I’m a Literary Goddess

Books I am reading and what brought me to read it:

20th Century Sprawl: Highways and the Restructing of the American Landscape
I am interested in new urbanism. I love it and find it awesome. This book is about how the creation of highways pretty much ruined America. Gone are the towns that look like WH (pre-War suburbs). Now, post-war, it’s allllll about sprawl. Gone are neighborhoods and walkable communities, now you must get in your car and travel for miles just to get anywhere. Towns are separated by highways and that sucks, and this book is about that.

OBJECTION!
Nancy Grace’s book. It’s about how the 24/7 media, the internet, the high-priced lawyers, how it’s all ruining our criminal justice system. She cites examples of cases that have gone awry because of media influence. The book is okay but she for sure whines and bitches a lot during this book.

Middle-Class Millionaire
It’s about the rise of the new rich – the middle-class millionaire. Middle-class millionaires are people who have a net worth of between 1 and 10 million. (Wow, really? So I have 8 mil in the bank, I’m middle-class?! That sucks). It’s definitely interesting, but this book was written pre-recession. Maybe they should have a sequel about HOW THERE IS NO MIDDLE CLASS IN AMERICA NOW. That’s right, the rich poor divide is larger than ever, thanks to the economy and you are either rich folk or you broke.

Look Me In The Eye: My Life with Asperger’s
Asperger’s is pretty interesting, so I have a book on one kid’s life with Asperger’s, which is a type of high-functioning Autism. I have had trouble looking this book in the eye though for more than 10 minutes, it’s moving slow so I’m not entirely sure of my future with it.

Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America
Poverty in America is one of my favorite topics of interest. This is written by an undercover journalist who took on minimum wage jobs in poor, rural areas to see how hard it would be to “get by.” Good read so far.

On my Book List:

-Game Change: I like anything that has to do with the 2008 election, one of the most exciting times I’ve lived through. I also LOVE scandal of any kind, so this book will probably be perfect for me.

Life is not a Fairytale

I want to travel the world. On a boat or on land. I want to soak it all in. To experience new cultures, new friends, to see the moon from the other side of the world. I want to be deep and worldly and just travel and frolic. I want to take pictures of the sky or of the rose petal of a lone flower.

This to me would be an awe inspiring experience. However, life is not a fairytale.

I throw around ideas all the time, how much I want to just.. go. To do something so freaking weird and different and just travel or volunteer or what have you. I do feel like having a job sometimes sucks the creativity out of me, and the world hasn’t seen how cool I am yet. But unfortunately, we live in a 2010 economy, we live in Obamerica. Jobs are scarce and if you have one along with half a brain, you keep your job. The harsh reality is that bills need to be paid. I have no one paying for me but myself. A job with health insurance is pretty much a must have.

So while I want to take off, these things are stopping me. Do I want to live in Morocco for a year? Um..yeah. I do. But I also want a fully integrated life with family, friends, and people I like by my side. In Morocco, or Japan, I wouldn’t have any of that.

I’m 23, almost 24. I find that so many people my age are pretty fucking stupid. I refuse to be that. I don’t want to be your typical 20-something hanging out a bar. I want to have shit to say. Your life is made better through travel and new experiences.

But alas, life is not a fairytale, and having a job and financial stability is key. Seeing the moon from Croatia isn’t gonna make my life puppies and butterflies. Having some serious cash flow in my Bank of America Personal Checking Account will – at least for now. I should love where I’m at, and many days I do. However, many days I don’t. My mind is huge and my brain is constantly spinning. I’m a thinker and a dreamer and I am so intrigued by the world around me. I am so ready to begin my life, but for right now, I’m going to be realistic so that one day I can bring Morocco to fruition.