NaNoWriMo...I'm in!

It is official. I, Sarah Beth, am an official participant of National Novel Writers' Month. The idea is to write {at leas}t 50,000 words during the month of November. there is a web site where you can enter your word count daily and also communicate with " writing buddies" from your geographical area & even around the world.

This year I am focusing on FUN...and not quality. As a matter of fact this year's genre is a Young Adult Paranormal novel about a coming-of-age female vampire.

Yup. I'm writing a vampire novella.

 My heroine, Katharine { or Kat, as she'll be known to my readers} is the anti-Bella Swan.  My heroine is strong, confident & ready to fulfill her destiny. Unlike Bella, Kat embraces the changes that fate has forced upon her.

Naturally, my young heroine will have a love interest, but her object of affection will be her 18th Century British Lit professor. He is a tall, dark and handsome....human.

Stay tuned, as I have not yet worked out the details of that plot line yet!

 Kat knows that pairings between vampires & humans is forbidden---she herself is the result of a young human man falling in love with an impressionable vampire girl. In order to protect her, Kat's parents placed her with a human family who were childhood friends of her father. Kat loves her foster parents very much, but from the tender age of four, she knew she was inherently different..

Here we go......

One Bread, One Body

I've been on vacation for the past 11 days , and it has been wonderful.

The majority of my time here in Appalachia was spent at my godparents' campground in Ohio. I swam, boated, and hiked all over the place & visited with several friends from high school . One of the highlights of my time at the lake was a long-awaited { 16 years!!} reunion with a friend from First College.

Naturally I took many photos & eventually I will pare down the " best of the best" of the vacation photos for public viewing.

Today I will go to Roman Catholic mass at St Pauls' Roman Catholic Parish here in Steel Town, PA. While it is true that I am a proud Episcopalian, at heart I am a high-Church Anglo-Catholic. As a matter of fact, when I was in the middle of my faith-identity crisis---I {albeit briefly} considered officially returning to the Roman Church. There are a myriad of reasons why I felt led to Anglicanism, but the main reason is our style of worship & other Traditions mirror that of the Roman Church.

Some of my Roman Catholic friends will totally disagree with me, but I feel that Anglican & Roman Catholics ARE different branches of the same Body of Christ. My reasons for choosing the Anglican way over the Roman  had to do with human-made rules.

We are all part of One Bread & One Body.

Amen.

"A Light In The Darkness, O God, Help Us Be"

The photo shown below  derives its name from the motto of the sorority of which I was a part when I was a student at West Liberty State College { now University} in West Virginia. Kappa Phi is a national Greek-letter organization of college-aged women who strive to live as close to Our Lord Jesus Christ as possible. I did not graduate from West Liberty, but my time there as an active Kappa Phi sister played a major part of who I am now & who I will become. I would have continued my tenure as an active Kappa Phi at The University of West Florida, but there was no established chapter there & at that time in my life all I cared about was working & studying. A sorority, even a Christ-centered one such as Kappa Phi, was not part of my plans for my time at UWF.

I took this photo before Mass this morning & used some basic editing to obtain the desired effects. Lately I've felt contemplative &...dare I say it" dark" and photography is a way in which  express my emotions. As do many people with autism, sometimes verbal communication fails me & since I "think in pictures"  I wanted to share my thoughts with the world through the medium of photography.

It is hard to be a " light in the darkness" when one faces physical challenges that can pre-suppose oneself to self-pity. Today's homily really made me ponder why I feel like my limitations{ physically not being able to drive is the bgges issue} is a BIG hindrance for me. I've never felt " good enough" because my limitations, while invisible to the unknowing eye, keep me from doing what" normal" American adults can do{ DRIVING A CAR is still my biggest hang-up}

I'm like the jealous brother in today's Gospel parable. It pains me to admit this, but I am. It is hard for me to count my own blessings & easy for me to say" But I WANT_______." "Why must I __________"Why does my brother_______ & I cannot?"

I want what most American adults take for granted, the ability to drive a car & the basic social skills that would allow me to complete tasks such as grocery shopping without feeling sensory overload. Sometimes I hate my autism. To me, it is a huge hindrance to realizing my potential. I'm envious of people with the social skills that can sustain sitting on committees.  I wish I could read subtle body language & vocal inflections.

But as I gazed at this photo { after editing it} I realized that ALL Christians are Lights in the Darkness} No matter what we bring to the altar, Christ accepts us & has a ministry ..or two or three for us in Christ's Church Universal. I God's view , I AM " good enough" & I need not envy the gifts that others possess. I should be more like the father in today's parable, welcoming BOTH his sons to the feast. I shouldn't envy others who are " normal" & instead celebrate their gifts as well as my own.

A light in the darkness, O God help us be. Amen.

#ThisIsWhatAFeministLooksLike: Ms Mamie Hixon

Today's " she-ro" isn't world-famous. As a matter of fact, I doubt that too many people outside of the Pensacola metropolitan Statistical Area's writing/literature community even know her name. She, however, is the only literature professor at UWF whose works have affected me in a positive way.

Ms Hixon teaches at the University of West Florida's English & World Languages department.  In addition to teaching, she also oversees the writing laboratory at UWF.

I met Ms Hixon when I was a student in her class . I needed an American Literature elective & there was room in her "Black Women Writers" course.

Her pedology involves asking students to analyze the selected works of literature themselves, rather than to produce " research papers" full of analysis' from other { mostly dead , white men} people . To me, this is the way literature SHOULD be taught. I never understood the reasoning behind making students regurgitate

I also love how Ms Hixon dresses. She is the only woman I know who can pull off the muumuu & still remain professional.

Ms Hixon & I agreed to disagree regarding the fact  that there are *other* American minorities that are worthy of an academic discipline. Her main focus is on the plight of African-Americans throughout the history of the United States{ a plight that is very real to me, for personal as well as academic reasons} I admire Ms Hixon's zest for her heritage.

Teachers of English rock my world!