~ Written by Danielle N. Bilski ~
How two months can fly! It has been eight weeks since my last post and the time away from the keyboard has not been in vain. I have been head-first in my Literature texts for uni and learning more about literature and writing that I ever thought I would. I couldn’t be happier and while I used to stress about writing uni essays, I am so thrilled to be doing this course with real relevance to my manuscript that I have indulged in the opportunity to share what I have learned and the words and research have been more of a pleasure. I haven’t got my mark back yet, however having read many discussion posts by other students prior to and following the deadline for our first easy, I can say quite surely that I have had a lot less trouble completing it than most of my fellow classmates. Whether that will reflect well in my mark and comments when my essay is returned via mail in the next few days remains to be seen, but personally the effects have not been negative by any means.
I have also continued reading for my course requirements and also for my own enjoyment. I am delighted to announce that I have met my goal of 25 books read by the end of 2011. The current total stands at 25 and taking into account the few books that I am reading simultaneously at the moment – one for my course to be studied in the next 2 weeks, one that I am reading as part of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy that I have been reading for over a year – I will be sure to exceed my own expectations!
With just under two months until the end of the year, I will also be commencing my next Literature unit at the end of November and am sure to complete one if not more texts in the last 4 weeks of the year, even if they are primarily for the purpose of uni.
In post 62. written on 2nd August, my list consisted of the 16 books I had completed. I am happy to add the additional 9 books that now make up the list that I can assure you will not be finalised until 31st December comes around. If you are interested I will continue updating the list as it increases. For now:
17. Regeneration – Pat Barker (6 days)
18. The One Day of the Year – Alan Seymore (5 days)
19. All together dead – Charliane Harris
20. The Book of the Duchess – Geoffrey Chaucer (4 days)
21. Metamorphoses, Book XI – Ovid (1 day)
22. From Dead to Worse – Charliane Harris
23. Dead and Gone – Charlaine Harris (7 days)
24. Dead in the Family – Charlaine Harris (13 days)
25. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Washington Irving (1 day)
I am currently reading:
– True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey for uni
– Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris is the 11th and final book so far in the Sookie Stackhouse series
– Anna Karenina, Book 5 of 8 by Leo Tolstoy that I am slowly making my way through
I have also made time, although not much in between uni work and freelance jobs, to write some of my manuscript. I have completed a re-write of Chapter One taking into account all of the things I have learned in the past ten weeks about setting the scene, representation of characters and different literary devices and much more. This course has successfully opened my mind as a reader and a writer to notice and analyse things that I may not have considered or realised were significant before. It is refreshing to wake up every morning and to look forward to what I will discover to help make my own dreams come true.
Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t all been smooth keystrokes but I continually remind myself how lucky I am to be doing what I want to do. No matter how difficult life may get, I will always have words to be able to describe the myriad of emotions in a way that gives me perspective and make me appreciate the opportunity to make the words mean something to me and hopefully to others.
Two days ago I was anxious about the fact that in my mind I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere in my life. I try not to compare myself to others, to be happy when others achieve their goals and to help them when they are experiencing difficulties. I am so grateful to my amazing friends and family who have given me perspective over the last few weeks and reminded me that as long as I am trying my best, I am getting somewhere. Every step counts towards the overall journey and if I forget to appreciate the hard times, I will never truly appreciate the achievements when the end eventually arrives. I have tried to not be so hard on myself, which I won’t lie, I am finding challenging. Then again, if everything in life was easy, would anything mean as much as it does when you’ve had to work hard for it?
The best version of myself is the one that is accepting of me no matter who or what I am today and will be there for me tomorrow whether I succeed or fail.
I believe,
My time with you
©2011 Danielle N. Bilski
