Memory Mondays: Terrapin Blog Hopping

This picture has nothing to do with anything.
It's me dressed as a cow.
It's precious. 

One of my fellow classmates decided that a blog hop/questionare would be a good idea. You can find the original post on Ezra's blog. Hope you enjoy my answers. This isn't quite a flashback post, but I figured this would be the most appropriate day to include this.

1. Where are you right now? (You can answer literally, or you can stop giving boring answers to every question you’re asked, and think outside the box.)

I'm currently relaxing in my on campus dorm. And by relaxing I mean avoiding doing any actual work even though I spent most of the day in bed recovering from feeling under the weather. I'll spare you the gross details. I'll do my work later...I promise. 

2. What keeps you blogging? Your pride? Your mom? Wanting someone other than your cat to tell you that you’re awesome?

I have always enjoyed writing, so I see blogging as my public place to put my thoughts out there. It would be cool to make a career of it someday. I keep my more private thoughts in my moleskine notebook, but you're not allowed to see those. No one is allowed to see those. 

3. What blogs or bloggers do you look to for inspiration, ideas, or just to get the blog side of your brain turned on?

In order to find some inspiration for the Flashback Friday posts, I often check out this Tumblr. It's just images, but that usually sparks some sort of idea for me. 

4. What is your most Terp-like quality? Is you’re not a Terp, well, I’m sorry, but you should be. Go out and get Terpy. Then report back with your newly acquired Terp quality.

Oh gosh, I'm not sure. Like the actual terrapin? Or Testudo? I love Testudo, so I will go with him. He's spirited, and I've been described at that as well. 

Testudo Hard at Work
Photo Credit: Testudo Times

5. If you could pick any celebrity or politician to give your blog a shout out via Twitter, who would it be?

It would only be appropriate to pick some sort of 90's idol. Nine year old Courtney would have loved a shout out from Aaron Carter. Said shout out would be much better than what he's tweeting now. 

6. Congrats. Wallace Loh stumbled upon your blog and wants to host an all-night party to celebrate your genius. You get to pick the campus building and the two professors who will be in charge of DJ-ing and food/drinks. Go:

My home away from home at school is Tawes, I study there, work there, and wish I could just sleep there. It's a beautiful building and the recital hall would be perfect for this all-night rager. The DJs depend on their musical taste. I'm just going to saw any professor can bring a mix CD and it will be potluck style. I can't pick favorites. 

7. And finally, a serious question. What have you learned from blogging? Did you learn about writing? Did you learn about people? Did you learn how easy it is to get distracted on the internet? (But jk on the last one; you already knew that, of course.)

I have learned a lot about creating my own voice. I've heard some of you seriously read it in my actual voice. I guess that's cool...sorry for the annoying pitch of it. I've also learned a lot about my classmates. Check out their blogs on the blogroll if you haven't already. 

Memory Mondays: A Glimpse at Me Today

Oh Hey There! It's Me. 

Hello dear reader! (Totally channeling a bit of Charlotte Bronte here) This blog has been going on for a few weeks now, but I just realized that you really probably know very little about the me that's not stuck in the 90s. I'm sure you've gathered that I'm an English major who loves, writing, disney things, pop bands, and anything that was on Nickelodeon in the 90s. But let's get a little more personal. Not like let's donate your kidney to me personal, but more of that hey here's some more about me personal.

Let's start with the basics. Let's pretend we're in Ms. Comstock's second grade class, and I was just picked to be the Student of the Week. Now you get to sit on the rug criss cross apple sauce and listen to me talk about myself. Enjoy kiddos. 

My favorite colors are coral and yellow.
 My favorite movies include Clue, Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, and Airplane! 
(If you like these movies or even know them, we should totally be best friends) 
My favorite TV show is Jeopardy! I also enjoy Arrested Development, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, and The Big Bang Theory. Basically, I like anything that will make me laugh. Yes, even Jeopardy makes me laugh...have you heard some of the "cool stories" people tell on there? 

English Major PSA
Always use Oxford Commas
Photo Credit: The Gloss.com

Wait where were we? Oh right. Time for some random facts!  


I like books, broadway musicals, and oxford commas.


I am a picky eater.


If bargain hunting were an olympic sport, I would win a gold medal.


I guess I should use this spot to go a little deeper. I am really not sure what to say, so I totally Googled "What to say when you're talking about yourself." Mainly things for job interviews came up. I guess I'll follow this one. 




1. Tell Them Who You Are

Oh look you get a bonus picture of me.
It must be your lucky day or something?
Or unlucky..
Self-Deprecating Humor. Yay.

Hi. I'm Courtney, but you should already know that. The example said I should add something exrta along the lines of "I am an extreme sports enthusiast who jumps out of airplanes and learned to fly them" I'm not, but that sounds cool, so let's go with that. 


2. Tell Them What You're Good At
I am good at doing what I like to call "English-y things." People tell me I write well, and when I'm not in one of those self-deprecating moods, I like to believe them. I mean, if you're reading this far, I must be doing something right. 


3. Provide a Call to Action
This is where I would tell you to hire me if we were at an interview. We're not, so I won't. But I will tell you to keep reading my blog, and please feel free to tell me a little bit about yourself in the comments! 


May All Your Memories Be Meaningful,
Courtney 

Memory Mondays: I was born to be an English major.

Little Courtney Writing Her First Novel

I remember calling my Mom some time last year in order to inform her that I had finally decided on a major. When I blurted out that I was going to become an English major, she retorted, "well, I'm not surprised." I fortunately dogged the age old question, "what are you going to do with that?"

Thinking back, it seems that the signs were always there. Take for example my favorite childhood film, Beauty and the Beast. Disney released Beauty and the Beast the year before I was born. In an effort to build our VHS collection of Disney Classics, my parents quickly purchased it before I could even recognize what a movie was. I remember I used to watch that film over and over. This was when we had to actually rewind films. I'm sure I completely wore that VHS tape out. I absolutely idolized the film's heroine, Belle. Not only was she pretty, but she shared my love of books. My favorite scene is definitely when the Beast unveils his sweet surprise to Belle: a huge library filled with thousands of books. I wanted that library. I still want that library. As a huge reader, it's going to be a perquisite for any future home.

I've just always been a reader. Most parents punish their children by sending them to the dreaded corner of silence otherwise known as time out. Some resort to a firm spanking. My parents were different. They took away my bedtime stories if I ever misbehaved. All it took was the mere threat of losing my beloved bedtime story, and I would instantly behave.

Eventually, my love of reading gave way to my passion for writing. Fun fact: I won a poetry award in third grade. It was an angst filled poem that could only come from the mind of an eight year old. It's rather ridiculous, and much to my dismay, my mother has it framed somewhere. How embarrassing. I would most definitely say I've grown since then, not just in height but as a writer...hopefully. If not, that's what my major is for! As an answer to the original question of what I'm going to do with that, I respond, "I'm going to do what I've always enjoyed." 

May all your memories be meaningful,

Courtney