Blogs: A Gaze into Us

Hello again, dear reader.

Since last Sunday, there really hasn't been much. I wore a pretty awesome outfit Friday (pictured below). The site hit 1,000 visitors, so that is amazing. Love you guys so very much.

Andrew looks at my website, so I can't tell you what we are doing, but Andrew and I have a pretty big date this week. April 24th (Wednesday) is three years since we went to prom together my junior year as friends, which is pretty much when we met. (It's also when I knew I would end up in love with him) I am looking forward to that. 

Classes finish tomorrow, reading day Tuesday, and my only in-person exam is Wednesday. I have to take a couple online ones Thursday, but, just like that, I am almost done being a sophomore. 

Taylor Swift ended up dropping a double album, so I have been enjoying that lately.

I have a lot in the works for this summer, including an announcement in just over a week. 

I am working on an article right now to go up this week, and I have two (at least) lined up for this summer.

I feel like the last two have been the most laid-back and college blog posts of all time, but that's who I am. That's the phase of life I am in.

Wednesday, I will be going home for the summer, and that's where I have a feeling I will get a lot of stories for blogs. So, stay tuned.

Until then, love you, dear reader. You are loved. You are valued. Remember to eat. Drink water. Rest. Smile. You're awesome.

Farewell, dear reader. 

Welcome back again dear reader!

I’m not going to lie. This blog had me stumped. I released a website during spring break (obviously), and then I went back to school. I did all the college student things. Classes started again on the 11th, and here we are. I’m reading the Greek tragedy “Medea” in Heroes and Monsters, working on another article for Journalism 201 (which will be on the site in April), doing nothing interesting in Business 101, working on a project about being media wise in Media 101, learning the map of Mexican states in Spanish 102, and debating imaginary words in relative/adjectival clauses in Teaching and Applying Grammar. I went to a frat party in Aiken on the 16th (I did not drink; I am underage for that) (Also, shout out to Delta Sig). I just feel like I haven’t done much interesting for someone else to read about.

So instead of that, you get a top-secret sneak peek into Alyssa’s websiting if you choose to read today’s blog. 

Honestly, I have social media posts planned out for the month. I also have a list of specific days (National _______, World ______, etc.) that apply to the website for the year written down. Releases onto the site itself I only have for about two weeks at a time. The only couple exceptions are the last week of April for Earth Day and my anniversary, May 8th, some deeper poems I want to release for suicide prevention week in September, and a poem I want to release specifically on someone’s birthday because if famous people can, I can too. I make all the graphics-mostly on Canva. I ask my sisters and Mom if they have anything for the two-week block. Other than that, I just kind of randomly decide what I feel like putting out. Pretty simple. Honestly, for this next block, it’s probably going to be Andrew and me playing eenie meenie miney mo. 

So that’s really it about Alyssa. Shout out, Beckey, because her birthday is totally this week. If anyone else ever wants a shoutout, totally leave your birthday in the comments section on socials or use the “want to chat” feature on here. 

Because I am ultra-dramatic, please enjoy this quote:

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” ― Dr. Seuss

Please enjoy the things I post in the meantime, but until then, farewell, dear reader 

  At school, I have a project where a group and I make a business plan. My group is my best friend A and me. 

Our product is popsicles that are homemade with mango, blueberry, strawberry, and pop rocks. A will write a persuasive essay and design while I research the price. I am the math person which means I find the profit margin. 

The other groups are doing the same with more people, and we are all in war to see whose group wins the most teachers and our principal. Whoever wins gets 2 candies and bragging rights. 

It’s a lot of fun, but it makes us really hungry before lunch. 

This assignment is based on the book “Lemonade War.” This story is how a girl, Jessie, is skipping 3rd grade, and her brother is mad about it. And then they start a war. 

  Usually, these blog posts will be short spurts of what I’ve been up to since the last one with a picture or two. Other times, they’ll be just a bit on a specific day. My goal is for these to be 500 or less word tidbits just about life.  Today, I wanted to make it something a bit deeper. I wanted today’s blog to reflect why and what I’m doing. So, it’ll be a little longer and deeper than usual, but bear with me.

2004-I was born in July. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the details of my first birthday party-not that I remember it, that is. I won’t bore you with the details of my move to North Carolina in 2006. 

2009-The next place I will pick up is September, the September of kindergarten. This is the earliest I’ve found a short story from. Sure, I had dragged my brothers-bless their hearts- into playing dress up and putting on plays I wrote, directed, and (of course) starred in. But this was the first written story. From there, I caught a bug. I remember writing one about a sickly lion getting healed by a singing ladybug for my first-grade teacher for her birthday. If I had time, I was writing. If I wasn’t writing, I was reading. If I was in bed, I had a blanket over my head and a flashlight reading. I thought I was pulling one over on my mom, but looking back, she bought me a special light for reading at night that clipped onto the page-she was no fool. If I wasn’t doing one of those three things, I was daydreaming dialogue and writing a story in my mind until I could put it on paper. That’s all I could do. 

It was also an escape. My life was terrible for a long time. My father I grew up with was a terrible, abusive man. The week before my 10th birthday my little sister was diagnosed with cancer and almost died. I was led to believe the abuse and neglect was due to angering a higher power. 

2016-I started my first chapter book. 

2019-I finished it. That was everything. I worked on two sequels at once 3017 and 2019, neither of which are currently completely finished. 

As I got older, I realized poetry and what I have now called “never sent letters” were a way to communicate what I was going through and get it out all at once. 

2020-We also got kicked out that year and moved to North Augusta, SC. This is when we moved in with Tim, who I mean anytime I say “dad” from here on out-that was true even before he adopted me. Now, before you feel bad for me, this was the best thing to ever happen to me. 

2022 and 2023 - I wrote some poems periodically prior, but 2022 and 2023 picked up for me. Some of my experiences mentioned above are reflected in my poetry.

2022-I started college at Lander University, my dream school, as a biology major. Then a medical biology major and double minor in Spanish and business. 

Spring 2023-I change to medical biology major with a double minor in Spanish and English. Then to medical biology major with a double minor in Public Health and English. Then to medical biology major with a minor in nothing, considering Public Health or Media. Something just never felt right. 

Fall 2023-I change to medical biology major with a minor in professional writing. It felt closer to right, but still not quite. I decided to do something crazy-listen to my boyfriend. He had been imploring me to submit to Lander University’s student publication New Voices, but I told myself I could never. Not only would I get rejected, but also these were my personal feelings. Something changed, however, in 2023. I decided to throw caution to the wind and try it. My first poem, the first one I knew I wanted to submit, got accepted. After that went well, I decided to listen to my boyfriend again, but for something even bigger: switching my major completely. I switched to Professional Writing with a double minor in Media and Business Administration. Finally, something felt right.

Early 2024-January 24, 2024, my first poem, “Hero”, was officially published. I knew it was time to branch out. February 10, I texted my mom and my sister and said, “let’s do something crazy.” They took my crazy and said, “bro, that’s awesome. Let’s freaking do it.” And as such, here we are.

The best way I can describe why I want to write so badly are not even lines of my own. You will learn, dear reader, that I look up to Halsey in so many ways. (Like, I watched Sing 2 seven times in the summer I turned 19 because she has a role in it. As I am writing this blog post, Sing 2 is on as background noise, and I just turned it up because Halsey’s character just came in.) The best two lines to explain how I see the world come from the first poem of her poem book I Would Leave Me If I Could. The poem is called “Introduction” and lines 74-75 read as follows:

“I see all things in this world as more beautiful than I, and I spin the 

details of their atoms in every paragraph and brushstroke.”

The world is a beautiful place. All I want to do is capture it; all I want to do is experience it all.

So, dear reader, thank you for sticking around this long in my blurb. I swear they won’t be this long usually. I just wanted you to see me for who I am: a nineteen-year-old following a passion she’s had as long as she can physically remember.

Please enjoy the things I post in the meantime, but until then, farewell, dear reader.