One Last Chance to be Offended in 2015

It seems we, the people of the internet, have found something new to be offended about. I feel like this year we have found more things to be offended about than any other year. We have been offended by cups, (Thanks Starbucks!). We have been offended by models taking pictures in wheelchairs (Thanks Jenner girl, whichever one you are). We have been offended by people reading books during speeches (Yes, I fell victim to this, hard). We have been offended by product placement (Thanks target and your genderless toy section, which I still haven't seen in real life). We have been offended by clothing (Thanks once again, Target, and your Trophy wife shirts). SO MANY THINGS TO BE OFFENDED ABOUT, SO LITTLE TIME!

Here we are on the last day of 2015 with something new to be offended about...

Again we go to the clothes; Old Navy, we the people of the internet are offended by your shirt. Except one thing is different, I am not offended. Don't get me wrong I don't like the shirt, at all, but I am not offended by it. I have decided in 2016, I am not going to be offended. I am not wasting my time on that feeling. I may not like what you say or do, but as long as it isn't an personal attack on me or my family, I am letting it go. I don't have time or energy for those icky feelings that come with being offended. Now, that doesn't mean I won't have an opinion or speak up, it just means, I am not going to let it eat me up or burn inside of me.

Now it is still 2015, so back to those offensive Old Navy shirts;

While I am not actually offended, I do know that I don't like them. I won't buy them and I wouldn't let the girls wear them unless they were painting. I could stop there, but what fun is that? I feel a list coming on...

Why I don't like these shirts

1. Writing; I don't usually buy shirts with writing on it for the girls. Most of the time the message is sassy and the girls don't need any extra sassy.

2. Design; I am afraid the crossing off of a word and then the "rewriting of another word" would only encourage my girls to vandalize my house, not that they need encouragement.

3. Message; Telling people that being an artist isn't good enough and you should aspire to greater things, well that is just unacceptable.

1. I am married to a guy who has a B.A. in Theater Arts, so O.N. are you saying he isn't good enough?
2. Most of my friends are very talented artists, so O. N. are you saying they aren't good enough?
3. My children love the arts, that is where their passions reside, so O. N. are you saying they aren't good enough?

4. Astronauts; what is so great about them anyway? All the astronauts I know always seem so aloof, with their heads in the clouds. (This is totally a joke! I don't mean to offend any of the astronauts that I know. Also a joke, I don't actually know any astronauts.)

5. President; Why in the world would I want my child to be a president? Those people are so stressed and always busy. They have to make major decisions that affect all the people. Plus, my future president child wouldn't be able to show up for family things, like birthdays, Sunday night dinners, and other celebrations, or I would have to invite the secret service and I don't have a house big enough for that. 

I am not offended by these shirts. I don't like them. I am not wasting any more time on these shirts. I have to prepare the karaoke station and the art station for our New Year's Eve party.

  

I'm a Winner

Boom Shakalaka! I did it! On November 1st I wrote the first word and by November 30th I had a finished story and 50,050 words. I am a winner. Is it the greatest story ever written? No. Will it get published? No, probably not. Will I share it with anyone? Maybe. 

So why in the world would I spend a month and countless hours writing this story? Just to see if I could. And I did! I set a goal and I went for it. The last few days were rough! I started day 27 20,000 words behind the ending goal. I wrote until my fingers cramped, my eyes crossed, and my back ached, but I managed to write 20,000 words in 3 days. That is a lot of freaking words!

I learned a lot while writing and I have decided when I grow up I would like to be an author...

Here are some of the things I learned:

1. Writing is scary; At least it is for me. I am putting down the thoughts in my head for all to see. No, I don't have psychopathic thoughts or thoughts that I should hide, but sharing what I am thinking is a nightmare for an introvert! 

2. I have really bad writing posture; I have bad posture in general, but it is exceptionally bad when I write, especially when I am really into what I am writing. I noticed I would have to stop after writing a long stream of thought and consciously make myself remove my shoulders from my ears. No wonder my back ached!

3. I need to take notes; I started the process with an outline. It was great, but after that the note taking stopped. I spent a lot of time having to go back through pages and pages of my work to remember little details; like jobs of characters, last names, and the name of the town... yes, I forgot the name of the town.

4. I need to have background music; I can't write in silence, which is good since my house isn't equipped with silent mode. I would turn on the Adult Alternative Music channel on TV or listen to Pandora as I typed. I have many new favorite songs and artists, like Joshua Radin, Boyce Avenue, Iron & Wine, and many others. I was inspired by artists that I have snubbed in the past. Don't hate, I am now a fan of One Direction.

5. Writing Hangover: Writing hangover is real, just like a book hangover, and I am suffering! I miss my characters. I wonder what they are doing. I want to talk about them. I want to talk to them. They were my friends. Now they are gone. Now I want to sit and cry and eat chocolate.

6. I enjoy writing: It is like a giant game of make believe and I don't have to argue with anyone over the plot. It is my game, all mine. I have fun figuring out the best words to use and which way I should use them to make my point clear. #Iamanerd

7. I am not terrible at writing: I know this isn't my best work, but it isn't terrible. The design of this contest isn't to produce the best book, it is to get you to produce a book. You need to write fast without second guessing yourself and you don't make major revisions. This is a first draft in the truest sense of the word. I really don't like to brag about myself, in fact, I find it very uncomfortable, but I really do have some great things in this story and I probably will share with people, at least the ones who have asked. 

8. Writing in my thing: I have often said that I don't have a "thing", like a talent or an outlet, but the more I write the more I think writing is my thing. 

9. The girls got behind me: They saw how important this was to me and they wanted to share in the adventure. A1 would sneak and read my story when I wasn't home. A2 would sit at the kitchen table and write her own stories as I was writing. A3 would lay on my bed and quietly watch her new favorite show, Yule Log, without talking for hours while I was working. They would ask my daily word stats. I think they are actually proud of me for this and that makes me even more proud of myself for doing this. 

10. I have some of the most supportive friends and family: I had encouragement throughout the process. Friends who told me to go for it in the beginning, when I said I was thinking about it. Friends who understood when I said I had to miss something because I was writing. Friends who would check on my process, ask me questions about the book, and were genuinely excited when I finished. My mom would text me to keep me motivated. Mac made many Starbucks runs and spent hours entertaining the girls so I could hide out and type alone. 

I know this probably won't be my last NaNoWriMo challenge and it won't be my last story. I have learned so much during this process and I can't wait to see what comes next!