Stuff.

I'm so creative with titles, am I not?

I know, I know, I haven't posted for nearly a month.  I've got reasons, though.  See, a couple weeks ago it hit me that I have just six months of my life left in which to do school.  No, I'm not going to die in six months (hopefully), but I am going to graduate (again, hopefully).  There are some other life-y things that are taking - and will continue to take - a great deal of mental and emotional energy as well.  So yeah.  There's that.  Also (and this one is more interesting), a week ago I got home from my first ever spiritual retreat! It was lovely.  I strongly encourage anyone who's never gone on one to check it out.  Mine was a silent retreat: no talking at all for two-and-a-half days, excepting hymns, rosary, and the like.  It was actually wonderful to not have to say anything.  I quite liked it.  When you don't have to worry about talking to people, your mind is free to listen to God.  The difference is pretty amazing.  Also, nuns are awesome. The end.

Here we have Sr. Mary Veronica playing basketball after retreat. Many of the sisters are scarily good at sports.

So...what else was I going to say?  Oh, yes.  I must ask a question.  What is your opinion on personal posts?  I hate writing them because it seems so very self-centered, plus I'm not sure I really want my life splattered across the internet, but sometimes I can't think of anything to talk about, and I don't know if it's better to complain run on about my petty little doings or to just stay silent until I think of something worth posting about.  Let me know what you think in the comments.

Speaking of personal posts, I have been tagged by multiple people since I last posted, and I just wanted to let y'all know that I'm not ignoring you - I shall get to the tags soon-ish-ish.  (For the uninitiated, two "ishes" means it will probably take double the time of one "ish."  You're welcome.)

Well, that's about it.  God bless, and if you're in the path of the hurricane, don't die.  Kay? Good then.
(please don't be offended - the weathermen's hype drives me crazy and that's my retaliation right there.)

Don't Be Alone

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I'm not really sure if I'm an introvert or not.  I do spend a lot of time alone, I need my space, and I don't like noise or large crowds, but on the other hand, I can definitely be a chatterbox and if I don't see anyone for too long I turn into a mushy mess of self-pitying loneliness. Introvert or not, we all need people - not just to make us happy, but to show us ourselves.   I know that sounds a bit pretentious and silly, but really.  We think we know ourselves best, that others don't understand us.  In reality, other people see things about us that we miss - quite often, unpleasant things that we shut our eyes to.  I think that when we spend too much time alone, we start to think that we're the best thing in creation.  Living in your own mind, you get all wrapped up in yourself, your preferences, your thought processes, which is nearly always bad.  I know that personally, when I spend too much time alone I start to think that I'm this extraordinarily superior, intelligent being, forced to suffer through the inferiority of a mundane, unintelligent world.  (That sentence would have been more effective if you could have heard the way my mental voice said it...)  When I go out among other people, though, all of a sudden I realize that I'm a normal person, not as smart as I could be, with plenty of annoying qualities and issues just like everyone else. Society (of the right kind) is quite humbling.


So basically, what I'm trying to say is don't be alone.  Not all the time.  I do not, of course, recommend a whirlwind of social events - indeed, I'm a firm believer in the value of quiet - but make sure you're not always alone.  It's especially easy (and tempting) to be too much alone in this day and age, with our iPods and laptops and whatever other gadgets we've got now.   But don't do it.  Call up a friend and make a date, help your mom make dinner,  hang around after church, whatever it takes.  Heck, sit in a mall and people-watch, if you have to.  But don't be alone.

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Feast of the Guardian Angels

Google Images, touched up in Pixlr.

 
From Tradition in Action: 

"The Angels are pure spirits, mighty Princes of Heaven who stand before God. They are burning fires of love, filled with the plenitude of happiness. No two Angels are alike and there are too many to be numbered. All of them are indescribably beautiful. 

There are angels in Heaven and also on earth, each with different jobs to do. Nations, cities, families, towns - all have their special Angels. St Thomas Aquinas teaches us that there are Angels that guide the stars, the moon, the sun, and the planets, keeping everything in harmony according to God's plan. Scripture tells us of the Angels that perform duties that some attribute to chance.

It is interesting to note that at the time of the Renaissance, Angels began to be portrayed as fat, sweet babies with wings. This artistic style continues to our day. It is a shame for such militant warriors to be reduced to these weak, infantile representations. In the mind of the viewer, the role of the Angel as protector and avenger fades away, replaced by a different idea. It is a subtle way of gradually changing the notion of the principle that life is a war between good and evil with the agents of each side fighting to win the souls of men. There is no spirit of fight in the fat baby angels – in fact, they are so smiling and happy that it appears nothing is amiss in their world."

 I like the idea of angels as strong protectors and warriors infinitely better than the idea of them as pretty figures with wings.  Angels are cool.  *refrains from multiple Doctor Who references*  Ahem.

made entirely by me via PicMonkey and Pixlr.

GUEST POST!

My guest post for Shaylynn's Tolkien Month got published on her blog this morning!  Eeeee!  I'm super excited - this was my first guest post ever, and on Shealynn's Fairy Shop, which is a long-time favorite of mine.  It was one of the very first blogs I ever discovered!  I am honored.

Check it out here, and be sure to read the rest of the Tolkien Month posts as well.

*blows dust from keyboard* (alternate title: complaints about schoolwork)

That title is metaphorical, actually.  My keyboard is used everyday and is never dusty.  But my *new post* button would definitely be dusty if was actually real and not just a combination of pixels.   I'm not gonna apologize about not posting for ten days, so if you wanted to hear that you can just skedaddle.  It's not happening.

September is a really busy month, apparently.  I figured it would be no different from August, but I was wrong.  You know the saying - "good grades, social life, blogging, and enough sleep: pick two."  (Well, maybe it doesn't go quite like that....)  September seems like it's going the month of good grades and social life.  BUT, I am working on my first guest post ever, which is awesome and scary.  It's a proof of my lack of time, though, that I only get about two sentences written at a time before I remember that I really need to answer the study question for English 11 because I have to do that and English 12 before the end of May, or I haven't done American Government for three days and I need to catch up, or...well, you get the idea.  Whoever said twelfth grade was the easiest is a LIAR.  DON'T LISTEN TO THEM.  It's really, really stressful.  You're welcome. 

Well, I'm off to clean stuff and write some of my guest post and watch babies.  Happy feast of the Nativity of Mary, by the way.