Versatile Blogger Award (3!)

This week I have been the recipient of another blog award! Thank you so much to Ben of Story Multiverse for giving me my third Versatile Blogger award.

And here are the rules:

1. Add a picture of the award. (Done!)
2. Thank your nominator. (Done – thanks again, Ben!)
3. Choose 15 other deserving bloggers. (You know my rules on this… if you’re in my blogroll to the right, you’re awesome and you get the nomination.)
4. List seven random facts about yourself. (See below.)

And here are more random factoids.

1. I wrote my first story when I was in fourth grade. It is the worst story in the universe, and yes, I still have it.

2. For some reason, I’ve been wanting to play basketball lately. I have no idea why. Probably because basketball is the only sport I have at least a rudimentary understanding of.

3. If I read a fantasy novel, it has to have a romantic subplot, otherwise, I just won’t be that invested in it.

4. I weighed five pounds, two ounces when I was born (and I wasn’t premature).

5. When I was in 9th and 10th grade, my favorite part of the day was night time, when I would write in my journal and listen to music. Those were some good times.

6. I can’t dance. Or swim. Instead, I flail around aimlessly.

7. If I ever have a son, his name will be Peter.

If you’re in my blogroll, feel free to accept the award and post it to your blog.

Controversial Topics #1

Last week, I said I was going to write about some controversial topics, not because I want to start drama or blast people with my opinion, but because I’ve wanted to write about them… to be brave. So here goes…

Abortion. It’s quite a complex matter. Some believe that abortion is the murder of an unborn child. Some believe that abortion is a simple and safe medical procedure. And of course, there are opinions between the extremes. I’ve followed both sides of the abortion debate on Tumblr for quite some time, and I’m actually impressed by how well people argue for their side of the issue: by using legitimate sources and not resorting to flame wars or ad hominem attacks.

I personally believe that life is sacred. I believe that sex is sacred and is not to be taken lightly. When you have sex, you are responsible for the consequences every time you have sex. The purpose of sex is to create new lives, and thus the biggest consequence of sex is pregnancy, which is how life begins. We all began life as tiny balls of cells hidden inside our mothers… unless we were born in a test tube, which is an entirely different debate.

It’s easy to paint with black and white and say, “Abortion can never be justified,” or “abortion can be justified in all cases.” What about children that would be born with severe illnesses or disabilities? What about cases of rape or incest? What about times when the mother’s life would be in danger if she carried a pregnancy to term? There are all kinds of unique cases that aren’t easy to put in black and white. That’s where the lines become blurred and we start to talk about the quality of life, among other factors.

Yes, I believe life is sacred and is not something that should be taken lightly. Quality of life is a big factor in the abortion debate. It is true that being born of a forced union (rape) or being born with a disability or illness would possibly hinder quality of life. But quality of life is subjective. Your idea of a “high” quality of life might be different from mine. Who’s to say that one person’s quality of life is better than anyone else’s? It’s a question I honestly cannot answer. But does life become any less sacred when quality of life is perceived as low? I don’t think so. Life is life, and to me, life is all equally sacred.

I will not speak for anyone else. You might have had an abortion. I will not hate you or make you feel guilty. It was your choice, and in your eyes, it was justified. You might have sex. But the responsibility for your sexual activities is not mine. It’s yours. And the choices you make about the consequences of sex are not mine to judge. I don’t believe people have a right to tell others what to do with their bodies, whether that’s to get an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term. Yes, by all means – guide others and give advice, but above all, THEIR CHOICE IS THEIR OWN.

Feel free to share whatever thoughts you like.

When Life Gets in the Way

I had some pretty ambitious plans for my works in progress this year. I also wanted to revise THE ARCHIVES and work on the project I had started for NaNoWriMo in November. (But I can’t keep that project and its characters out of my head; they’re begging me to write about them, so it never ended in November!)

But then life got in the way. Work got in the way. From the start of 2012, I’ve been working 40+ hours a week with only four days off this month. That took over my entire schedule, so my ambitious plans just weren’t possible. Time I would have spent writing was instead spent catching up on sleep and being with my loved ones.

Luckily, I managed to reform my writing and revision schedule so it’s easier and less stressful on me. Writing is probably the number one joy in my life, and I’d hate for it to become a chore.

Yes, life does get in the way, and when it does, it’s important to realize your deepest values and what you’d most like to achieve. Time becomes even more precious and it’s important to be aware of how and with whom you spend it. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself what or who is most important to you… and schedule time for those things or people. It’s true that sometimes you have to make sacrifices, but what you really want above all is to be happy and productive… without getting burnt out.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Thanks so much to Jeff Walker for nominating me for this award! Weirdly enough, I wasn’t following him before, but now I am!

The rules of this award are as follows: List 10 random facts about yourself and pass the award on to six other bloggers. So here are ten more random facts about me (in addition to those I’ve listed on other blog award posts):

1. I hate being late. For anything.
2. The things that irk me most about the human race are our impatience and our sense of entitlement.
3. I still play Pokemon. (The video games, not the card game.)
4. I can sit quietly for hours and do nothing but think. (Maybe not motionlessly, but quietly.)
5. I believe in ghosts, angels, and demons.
6. If I’m bored, I will proofread/copyedit any written thing in the vicinity.
7. At any given time, I have a song stuck in my head. Right now it’s “Whatever You Like” by T.I.
8. I’m easily amused. This is a good thing, but it’s also bad in some ways.
9. I’m not a vegetarian, but I hate steak.
10. I’m still trying to decide whether I’m more of a cat person or more of a dog person.

And here are six blogs that are quite awesome and that deserve to be read. They’re not necessarily WordPress blogs, just blogs I enjoy reading.

1. Florence in Print
2. Ignorant Historian
3. Jennifer Welborn Writes
4. My Simple Inspiration
5. Writers in the Storm
6. Yeah Write!

Thanks again, Jeff!

Wants vs. Needs

I might have blogged about this before, but a conversation with my best friend made me think about it again.

When you’re younger, it’s hard to tell the difference between wants and needs. When you were walking through the toy store and you saw a toy you liked, you probably begged your mom for it, citing how much you “needed” that toy because it was the latest, the greatest, and the coolest thing.

But of course, you didn’t “need” that toy. You only wanted it. A need is something that is essential for your survival and the basic needs are food, water, shelter, and human companionship.

What’s interesting about our society in America today is that the majority of our nation’s citizens have those basic needs totally fulfilled, so we don’t know what it’s like to NEED something. That’s why I think that a lot of us get our wants confused with our needs. Yes, it’s easy to say we need the latest iPad or smart phone or whatever, but if you think about it, the technology we have is sufficient. (It’s another story if you do NEED that type of thing in order to succeed at a job or something.)

It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting, and not appreciating the things we have that fulfill our basic needs: the food in our cabinet and refrigerator, the water from our tap, our loved ones, the roof over our heads, the steady job that allows us to keep our needs fulfilled, etc.

So the next time you find yourself wanting something, ask yourself… do I really need that?