seeing his letter. It had been in an entirely different language.

"Who ya writing to?"

"To my Tante Lina, Ida, and Julia"

"...oh cool.....What does T-Tante mean?"

"Aunt"

Tiffany gave him a quick understanding nod, before returning to her paper.

"Who are you writing to?"

Tiffany lowered her head in slight disappointment.

"That's the thing I don't know"

Chucky hummed, placing a pencil to his lips. Lightly chewing on the salmon pink eraser.

"Do you have any family around here?"

"...well....there's my uncle"

"Alright write to him then"

Tiffany sucked her teeth in slight embarrassment. Making a face of discomfort that she hoped her best friend wouldn't have noticed. Unfortunately for her....he did.

"Why do you have that look on your face?"

"...the thing is....he's in jail..."

She squinted her eyes, hoping to avoid any judgment look on his face. However instead raised a brow, at his seemingly dull expression.

"Okay? So?"

"You're not gonna judge me?"

"Why would I? It's not like you're the one who did the damn crime"

Tiffany sighed in relief, hearing her friend's blunt response. Before the young brunette could begin writing, the bell had rung dismissing all the kids. Causing a sea of ankle bitters to be set free, and flood out the front gates.

"Mrs. Flora!?" The young girl pipped up.

"Yes, Ms. Valentine?"

"Is it alright if I turn this in next class?''

"I don't see why not"

"Alright thank you!" She responded quickly hurrying to get out of the room, to catch up with Chucky who had been waiting for her in the hall.

...

The two teens had walked down their usual route and chatted.

"SHOOT! Sorry, Tiff! I gotta get home! My mom said she needed my home early today!"

Tiffany smiled, combing her bangs to the side, giving her friend a light nod, before parting ways.

"Say ya Monday"

"Yeah Monday"

The teen had picked up his pace quickly, hurrying to get home in time not wanting to disappoint his mom. While Tiffany had gone straight to her room, and took out her notebook and began thinking of an introduction.

"Dear Uncle Sebastian," she wrote in the silence of her room.

"How's prison? I hear it isn't very fun. I've been doing great in school. I have all A's!" She continued.

"...Look I know the two of us haven't really talked...and I know you probably don't really care if you get a letter from your niece...but today for my English class we had to write a letter to a family member and you came to mind....and now here we are"

She paused for a moment, thinking of what to write next. She hadn't really planned a layout or what exactly she was going to write.

"...So how are you doing besides the whole prison thing? I hope well. Maybe if you want and if my mom lets me I can come to see you...maybe" She mimicked Charles' pencil-biting habit still thinking of what to write next.

"What do you even do in prison? Just sit around in a cell all day? What's the food like? Do you wear those jumpsuits like they do in the movies? Do you miss us? Like the family? If so, what would you say to us if we went and visited you?" Tiffany sighed failing to conjure up any more thoughts, and topics to continue talking about.

"...Well looks like I'm running out of space....I hope to hear from you soon. Well love, your niece. Tiffany Valentine"

And with that, she carefully folded up the letter, and placed it inside the envelope, licking the tip to seal it shut, quickly stuffing it into the front pocket of her backpack to make sure it didn't get lost or smushed.

#tiffany valentine #charles lee ray #raysforever #chucky x tiffany #New OC #Sebastian's her uncle

[setaflow]

Get to Know Me

Thanks for the tag @ghostoffuturespast (please take me on a nature walk with you I'll bring granola bars)! In my decade of using this Tumblr I don't think I've ever done this tag prompt so it's nice to get some fresh answers. Let's see...

Are you named after anyone? Technically? My mom was considering a bunch of names for me when she was expecting, the name she would eventually choose being among them (I think the frontrunner at the time was Vanessa), When she went into labor, one of the nurses helping her was an older woman named [insert my name here] and she said "oh there hasn't been a baby named [insert my name here] born in this hospital in 30 years! :)" so my parents eventually picked that one instead of Vanessa. I get that I wasn't technically named after that nurse, but I was definitely named with her influence, and that has to count for something there lol.

When was the last time you cried? Within the last month, not really willing to get that personal here though. On average I'll cry like 3-4 times a year.

Do you have kids? Hell no, could you imagine?

Do you use sarcasm a lot? Only with people I'm close with. It used to be a running joke that I couldn't do sarcasm well-- still really can't, to be honest-- so I really use it sparingly and try to make it obvious if I do.

What sports do you play/have you played? Tons, surprisingly! I was a fairly active kid and dabbled in softball, ballet, soccer, basketball, and fencing at various points in my life. I swam competitively for 12 years, played lacrosse for nearly as long (first as a defender, then as a goalie), and played a little bit of field hockey as well through middle and early high school.

What's the first thing you notice about other people? Height, usually. Comes with having an egregiously tall 6'8 brother-- first thing I do is mentally check if they're taller than him or not.

Eye color? Blueish-gray. I have minor partial heterochromia as well: a streak of light brown in my right eye.

Scary movies or happy endings? I've been getting into scary movies lately! I binge the Dead Meat YouTube Channel at work for background noise and those videos have increased my interest in horror movies over the last few months. I always love that horror movies have interesting horror and trivia behind their productions and hearing the host James detail them all out has really given me a new appreciation for the kinds of work that go into them.

Any special talents? I can bend my elbows more than 180 degrees.

Where were you born? Northern New Jersey, about 15 minutes west of New York City.

What are your hobbies? Writing, reading, cooking/baking, hiking, running, swimming, video games, watching video essays about things I'm interested in, obsessing over New York sports teams.

Do you have any pets? I take care of my roommate's dog from time to time. He's not mine, but he's a sweetie and I'm basically his aunt, so sorta-kinda.

How tall are you? 5'8.

Fave subject in school? It cycled when I was still in school, but they tended to be History and English. I was a really good essay-writer and there are several periods of history I love learning about-- it's probably why I took to the Assassin's Creed series as much as I did-- so depending on the teacher it was usually one of those. I took a few media and film classes in college and I loved those as well-- I love media analysis with all of my heart.

Dream job? Used to be Olympic Swimmer, then Marine Biologist, then SportsCenter anchor. I came really close to achieving a few of those, but alas :P

Tagging @skippygiraffee @beammeupbroadway @trashcatsnark @seraphfighter @clusterfxckedbysirens and @shadesofchaoticenergy if you want to give this a swing!

#Personal #Long Post #Thanks again for the tag!

[boston-babies]

Hey kids! What are your dream jobs?

Acting! That’s why I go to UCLA, to get a performing arts degree-Dani

A writer or a teacher. I double majored when I went to Boston University in English Literature and education. Im currently going for my masters degree at Yale so we’ll see😂-Brandon

Im not really sure honestly, Im finishing up at Boston University since I took a year off. I’ll have my bachelors in history and I’ve been working on ASP with dad so I don’t know maybe something with that🤷🏻‍♂️-Brayden

I went to NYU for graphic design and I’m currently working for mom until I decide what it is that I actually want to do😂-Ryan

[strawberryspeachy]

I was scrolling through my pictures and found a guide for things to study to prepare one of my students for moving to america

Its pretty detailed and makes me wonder if im getting stupider as time goes on because i forgot about several things that i came up with without even researching 2 years ago

While looking at it i remembered

The boy asked me actually. He asked me about school in the states and he was worried about some of the classes. I tried to put his mind at ease for the transition and assure him that he’ll have help for most things.

He was half white and his dad was american. His dad was a writer actually and he told me about his books during a speaking test. So he spoke english fluently. Actually that was something he was worried about. He said his dad told him he has an accent - he really didnt.

But on that I started to ask him about things we do in English class back home. He had no idea about even the basics. Not surprising. They dont do things that involve critical thought in japanese schools.

I started briefly explaining some things to him and told him id make him a guide

Then. We were cut off

The teacher came and told me he needed to go eat lunch.

Later she came and apologized to me because he told her that he asked me for advise and that he was nervous realizing that he wasnt prepared for American English classes.

She thought i just went to talk to a kid. Stopped him from going to lunch. And was stressing him out.

Not because i do that but because thats how japanese teachers see foreigners here. Being weird idiots that bother ppl

And the thing is id forgotten about that till just now.

I HATED that feeling as an ALT. Im s weird person - but not a fucking weirdo who harasses children to talk me. I hated when the teachers tried to make me do that. And i hated when they assumed thats what happened whenever a student came to talk to me.

Theyd always look worried and annoyed when students were talking to me and theyd shoo them away. And i couldnt say its ok or anything. I couldnt say or do anything. Just smile and encourage the kid that the jaapnese teacher had a good reason for telling them to not talk to me

The thing is. I liked the teacher i just mentioned. She was one of the nicest ones i worked with as an ALT. I forgot about all the shitty times with her. She got nicer to me after my mom died. All the teachers did. I noticed and i know. But somewhat also forget.

It took a horrible thing for them to see me as a human. And to just look at what i do as another person and not a strange alien they must protect the children from.

I came to japan for a paid vacation. I wanted to explore and enjoy traveling going to concerts meeting ppl and just having a good time.

Id planned to go home and take care of my mom. I thought i could write stories while i was here and look for a job back home.

Then corona hit and ruined everything. I never even got to see my mom again

Never got to feel stability

Now the money ive saved up is worth half the value back home

I have nothing to fucking show for my time here

I cant afford to go back to america

My moms not there

I dont even have a house to return to

Im so much worse off now than when i left if i go back

But i also cant deal with that degrading treatment again. Even as a legit teacher in a school working through a company middleman im treated as less than.

As an ALT i was treated like a fucking idiot mascot play toy. Like equipment. Not a person.

And as a native teacher - last year - god do you know how fucking annoying it is to have ppl who can’t speak your native language tell you whats correct?!? To be told to keep students in line, motivate them, teach them, and entertain them all while having someone undermine you at every turn. Them complain the students dont respect you. I mean that was only with 5 kids in 432 students. And thats the other fucking problem. Last year my schools students were wonderful. They were friendly smart motived and kind. Except 2 bitchy girls and one boy - the girls turned like 3 more kids in their class against me. But the rest of my students liked me. And because the PE turned English teacher didnt like english he bitched about me and used those few kids against me. I have more than 420 actively improving their assignments and having full english conversations with me. I have the two loud classes all the teachers hate because they refuse to do their work - coming to me and asking if they did my assignments correctly and asking when they need help - but because a handful of kids dont like me - that teacher turns me into a bad guy and gets me the boot.

And thats the shit to expect with even the better job i have.

The school im not rn has a native teacher who uses his charisma to make life better for the native teachers at the school. This is the best im gonna get

I cant find another job. Im trying but too many ppl want to come to japan rn

I really cant afford to go back home

And im entirely out of the patience to be treated like a fucking slave. Literally at this point. Between the shit wages that keep going down and high costs. I cant afford the shit job that wants me to act like the japanese assholes dog. Treating me however they want and i have to just smile back

I want my mom. I want to go back to when i had my pets and my house and lived near my friends.

I keep saying it but its true. Im living the future that i used to have in my nightmares and wake up screaming from. I want to wake up again back before 2011

[mcalcott]

Introspective Writing Assignment

My name is Mary Killeen Pena (she/her) and I go by Mary, Mare, Mary Clare, or Mom. My parents named me after a long line of Irish women in my family who were named after the Virgin Mary because we are Catholic and we are Irish. My parents picked Clare for my middle name because it is the name of the county my great-grandfather immigrated from in Ireland. I have been to that county three times. My parents intended to name me Mary Frances, also after other Irish relatives, but my mom decided that name would be too "ugly" for a little girl. I now have a niece named Frances Rosemary. My family picked my name, Mary Clare, because they also wanted me to be called by both names – most good Irish girls named Mary have a second name that travels along with it. By the time I got to kindergarten writing two names felt too difficult and I was only called Mary Clare by my family at home. Killeen is an ancient Irish name that my great grandfather brought over to the United States in the early 1900s. There is a Killeen, Texas. Pena is my husband’s last name, another piece of Europe in the Americas, and I tacked it on to my own so that I would have something in common with my children.

My majors in college were English and Women and Gender Studies. At first I declared German as my major because I loved learning a foreign language and I was good at it. I quickly realized I had no idea what I would do with a BA in German and I switched to English, the other subject I had loved and excelled in all my life. My English degree was valuable to me because I learned so much about analyzing media and pop culture. At the University of Oregon I took a lot of film classes in my English program and I loved analyzing film like a text. What really changed my life though, was my Women and Gender Studies program. I had never encountered feminist theory before and that epistemology and way of thinking altered my brain. I was able to look at the world around me and pull it apart to put it back together again, in a new way. In the feminist literature I was reading, I found answers to questions I had been asking all of my life. I love being an English instructor because I love school – there is really no other way to put it. I have dreamed of being a teacher since I was a child and it was what I played most growing up. I think talking about books is like therapy. It is a way to understand the world around you and then change it based on the new perspectives and ideas you’ve encountered and absorbed. For me, teaching is just sharing my love of learning and thinking and books with other people.

I love reality tv. I watch it almost every day. I usually put on an episode of a Bravo show while I do chores or clean the house. I usually watch the newest episodes of my favorite shows when they come out, but I also love re-binging series from episode one. Rewatching a series I’ve seen a million times is comforting because it reminds me of the physical, mental, and emotional place I was in when I first watched the shows. I also like seeing how much culture has changed and getting an objective perspective on parts of my reality that I used to take for granted. Right now I am re-binging Vanderpump Rules. I am a Housewives fan and I love the Below Deck series. I basically spend every waking moment wishing someone would ask me about these shows so that I can overwhelm them with my knowledge of the series. I am really loving Taylor Swift right now – the pop icon and all she represents as well as her music. I saw the Barbie movie this summer and it was the first movie I’ve seen in theatres in a long time that made me genuinely laugh.

I am inspired by many people and many things, but the people I come back to the most in my greatest times of need for inspiration are Black activists, writers, and artists from the 1960s and 1970s. There is something so potent about their writing style and revolutionary ideas that still resonate today. The United States was at such a critical turning point in the Civil Rights era and the wave of Black activism at that time was so creative, insightful, and generative. I am also continually inspired by my children because of their resilience and their love of life.

Outside of the classroom, I am a postpartum doula, a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, and a writer. I love being in a community of people and taking care of others. At the same time, I also genuinely love my alone time and like to avoid everyone to recharge. I love being near the sea to relax (I miss my hometown of Seattle). I am an early riser and I like to go on walks.

This semester I anticipate that I will struggle to stay organized and get enough sleep. My main goal is to stay present. I will have to keep doing my yoga and meditation to maintain these goals.

In five years I see myself as an full time faculty member at a community college that I love and living in a home that is comfortable and near my family. I see myself going on vacations every year and enjoying time with my children and husband.

[bamboo72498]

15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

!Tagged by @her-pegship

Were you named after anyone? Yes, my middle name is the same as my Dad's mom (my Granny). I actually share it with a cousin on my dad's side too!

When was the last time you cried? Last month after a job interview didn't go well.

Do you have kids? No, not yet. maybe someday.

Do you use sarcasm? No, no of course not! Never! ;)

What's the first thing you notice about people? Usually their smile, or tone of voice or accent. Working retail, you hear a lot of voices and accents.

What's your eye color? milk chocolate brown.

Scary movies, or happy endings? Happy endings! I don't like scary movies at all!

Any special talents? Not really. I mean, I know a lot of obscure facts about things very few people care about!

Where were you born? In Santa Ana, California! Actually, at the hospital where my aunt used to work!

What are your hobbies? writing, reading, listening to the same music over and over, junk journaling

Have any pets? Not any more. My dog dies a few years ago. But maybe someday I'll get another. I really want a cat!

What sports do you/have you played? Real sports: indoor soccer for 2 years. I was a dancer and in marching band which TOTALLY count as sports in my book.

How tall are you? 5 feet, 3 inches (about 161 cm)

Favorite subject in school? English! and ASL ( I took it in college)

Dream Job? Teacher. Someday I'll reach that dream. But also, in an alternate universe, I could be a writer for TV or movies. Or maybe work in the camera department. that would be fun.

Tagging: @razztazticffn @bwayfan25 @themaradwrites @jmflowers @thefuturemrscaskett @bunysliper @thefifthmarauder @indestinatus @mrsmungus (and anyone else who wants to play! Tag, you're it!)

#writer #ask game #get to know me

[iworshipsappho]

referring to your tags on the tamil poetry post

the thing about cramming taking the fun and beauty out of languages is SO fucking real and i hate it sm (thanks indian education <3).

this reminds me of sanskrit when i learnt it in school bc at one point i started to hate in it 10th standard bc ONLY the marks mattered (plus the teacher who took out tuition at home was a bhakt who said the most inane and genocidal shit about muslim folks but that's another story)

and fuck...tamil sounds difficult to learn sdkhksdf. reminds me so much of malayalam with its koot-aksharam which are so difficult to figure out lol. according to my mom, malayalam grammar is hella difficult too so...yay

anyway power to tamil poets aksjhksd with all those strict grammar rules like wtf. thinking of shakespeare on the other hand who did whatever the fuck he wanted to do

(also psst psst gimme some good tamil poem recs na...i will try and search for its translations)

asdhsfhsk yeah the indian education system is so fucked in several aspects :') and yeah shitty teachers just ruin everything (the entitlement some of them have-)

tamil used to be so easy to learn back in like 1st-3rd grade bc as a mother tongue it was just very simple as we werent expected to actually write in like very proper tamil and the lessons were simple enuf. shit went bad in 4th grade and its been downhill ever since. the lessons are fun when u learn them but even then the teachers need to be like nice and interactive or you'll just fall asleep during class (which has unfortunately happened more than once this year for me)

and like when our teacher was talking about the yaapu illakkanam (grammar for poetry) i remember the whole class just groaning bc the only thing we were thinking was "if its so difficult why do we still have so many poems to study😭😭" i truly do not understand how thiruvalluvar, bhaarathiyar, avvaiyar and so much more wrote so many works- like ?????! honestly speaking english writer's have so much creative freedom and like they do smth that "breaks" the rules of grammar? boom genius who goes beyond what is accepted and is considered one of the greatest ever ashdsjfkgh

and for the poem recs hmm- i mean we have the staple thirukkural and avvaiyaar's athichoodi. the latter was one of the first ever set of poems we were taught when our languages started, its pretty simple to understand and like the starting letter of each line is in the order of the uyirezhuthukkal. and we have like 20 thirukkurals to learn each year so- (i have to learn and memorise ten and their meanings for just tmrw's exam :'])

but the poem i was talking about in post was இளைய தோழனுக்கு by மு.மேத்தா... and honestly that is one of the very few poems, like i said, that i actually enjoy fdhfjshgk

and sorry to disappoint, but even tho i have been studying and speaking in tamil for as long as i can remember, i cant remember any of the good poems ive read/learned 😭😭 my mind is just like blank except for the stuff ive studied for tmrw :')))

(will definitely let you know if i remember or come across smth nice, maybe that will help me actually develop an interest in the language...)

#anywaysssss gtg back to studying ashdjsfhkg #gotta practice my writing skills so yayyy definitely want to do that rn mhm yeah ;-; #welp #honestly tamil malayalam and telugu have a lot of overlaps and plenty in common fghsgfks #the history of the languages are so intricately connected and intersting that i actually enoy reading about them #the one thing i love about tamil is the history behind it and how common and adaptable it is even after centuries of being a both spoken #and written language #and the oldddd scriptures have still been preserved with hella care #and like we tamilians legit take so many measures to make sure that our hsitory is passed on and not forgotten and i love that #even tho im not very well versed in the language itself #being tamil is a crucial part of my identity even tho it doesnt seem like it #both irl or online but i genuinely love the fact that i get to share communicate and understand such an ancient language #:')) #avie tysm for actually making me think about tamil ahdsfsjkl if i can ignore the whole part of being forced to study and memorise stuff #i realise that the language IS genuinely so beautiful :'))) #<33 #asks. #stygianirondiangelo

[karenjk92]

PROJECT: Digital Citizenship

My Family Ancestors

My roots have taken place in two different places, really far away from each other.

I truly don’t know my dad’s family because he has a story, and it is amazing but at the same time depressing. I know my grandmother and I knew my grandfather, one time his parents. But they aren’t my family, my dad always told me to forget everything but the only thing that I can think when I looked at them is that they are guilty, and nothing will change that. At least they took care of him in Tulcan and then they had a journey to here, Quito. At least they never let him do drugs or stuff like that, something that could had happened if he had stayed in Colombia. I just can say that my father is unique and that makes me unique as well because I’m his daughter.

On the other hand, I have my mother and the gossip among the family will never stop. I absolutely admire my mom, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother. I can’t believe that my great-grandmother is still alive, but I can say that she has one of the most incredible stories; my brother always says that we have to hire a writer and tell him to write a book called: “Juanita La Huerfanita”. Because Juana, my great-grandmother, lost her parents when she was just a kid, but they gave her a lot of inheritance. I’m not kidding, they left her literally two entire mountains and some lands around Cocotog, one place in the countryside just nest to I live right know. That’s why my mother’s family dedicates to agriculture. My mom doesn’t do that anymore because she has a work as a teacher and she has no time for that, but I always admire her to study with all the limitations she had and thank her to give me everything she would have wanted at my age. She was the Queen of Gualo and she’s the Queen of my hearth.

In my generation I have my brother and my cousins and I don’t think I´m going to have children. We are a lot! And my brother fucked up and that’s why I’m afraid. The only thing that I can offer are my two gorgeous daughters: My kitty called Catalina Maria and my dog called Kira Nikolasa.

SUBJECT: ENGLISH

Student: Karen Loachamin

Teacher: Hugo Baño

#my writing #english #family

[readtilyoudie]

What was your relationship with books like as a child?

Jo: My family has always been very Pro-Book (at least until my teens where it was deemed "lazy" to sit around and read 🙃) My mother and I would read together often and she took me to the library for summer reading programs. When I say that I grew up in libraries, I mean it. I'd ride my bike or walk to them, or hang out there after school almost every day. Libraries were my sanctuary. Books were my sanctuary. I read everything I could get my hands on, which sometimes meant books ways above what some might deem as "age appropriate". When my stepmom came into the picture, she also loved to read (she is also an English teacher) and this was something we shared, listening to audiobooks on long trips and passing books back and forth. My grandmothers, too, encouraged it. Grandma Becky was an avid reader herself. Grandma Dot would buy me huge boxes of books as gifts. Books have been a love language in my family for generations. It's really no wonder that I want to become a writer.

inuy: I was encouraged to read as much and often as possible. I remember trips to the library and getting a huge stack of books and reading them almost immediately XD Maybe I was trying to catch up with my mom who could always get through at least 1-2 novels a night. 

#about the mods #asked and answered #mods answer #general

[teachandwrite-blog]

Notes From Public School 2022-2023 Day 5

“Do you ever think about leaving the teaching profession, about not being a teacher anymore?” asked a friend yesterday at one of my favorite places in Greenville, The Whale.

This is a dangerous question to ask a teacher during the first week of school.

I’m not a statistician (I’m an ELA guy, you know) but I’d guess the answer to that question would be a hard “YES” 100% of the time.

But I march to the beat of a different drum.

Always have and probably always will.

So I answered “No.”

It was a soft no, though.

I’m made of the dust of the ground, and I was certainly feeling walked on (stomped on?) after a long day in the classroom.

So my friend had to lean her ear close to me and ask, “What did you say?” when I said no.

It was more of a whisper than a thunderclap.

But “no” it was and, as I lay on my couch and this late Friday afternoon and reflect on my week, “no” it still is.

I’m not thinking about leaving the teaching profession.

I still want to be a teacher, even in this my 15th year of teaching.

Maybe the reason is somewhere in this self portrait I share with my students every year.

I’ll share it with you.

Self portrait:

My name is Trevor Scott Barton.

I was born and raised here in Greenville, S.C.

I went to Taylors Elementary School, in the same building where my grandpa, my mom and my dad went to high school.

When I was in 4th grade, I sat in an old, wooden, slat backed chair in front a wooden desk (probably the chair and desk at which my grandpa sat and learned all of those years ago).

During the first week of school, I stood up to go to the pencil sharpener.

A nail in the seat of the chair caught the pocket on the seat of my blue jeans and tore it off.

You could see my boxer shorts.

Oh the embarrassment!

I will always remember my teacher, Mrs. Ferguson, a beautiful Black woman who had come to my school to teach by way of a court order to desegregate public schools in South Carolina.

She wrapped me in her jacket, helped me laugh through that horrifying moment, and took me to the office so I could call my Mom and ask her to bring me another pair of jeans.

I want to be kind and helpful like her.

I went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I loved to read and write.

Still do.

My family and friends told me I was a good writer.

They believed in me more than I did.

I majored in English there.

I had some of the smartest, most accomplished Reading and Writing professors in the country.

Once, I sat in the office of one of those professors, my favorite teacher, Dr. Reid.

He had a bust of Ernest Hemingway on his desk.

He looked up from a story I had written for our class and looked out at me me.

"You kind of write like him," he said as he nodded his head toward Hemingway.

"So clear, concise and compassionate.

I am proud to be your teacher."

I want to say something to someone that would mean as much to them as those words meant to me.

Robin and I lived in the country of Mali in West Africa for three years.

One of our best friends was Momadu.

He was a cook for our mission compound.

He is one of the most humble, beautiful people I have ever met.

I’ll always remember his worn, dirty flip-flops laying on the ground in front of the door of our community house.

In Mali, flip-flops cost less than a dollar.

That doesn't seem like much money to most of us.

If my flip-flops were like his flip-flops, I would throw them away and buy a new pair.

One dollar, however, can buy three days of vegetables to put into a family's sauce, so when Momadu's flip-flop straps broke, he repaired them and kept on wearing them until they were worn completely out (and by that I mean returned to dust).

In the same way, Momadu keeps on loving and serving.

One day, on my birthday on May 13, Momadu met me at the door of the kitchen with a bright smile on his face and a twinkling light in his eyes.

"Close your eyes," he said.

He took my hand and led me to the table.

"Open your eyes," he said again.

I looked and there, on the table, was cheddar cheese meatloaf and French apple pie.

(How was he able to make those things in one of the most remote parts of the world? Well, that’s another story)

My favorite meal!

I want to be a friend like that.

Robin and I have 2 boys, Bakary Isaiah, who is a senior at The Citadel and has my African name, and Peter Ezekiel, who a freshman at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and has the name Peter because of my favorite character in my favorite picture book, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

Bakary loves to fish, play soccer, and lift weights.

Zeke loves to dance, play video games, and hang out with friends.

I love them and have spent their whole lives helping them learn and helping them become themselves.

As your teacher, I love you and want to help you learn and become yourself, too.

Yep, I think I’ll keep on being a teacher.