The Rite of Passage

I presented a paper at my first literary conference yesterday. It was epic, like this.

Yes, that's right. Someday, high school students will read my conference paper and analyze (or attempt to analyze) it for its literary value. At which point, it will be made into an epic movie. My life is so awesome!

Anyway, my paper was on the symbolism of water in medieval literature. And I didn't put anyone in the audience to sleep! None of the six people who were there fell asleep, though many of them had that glazed-over look in their eyes. It was a sight to make any mother proud. I feel like I have succeeded in the Rite of Passage and can now enter Graduatedom. 3 more weeks!

In the meantime, I have plenty to smile at. Mostly these pictures of my feline family:



Mrreow!

In which I set some awesome goals

It is finally time for me to set goals for myself! I know, I know: you never thought this day would come. You never thought me capable. You agreed with my first-grade teacher when she said I was unorganized.

Ha! Here I am to prove you wrong! In fact, I will prove you Wrong, complete with a capital W!

My inspiration to fulfill these goals comes from horse racing. I enjoy horse racing, even though I wish they would wait to race the horses until their bones were more fully developed (R.I.P. Eight Belles and Barbaro). There is a movie you may have seen, and before the movie there was a book, and before the book there was the real thing: Seabiscuit, who is my inspiration today.

Seabiscuit was a funny-looking, lazy horse in the beginning.

As you can see, he was also short and stocky. His legs flailed out to the side when he ran.

This is what he was up against:

War Admiral aka Ridiculously Impossible Odds.

War Admiral was the favorite horse of western American racing. He was undefeated when he met Seabiscuit. Please observe his long legs and beautiful neck. He was a Paragon.

Well, they raced.


And Mr. Awkwardness came out on top! You could have fit four horses between him and War Admiral. Despite (or possibly because of) his weaknesses, Seabiscuit reached his finish line, defeating the Impossible Odds.

And so, Toni the Muse-Tiger presents her finish lines in the hopes of defeating Impossible Odds and magnifying the Light Within:

Physical
I. Exercise 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week
II. Maintain my "happy weight."
III. Eat something fresh every day.
IV. Limit desserts to one per day.
V. Drink 70 oz of water/fluid every day.

Mental
I. Turn in all homework assignments on time.
II. Read all assignments at least the day before.
III. Review schedule/planner every night.
IV. Reach gold-medal status in the Literary Olympics (more details to come).
V. Go to one baseball game.
VI. Go to one theatrical production.
VII. Go to one concert.
VIII. Go to one art museum.
IX. Go to one science museum.
X. Go to one zoo.

Positive Thinking
I. Replace every negative thought with a positive one.
II. Say only good things about other people, or don't say nuthin' at all.
III. Remember what is possible in your future.

I also have several spiritual goals written down in my scriptures.

Can I do it all?!

Yes, I can.

Somewhat Related But Mostly Just Exciting

The Third Book of the Hunger Games trilogy comes out August 24th! Let the Countdown to Awesomeness begin!

And no, I haven't forgotten about my goals. Come, they will.

Colorful Colorado

Gentle readers, greetings from Colorado! Specifically, greetings from DIA! I have been preparing my theme goals, but in the meantime, I wanted a shout-out from the greatest state in the nation!

Toni: Say hello to everyone.
Colorado: Hello!

There you go. An awesome shout-out from an awesome place.

2010 Theme

Whew! It's been a couple of amazing weeks! Apolo polished off his Olympics career with eight medals, and I scored a Personal Gold Medal: acceptance into the English MA program at BYU!!! Now that I'm in my last semester, having already achieved my gold, I need to focus and finish strong. If I never push myself, I'll never know what I can achieve.

With "pushing myself" in mind, I have decided that I need a theme for my activities and goals this year. For example, I am trying to strengthen myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. I'm also trying to strike a balance between all three forces. It's tough! There are a lot of things I want to accomplish this year. And so, I unveil my Personal Theme:

Light Within

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within." ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

FAQ (mostly by myself)

Where does this light come from? Knowledge and truth--the glory of God. To me, it represents the potential that is within you.

How do I obtain knowledge and truth? Even by study and also by faith.

How do I show my True Beauty? By having a body that is clean and pure like a glass phial (Light of Earendil, anyone?). Exercise, nutrition, spiritual strength, good and positive thoughts, etc.

What will the end result be? Oh, I don't know, but probably something cool like this:



You know, I've always loved the idea of being Toni the Tiger. But a tiger made out of light? So much awesomer. Especially since Apolo is the god of light. And the leader of the Greek muses. That means that I can be his muse-tiger. Mrreow.

Coming up next: specific goals from the muse-tiger.
Sneak preview: The Literary Olympics!