Tag: reading

Hello, readers! I’m glad you’re back! Today I’m just going to do my once-a-month recap that tells you what my month looked like.

Books I Read

This month, I finally finished up The Chronicles of Narnia, and I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed it. I’ll be doing a review on this series soon.

I also started a new series recommended by my mom, The Mitford Years. I am in the middle of book one, and I love it! This is a very relaxing series, which is definitely a change of pace for me!

Writing

This month, I got a few chapters done. You may be thinking, “Only a few chapters!? I thought you loved writing!!” Yes, I do love writing. But I also needed to focus on my schoolwork, which took up a lot of my time this month. But I also made an important decision.

I’ve been wondering for a while now if I should publish my recently-finished book (just as an e-book). I couldn’t decided, because I was afraid. I had no idea what others would think- if it was weird or just not a good story overall. I finally decided that this summer, I’m going to try to publish it. I’ll do whatever I need to do (look over it, give it to someone else to critique, etc.) to get it out there.

If you have any experience publishing an e-book and have any advice, please let me know in the comments.

A New Journal

This month, I started something new to help me focus on my daily Bible reading. I’m calling it my Devotion Journal.

Basically, I do my Bible reading, and then I write down a summary for each chapter. And then I can also add any prayer requests or interesting facts that I learned. I suggest doing this because it can help you understand what you’re reading and help you learn from it.

Bullet Journaling

This month, I tried several new weekly layouts, just trying to find what really works for me. The one that I had been doing in January just wasn’t working. It felt too cramped. So then I tried one that divided each day into sections. It was too strict. Finally, I found the one that works (see the picture at the top).

First, I drew a line down each page that was about one-third of the page. Then, I drew lines for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday daily sections on the first page. I then continued the lines over to the second page as well. Those would be for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Saturday and Sunday is one daily section split in half). I did this that way because I didn’t want to have different sized sections, plus I don’t use my bullet journal much during the weekend.

On the left page, I have my study chart, habit tracker, and health tracker. My study chart is something new I’m doing to help me see when I studied in each subject.

On the right page, I have a section for notes, goals, and a stress key.

My Story of the Month

It was time.

I was ready. I was born ready.

We were going to win.

“Christy! Are you ready?”

I jumped up off the bed when I heard my mom calling for me.

“Yeah, coming!”

I began to search my room for my helmet and riding boots. I found them in the corner of my closet. I pulled on my boots and stopped in front of the mirror. My chin-length blonde hair was tangled, my mascara was smudged, and my riding uniform was wrinkled. I sighed. I had gotten ready too early, and I had fallen asleep on my bed while I was waiting to leave.

I grabbed my mascara and hairbrush and stuck them in my bag as I rushed down the hall and outside onto the driveway. I halted when I noticed a blue truck in the driveway.

I stared in wonder as a handsome guy hopped out and slammed the door. His brown hair was combed to the side, and he wore a gray t-shirt and jeans.

“Surprised?” Derrek asked as he walked over to me.

“Yeah. Usually my dad drives me to the race.”

“We worked it out,” he said glancing as the short man standing in front of the barn.

Dad waved, and he waved back cheerfully.

“Well, come on! Let’s go!” He took my bag and put it in the back as I ran to the passenger’s side and hopped in.

When we got to the stables, I couldn’t get out of the car. My legs felt like jelly.

“Hey, it’s ok. You’ll do fine. I know you will. You and Chester have been training for a long time. You’ll do fine.”

I looked over at him and sighed. “But what if he falls? I mean, what if he slips on the track? It’s been really rainy lately, and-”

He put a finger to my lips. “You’ll be fine. Now get out there.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then got out of the truck. I followed.

Two hours later, I was sitting on top of Chester, mere seconds before the gun shot. Then, everything was a blur. I could only focus on urging my horse on, telling him to go faster.

I didn’t see the rock.

And neither did Chester.

The last thing I remember seeing was the muddy ground.

I’m just going to take a second to explain this story. If you couldn’t tell, Chester and Christy were in a race, and because of a rock in the path, Chester fell and Christy is now unconscious. I don’t really know anything about horses, but I would love to be able to ride one. I just thought I would try out writing a story about a race.

And that is the end of another monthly recap! Let me know if you liked my story and if you have any experience with publishing an e-book. How did your month go? Was it as busy and filled with homework as mine was?

Thank you for reading! Happy writing!