Post-grad/summer life

So I graduated university 2 weeks ago exactly. I have abandoned the one identity I have been comfortably walking around in—student. As I walked across the stage to get my not-diploma in three different ceremonies (honors, bachelor 1, bachelor 2), I felt like I was shedding my skin in front of hundreds of people I didn’t know and asked to smile and pose while doing so.

Now I’m here, in the lull of summer days with no routine or purpose, no expectations, at least for a short while. I will be starting an internship in June that will have me working 40 hours a week. This sounds painful but also welcome. Boredom comes quite easily to me. I have plenty to do of course, but yet boredom still sneaks up on me because my brain begin an over-analytical inner monologue and then I end up thinking about the utter pointlessness to whatever activity I’m engaging in.

I’m trying to jumpstart the creative engine of my brain this summer and hope it lasts into the next year. Creativity comes from habit, routine, practice, action, perspiration, therefore I need to establish that for myself. I can’t let my characters, dialogue and plot points float around without a page to land on. Some sort of direction must be delineated, much like my own personal/professional life.

One of my best friends gifted me this wonderful 5 year journal that asks you a question each day with a few lines to answer. So far, I’ve been writing in it everyday and it’s been good. Here’s the cute little thing:

Also, I found this cool reading list of writers on writing compiled by a website called brainpicker. Check it out and see if it inspires you:)

My current dilemma is that I have four different novel ideas I started over the past 4 years in college and I’m having difficulty deciding on which one to come back to or if I should just start fresh with something completely different? Thoughts?

I really want to put together a good writing playlist on Spotify. Music keeps me going, so if you have any suggestions, I can add them in. I’m currently enjoying the lovely Sia. I don’t know why, but she looks like what I imagine is my writing muse: deeply passionate, profound, but also whimsical and fun.

Anyhow, enough rambling from me. I’m looking forward to rediscovering myself in the coming months and see what progress I make with my writing. This is supposed to be when my real life begins, right? Let’s hope it’s also when my real writing begins, hehe.

On new beginnings (or wow, I just noticed last time I posted here was five months ago)

Tags

Amy Poehler, audiobook, Bossypants, humor writing, Sarah Palin, Second City, Tina Fey

It’s February. Second month of the year. The shortest month. So of course I’ve decided to pick this month to renew my intention to write more and post more on this blog. Whether it’s a poem, a few sentences, a word, an article about writing or some fabulous book, there has to be something I can write about on this blog right? I mean blogs make writing SO easy. We have a built in platform and media buttons and all kinds of nifty things to get our precious words sent out into the universe to never be read by another living soul except for spambots. But they don’t have souls, so that doesn’t count.

I’ve begun reading/listening to Bossypants by Tina Fey which I downloaded on Audible (oh yeah, I got a smartphone. Let’s just attribute my absence to that marvelous piece of technology), who is by far one of my favorite comedians. Notice I used comedian and not the feminine alternative, comedienne, because let’s face it, Tina is far funnier than most comedians male or female and doesn’t deserve to be relegated into a special breed of joke tellers that menstruate.

Tina’s improv memories with the Second City brought me back to my own illustrious improv career in 5th and 6th grade, where I was the star of the troupe because I was a master at stereotypical accents and was willing to always say “Yes, and” which is one of the major building blocks of good improv acting.

As I listened to her awkwardly painful but smart journey into becoming a successful “woman in comedy” who gets to boss people around, I became inspired to start writing again. Because for all her crazy anecdotes about working at the YMCA, having a horrible honeymoon on a cruise ship and growing up with summer showtime and befriending the cool gays, I realized I have just as many ridiculous coming-of-age/gender/life purpose stories in my life. And I’ve also been called intimidating too for being a good student, being active on campus and in the community, and just being able to make statements that don’t end in questions.

Now this doesn’t mean I’m going to write a memoir anytime soon. I’m not up there with Justin Beiber and Miley Cyrus. What I do want to do is dabble in some humor writing and short stories, because I like laughing and not taking forever to do so.  I also want my stories to have a point though. Every good joke has a thesis statement even if you’re not trying to be serious. I realized that’s what made Tina Fey and Amy Poehler‘s sketch together as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton so brilliant. Correction: Tina made me realize that because she said so in her audiobook in the chapter I’m in.

Thanks to Tina, I’m not afraid of being called Bossypants either, because if I even have a modicum of her success–producing my own show, writing an awesome screenplay like Mean Girls, doing Weekend Update…yea I think I’ve had a pretty good life.

So what you should take away from this post is GO OUT AND GET BOSSYPANTS. Read  it but preferably listen. Nothing quite like having Tina talk to you while eating breakfast, driving in the car, or sitting around your apartment avoiding your homework. I have to pause the narration so many times because I’m still laughing and processing what she just said

Happy February! Hopefully you’ll be seeing me around here more.

The Liebster Award

My lovely friend, Savannah, over at Untethered as a Cloud, has nominated me for The Liebster Blog award. I was not previously aware of this award but it is given to up and coming bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. Also “Liebster” means “dearest” in German, isn’t that adorable

The Rules:

1. If you are tagged/nominated, you have to post 11 facts about yourself.
2. Then you answer the 11 questions the tagger has given you & make 11 questions for the people you are going to tag.
3. Tag 11 more bloggers, and let them know.
4. No tagging back.
5. The person you tag must have fewer than 200 followers.

11 facts about me:

1. I love cats.
2. I multitask all the time and can’t stop it.
3. I wish I could really play guitar, because I only took lessons for one semester in high school
4. My favorite food is the potato.
5. I have lots of scary “what-if” dreams about what my family and friends would do if I died, like in The Lovely Bones.
6. My favorite movie is The Lion King.
7. I like going out with a fresh face, but also adore wearing liquid eyeliner.
8. I had an imaginary friend when I was young, but I could never remember to play with her.
9. My favorite kind of ice cream is Haagen-Dazs’ Caramel Cone.
10. I love cats and will name my first one Mufasa.
11. I hate the heat.

Now I answer the questions that Savannah posed to me.

My 11 questions for these fine bloggers:

1. If you could be any music album, which album would you be? This is a fun question! I think I’d be Florence + the Machine’s Lungs, because it’s powerful, deep and soul-searching. 
2. What is the first thing you do every morning? (After you pee.) Brush my teeth, because I can’t stand the taste of morning breath.
3. Which book has impacted your life the most? The Alchemist. The journey to find one’s purpose and recognize the universe’s signs really resonated with me at the right time.
4. Which cartoons/comics did you watch/read as a child? Arthur
5. What is your favorite day of the week, and why? Saturdays, because it’s the first day I can usually sleep in.
6. If you could be a city, which city would you be? Seattle-literary, coastal, chill.
7. Who is your favorite fictional protagonist? Granger, Hermione Granger.
8. White, red or rosé? White.
9. Why did you start blogging? I wanted to share my stories and thoughts with the world and publishing takes too long.
10. What are your goals as a blogger? To network with cool writers and visionaries and make writing a daily routine.
11. How did you spend your last birthday? I had a joint birthday party with a friend and invited our close friends over to my house.

Okay now for my 11 questions.

1. What’s the last good meal you ate?

2. If you had an alter ego, what would his/her name be?

3. What’s an animal you are afraid of and why?

4. What are your top 3 favorite buildings?

5. What’s your favorite language?

6. Do you believe in Internet addiction?

7. What’s one song you love but still don’t know all the words to?

8. What’s one of your favorite books from childhood?

9. What’s a common misconception people have of you?

10. What’s your most rebellious moment in your life?

11. What’s your favorite inspiring quote about writing?

Finally, my last duty is to nominate more bloggers for the award!

• the fatal feminist
• A Muslimah Writes
• distraction no. 99
• Writing on the sidewalk
• Throwing Up Words
• BeKindRewrite
• All Around Ana
• The Invisible Veil
• The Journalist in a Jumpsuit
• Gourmet Gab
• ANUSHAY’S POINT

Readers by Author: 2010 Edition

Reblogged from the best little bookshelf in texas:

Well, the snow is falling, I’ve been Christmas caroling all around my Muslim village, and it’s beginning to look a lot like the season for a re-posted new edition of Readers by Author, my rudest and most popular post to date. This, an idea copied from Lauren Leto’s blog, is a short list of what you might (and should) extrapolate about a person once you hear them mention how they “

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Rashad Alakbarov Paints with Shadows and Light

Reblogged from Cat in water:

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Artist Rashad Alakbarov from Azerbaijan uses suspended translucent objects and other found materials to create light and shadow paintings on walls. The best part is that you can easily create something similar at home – all you need is one or two lamps and some items from your desk.

The stunning light painting below, made with an array of colored airplanes has found its way to exhibitions like the…

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Inspiration can come from anywhere. I just love visual art:)

A Writer’s Bloq Party

Tags

online writing sites

Writing is hard. You don’t need me to tell you that, but it remains to be seen how to overcome the challenges of the publishing industry and isolating journey of pouring out your heart and soul on paper.

I’ve joined other online writing communities in the past beginning with TeenInk and then inkpop and finally figment. These are great sites dedicated to cultivating young writers and getting young adult lit published through user voting and contests.

But I’ve had my concerns about these sites, mostly in that there seems to be an emphasis on popularity over quality. I have full faith that there are in fact brilliant writers of the tween generation but not a whole lot. My work and that of the 20-somethings and beyond will not be appreciated or read if we don’t befriend every person on the site, write cliche and cutesy teen-related topics and spend countless hours liking and trading “hearts” to boost ourselves up to gain attention from the mass public. The contests sounded fun and I love how integrated the sites were with my favorite popular YA authors, but it just wasn’t a good fit.

So I have been looking for a more professional, serious yet fun online space that I could feel at home in and I think I’ve finally found it: Writer’s Bloq.

Founded by a Columbia alum, Naya Moysidis, (@NAYIAisms) Writer’s Bloq is a place where “you can share your writing with the world.  You can create a literary portfolio to exhibit all of your work, published and unpublished, short stories and novels, poems and memoirs, everything you have.  Share your work with other talented writers and dedicated readers, with people who really care, with a literary community that wants to hear your voice.”

Writer’s Bloq understands that “the best writers of our generation are overlooked,” so the writers on the Bloq is made for writers who have experienced this unfortunate problem and promotes cooperation and innovation.

Writer’s Bloq also just launched its first Quarterly, first two novels, and first tour, the Bloqparty, on Kickstarter.

You should also read this great article by Naya for The Levo League about her road to creating Writer’s Bloq for lessons not just on  writing but on persevering and learning from obstacles to do what you love.

So I hope you sign up and let me know what you think. I’m excited to connect with a diverse group of talented writers all over the web and improve my portfolio at the same time!

See you on the Bloq!

 

A Response to Imam Khalid Latif

Reblogged from Hollywood Hijabi:

Dear Imam,

I'm sorry to hear about Sherman Hemsley. I'm not familiar with the show he worked on, but I can kind of guess - I've been studying Good Times, The Cosby Show and All in the Family for a thesis paper I'm writing on African Americans and Television. My argument includes proving that those kinds of shows were beneficial to White America in exactly the way you said.

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Love this post! You have a fellow Muslimah writer supporting your dreams!

and then you’ll be free

have you seen him?
the white, godless, privileged male
version of my self

he exists out in the realm of my mind between black and white
where only grey matters
where the divine can’t reach me
where the poor don’t touch me
where the women don’t control me
where the minorities don’t dilute me

my liberation is bound up in his
only his restless, sinful soul will quench my thirst for purpose
for true fulfillment

because you see the way i am right now
i am the lowest of the low
the poorest of the poor
my shackles and fetters will not vanish simply if i turn my head away from mecca
my skin color still remains
my gender still remains
i’m still me
in your eyes, i will never escape from the bondage of inferiority

i can only be free when i become him
the white, godless, privileged male
version of my self
and then i will rise
rise
rise

and you will stand beside me
and say, “see, that wasn’t so hard was it? now why can’t the rest of your people do that?”

How An Idea Becomes A Book

Tags

publishing

Ahh so that’s how it’s done!

On having crushes and feeling complete

Reblogged from Sevilla Awakened:

Five months ago in Spain, I wrote a note to a new friend, telling him that talking to him made me realize how much I have recovered from the emotional mess I was in when I landed in the new country. I think I wrote something along the lines of this:

"When I first realized I liked you a bit, I was actually really happy.

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Beautiful. I tweeted about this last night that I just don't find realistic, thought-provoking discussions of romance and feelings by females in a lot of popular books and movies. We fall into these contrived roles and feed each other lines, without actually thinking about our full, complete lives and where love actually fits into our hearts. On a personal level, I can relate to her feelings so much. As a writer, I can't help but think I would love to read a book with Jenny's voice in it :)