Em's Blog

       Recently, I took a trip to Rome, Italy.  It was a trip of a life time.   I went with a group of 12 youth, (including myself) and four adult chaperones accompanied us on our way.  It was a religious pilgrimage and I think I can safely say that everyone enjoyed the trip immensly.                                          

      As we arrived in Rome and made our way to our accomodations, I was amazed at all the beautiful buildings and architecture.  It was just what I had hoped that Rome would look like.  On our trip, our group continued to be amazed at all the beautiful places we saw.  We made our way to the Vatican and marveled at the beauty and grandeur of St. Peter’s Bascilica.  We were astonished by the fact that people were able to build something as magnificent as St. Peter’s Bascilica so many years ago.   We had the chance to make our way to the top of the dome of St. Peter’s; we first took an elevator and then climbed 328 steps to the top!  The view of Rome was absolutely breath taking!

        Our group was again amazed when we toured the Vatican Museum and then the Sistine Chapel.   Our tour guide was excellent and I myself learned very much.  We also had the oppurtunity to attend a Papal audience and a Papal Mass.  We were privilaged that both times we were able to get very close to the Holy Father. 

      Our accomodation was only a few blocks from the Collesium so seeing this structure was a daily occurence.  It never go old though!   From the beautiful churches to all the cafes and gelato shops, Rome was definitely a city to experience. 

      Near the end of our trip, our group departed from the business and noise of Rome, and escaped to the outer parts of Rome.  We went on a road trip to Lanciano to view the church where a Eucharistic miracle occured.  We then made our way to San Giovanni Rotondo, the city where St. Padre Pio lived.   This road trip was a nice break from Rome, and the car rides were a lot of fun….

        Before returning to Rome, we stopped and visited the Mediterranean Sea, and then stopped at Pompei.   We returned to Rome and prepared to head back home the next morning.   The pasta, gelato, churches, history, and culture of Italy was great to experience.  After being in Italy for ten days however, I gained a new appreciation for living in Southwest Minnesota.  It was an experience I will never forget, but it was good to come home to Minneota, even if it was blizzarding out!

      Sales!  Doorbusters!  During the holiday season we see these slogans everywhere.  People are caught up in the craziness of rushing to this sale, not missing out on that doorbuster, or getting the perfect present.  This holiday craziness even manages to start as early as September when the stores start getting their Christmas department set up.   The holiday craziness seems to start earlier and earlier every year.

     Perhaps we should take a look at the true meaning of Christmas.  Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus.  It is a time we spend with our families and celebrate Chist’s birthday.  It seems many have forgot the true meaning of Christmas.  People get so caught of in the materialistic things of Christmas and forget to focus on what is important. 

     Our society as a whole, including those who are not Christian and don’t celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday are swallowed up by the shopping craze, lights, and Christmas parties.  Many find this time of year to be stressful and perhaps, even wish it to be over.  The holiday season is a time of giving, family, and love so let us try to remember this.  Merry Christmas!

     What is fiction? Fiction is something feigned, invented, or imagined.  We all should be and most likely are very familiar with fiction.  Many people enjoy reading fiction novels, including myself.  Fiction covers a wide variety of books. There are fantasy fictions such as Harry Potter, or maybe more realistic type stories, yet still fiction such as (some of my favorites) Arms of Love, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Pride and Prejudice. 

     Reading fiction can be fun, but what about writing fiction?  Indeed, writing fiction takes some talent and technique.  A professional basketball player doesn’t begin their life being a professional.  The same goes for writers.  Writing an extraorinary piece of fiction takes practice and some techiniques.  On the following website: http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/JANKEJ/writing/tips.htm, I found some very useful tips and words of wisdom.  Some of these include:

• Fiction writers should have a good grasp of the language, but most of all they must be storytellers. A really good story can compensate for less-than-brilliant writing, but brilliant writing will not save a bad story.
• To be ag good writer you need to read a lot, listen and observe everything about you carefully, and write a lot.  Writing a lot takes discipline, because writing can actually be hard work- but very satisfying.
• Be specific in your writing. The more specific the detail, the more real the story will seem to the reader.

     Once again, these tips were all take from http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/JANKEJ/writing/tips.htm.

         I found the tips above and the many others on that site to be quite helpful, especially as I will be needing to put them to use as I write fiction of my own in the upcoming weeks.  I’m still debating as whether I should endeaver in the NanoWriMo challenge it the month of November.  I have an idea for a story in mind, but we will see…

Figurative and sensory language is everywhere.  We use it in our speech, in novels, in advertisements, and many other places.  As I was looking for examples, I found many in books.  As I was reading, The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, I came across many examples of sensory and figurative language.  I also found several examples in The Real Mother Goose nursery rhyme book. 

            The following example is an example of onomatopoeia from The Story of My Life.  “I had to feel for the rails with my toe; but I was not afraid and got on very well, until all at once there came a faint “puff, puff” from the distance.” Helen is talking about crossing rail road tracks while she was out playing with her cousin.  The “puff, puff” is describing the train.  At first I was confused when I read this passage because I wondered how Helen (being deaf) would be able to hear the “puff, puff” in the distance.  I then concurred that she must have been describing the sound in which she knew a train would make.  Using, “puff, puff” to imply a train makes the scene more real to the reader instead of just stating “a faint train in the distance.” 

            A second example from the book Story of My Life uses sensory language.  “…and I clung to the rock tense, fascinated, as I felt the dash and roar of the rocking sea.”  This example appeals to the reader’s sense of touch and sight.  When authors use descriptive language, it attracts the reader’s interest, and makes the book much more interesting.  In Story of My Life, sensory language is used often and helps to make the book very interesting and appealing to reader’s interest.

            A third example from The Real Mother Goose (nursery rhyme book) is an example of assonance.  The nursery rhyme titled, “See-Saw,” goes as follows:

                        See-saw, Margery Daw,

                        Sold her bed and lay upon straw.

Another common nursery rhyme, “Peter Piper,” is a great example of alliteration.

                        Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;

                        A peck of pickled peppers Peter pepper picked.

                        If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

                        Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Nursery rhymes are superb examples of using sound devices in Figurative Language.  Using these sound devices is very helpful in being able to memorize the nursery rhymes.  I enjoyed looking through this nursery rhyme book as there are endless examples of Figurative Language!