2009 Reflection...

Two-thousand and nine has been a year of good and bad experiences in my life. My year started off horribly with the death of my Great Uncle Jerry (whom I was very close to), only a month after his mother’s death, my Great-Grandma. Also, Barack Obama was sworn into office. In February I finished a major scene in my novel, and also celebrated my parents’ fifth anniversary.  In March the Twilight DVD was released. In April I had my Ohio Achievement Tests. In May I went to the state Power of Pen competition. In June I turned thirteen and went to Myrtle Beach. In July I finished draft one of my novel. In August I returned back to school and As You Wish and Blood Promise were released. I also began re-writes of my novel (draft two). In September I learned about Leanna Renee Hieber and her novel The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, and I also met Ms. Hieber. Also, Catching Fire and Bran Hambric: The Farfeild Curse were released. I also went though the ten year anniversary of my mom’s death. In October nothing huge happened except for Halloween. In November I had a mini meet for POP and New Moon came out in theaters. In December I had a mini meet for POP at my school and scored first, I received the news that I had made the traveling team for POP, and of course Christmas passed.



That’s just a brief summary. Let’s run through some highlights.

Let’s start with going to the state Power of the Pen. It was an honor to be chosen to go, well, I wasn’t ‘chosen’ I qualified. My friend who went with me, the only other one, did the math and figured out that we had to be in the top 7% of writers in Power of the Pen to make it that far. It was truly an amazing experience and I’m going to try my hardest to make it back there this year. I would seriously consider going to college at the College of Wooster, but Ohio State will always be my first pick.

Next, finishing draft one of my novel was a huge experience for me. I cannot even explain to you the feeling that overcame me when I finished that last sentence--that last word. I suppose it’s something you would only know the feeling of if you’ve actually gone through the same thing. The idea that I can actually say ‘I’ve written a novel!’ was something that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. Then starting rewrites a little less than a month later was very exciting. So far, I don’t have much to show for four months writing (about 100 pages…), but I’m really liking where the story is going now and I really like the changes I’ve made. (Oh, by the way, the day that I finished my novel is the same day Jane Austen died…weird, huh?)

Perhaps one of the most major perks to this year has been meeting Ohio author, Leanna Renee Hieber, and reading her book. Ms. Hieber has given me so much encouragement and faith in writing that I truly do feel better and more comfortable in my writing and sharing it with people. As I’ve said, she has set the standards high for Ohio writers…which would happen to include me. Truly, the only Ohio author I knew of was Sharron Draper, and Leanna Renee Hieber is so much more of a better author in my opinion. I love how she writes and what her stories are about. And I most absolutely LOVE Alexi Rhychman. I recently ran into Ms. Hieber’s mom at the book store while buying Strangely Beautiful for my teachers, which was a cool experience. I hope that one day I can send my book to Leanna Renee Hieber and I hope that it makes her as happy as her book has made me.

Seeing New Moon in theaters on opening day was amazing and the movie was so much better than Twilight. New Moon left me with the impression that it was a ‘real’ movie whereas Twilight was more like…a ‘small-not-really-important-totally-underestimated-the-attention-it-would-get-film’. My love for Robert Pattinson as a person and actor grew with watching that movie. He’s truly talented and I can’t wait to see him do other movies outside of the Twilight Saga.

Placing first at the Power of the Pen mini meet at my school gave me an extra boost in my confidence that I really needed. It told me that I really can be good. I went into that meet thinking that if I didn’t place at this meet that there was no way that I would make the traveling team, therefore I wouldn’t go to districts, regionals, or state. I kept telling myself that whatever happened that night was God’s will and all I could do was give it my best. Then receiving the letter on Tuesday the 22 that said that I had made the traveling team was just like “Yes! You did it!”. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Of course bad things have happened this year, but I’d rather not go into detail about them--just because I want this to be a reflection of good things.

I guess I should probably mention the people who everyday give me support and love. My parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and siblings, of course. My writing mentor, JoAnne. My friends and teachers. Leanna Renee Hieber. My Power of the Pen coaches Mrs. Gottfried and Ms. Davis. And most importantly God and Jesus.

Truth be told, 2009 has been a whirlwind. It seems like just yesterday that I was at this time of year and reflecting on last year. I hope you’ll all continue to read my blog and be a part of my life this next year as you have been this year. Not only is this the end of the year--it’s the end of the decade! Can you believe it? I hope that God will bless you and your family and I hope that you and your family have a wonderful and blessed 2010.

With eternal love and blessings, (for the last time in 2009/this decade)

Officially Inspired