Quotes

Writing Style

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 4 Comments

I found this rather amusing- so I wanted to share it. 🙂 So, each person has his/her own unique style of writing, right? Right, but you might find it interesting that the style can change.

When I was in elementary school, there was a certain author I loved. Her name was Enid Blyton. She was a British author, and I loved her books so much that at that time, they were pretty much the only books I was reading. And back then, I actually had free time to write what I liked, so as I was constantly reading, I was constantly writing.

Before I knew it, I was using British spellings and British phrases! Even in school, any writing I did, whether it be creative writing or formal essays, would be written in a British style.

I had always been told that good readers equaled good writers. But I had no idea that your writing style was influenced so much by the type of books you read!

But you know what? Even though your style can change depending on what you read, I think it’s still your unique style. It’s probably similar to the style of your favorite authors, because those are the people you admire. But at the same time, it’s YOURS.

Time for an awesome quote of the day:

“An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate.” ~Chateaubriand, Le Génie du Christianisme, 1802

Keep writing!

Happy New Year!

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 6 Comments

Wow. I can’t believe last year went by so quickly. And yet… I feel as though so much has happened between then and now. To me, especially. When I look at the person I was at the beginning of last year, and at the person I am now, it’s rather startling. Even if I don’t appear very different in the way I act, or in the things I say, or in the way I look… I am definitely quite different in the way I think.

It’s funny how a person can change so much in just one year. I feel… more grown up, somehow. I seem to understand life, in general, much better, and I’m able to recognize things and form opinions for myself. The things that mattered so much to me last year don’t seem to matter anymore. Don’t get me wrong- 2011 was a great year. I learned a lot, and that’s why I’m ready to make a fresh start in 2012 (since the world has not ended).

My New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Finish my manuscript- entirely! This includes revising, editing, and having it proofread by others. Before the year’s over, I want to hold a polished manuscript in my hands  and start submitting query letters to agencies. No more procrastinating!

2. Stop worrying about little things. As calm and unruffled as I try to appear, on the inside I’m often worrying about stupid things that don’t matter anyway. No more of that!

3. No regrets. Too often have I let opportunities slip away from me. Not anymore. The worst feeling in the world is wishing you would have done something when you had the chance. It’s one thing to get up and actively seek opportunity and not find it… at least you tried. But it’s another thing to have it offered to you on silver platter and ignore it.

4. Stop getting lost in the past. This one is hard for me… I keep thinking of good times I had in the past and let the memories overwhelm me…. when what I should be doing is turning my head around and facing what’s to come! It’s like Dr. Seuss said: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

5. Look for the good in people. I am not a mean person… I don’t think I ever have been. But I do get annoyed with people, and there are people I don’t like and could complain about. But instead of seeing faults like this… I’ll try to focus on the good things. Even in the people I dislike most.

Well, I think five resolutions is good enough for now… but I’m sure I could easily add to the list! I think new year’s resolutions are a great way to reflect on last year and get a fresh start on this one. The best part is reading your resolutions at the end of the year and seeing if you fulfilled them. Even if you didn’t, they’re still fun to read, and it just means that you have more for next year. 😀

Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 4 Comments

 

I'm thankful for all this good food... oh, and the people I get to share it with! 🙂

I meant to post this yesterday, but it must have slipped my mind… I guess I might as well wish you a happy Black Friday as well!

Whether you eat turkey or not, I think Thanksgiving is a holiday everyone should celebrate… not necessarily by doing anything lavish or fancy, but just by appreciating how lucky we are. In fact, if you think about it… each day can be Thanksgiving. All we have to do is remember the things to be thankful for in life.

If I’m ever feeling down or upset, it helps to look at the big picture. Sometimes we get so caught up in school or work or whatever that we forget what’s truly important. Family, friends, passion, love… much more important than a quiz. At my school, a lot of people constantly worry about their grades. But you know what? If you get a  B on a test, the world isn’t going to end. Robert Frost said it: “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life:

it goes on.”

My friend and I came up with something at school the other day: A’s are pretty, but they’re not life. Life is trying something new and discovering things you hadn’t known before. Life is doing your best and taking risks. Better to try and fail than not to have tried at all. Better to have gotten a B and enjoyed yourself than have gotten an A and stressed out so much that you ripped all your hair out.

That’s not to say you should be completely lax in anything concerning school… but it’s important to remember what truly matters in life.

And I think Thanksgiving’s the best time to do that. I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving and continue to have a happy life! Make sure to spend lots of time with your family and take a break from work or school!

The Absence of Time

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 4 Comments

Yikes. I realize I haven’t updated my blog in a month, and I apologize for that. But this also gives me a chance to talk about something that seems to affect all of us- and that’s the idea of not having enough time.

It’s actually quite sad. I was talking to someone about it today, in fact. Sometimes, life just feels so… routine. Each day you get up and do the same thing over and over again. You study like heck for a test; after you take it you start studying for the next test. And so… time is measured by tests? Before you know it there’s no time at all. A month has passed. It’s crazy.

With no time to do what you want to do in life, with no time to follow and live up to what you’re truly passionate about, how are you supposed to live? Because if you think about it… you’ve only got one life. Why spend it doing the same things over and over again, the same things that you don’t even like?

Of course, if you’re still in school, like me, you don’t really have a choice. Your future kind of depends on your education, so you have to do your best and work hard in school;  you have to be good and get good grades.

But let’s say you’re working super hard so that you can become a doctor. But… you don’t really want to be one. In fact, let’s go further than that- let’s say you HATE anything to do with medicine. Or you’re an engineer who HATES math. Why do it? Why torture yourself with the only life you’ve got?

True, this isn’t a perfect world, and you don’t always get what you want. But when you have the choice… why not make the right one?

Even if you like your job, but you have a passion for something else, you have to do something about it. Let’s say you love playing the guitar. Do you have to become a famous guitarist? Heck no. But how great would it feel to take your guitar out maybe once a week and break that awful monotonous routine of life? Of getting out of bed and going to school or work?

I don’t know. Different people think in different ways. Maybe you don’t agree with any of this at all.

But I do know about myself, even if I don’t know about you. My passion (as you’ve probably guessed) is writing. And I intend to get my book published, no matter how much darn homework my teachers give.

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” ~Charles Roberts Buxton

Reason #3: The Garden

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 3 Comments

School has started, so I won’t be updating as frequently as I would like to. But I’m still going to try!

Anyway, I love the garden. My mom is an avid gardener, so our yard is lush and green and blooming during the spring and summer. It’s beautiful.

One of the greatest things about it is how calm and unworried you feel when you’re out there. Seriously, it’s impossible to be stressed out about anything when you sit on the bench and watch the birds and squirrels and butterflies. One of my favorite things to do is grab a book and sit out there and read. (I can’t really do that right after it rains or in the evening though, because that’s when I get eaten alive by mosquitoes.)

It’s also wonderful to sit outside with my laptop and work on my manuscript. (The best part is when the internet is too slow or doesn’t work, because then I have nothing to distract me.) I even do my homework outside sometimes.

And sometimes… sometimes I do nothing. Sometimes I just sit there, on the bench, and look around me, and breathe in the scents of the garden, and just… think. About life. About how wonderful it is to be alive and well. Sometimes I watch the birds in the birdbath or the squirrels scampering around or the occasional rabbit that eats my mom’s hostas. (We also get a lot of deer that eat the tulips, but you never see them during the day. They come by night. Those sneaky deer!)

Anyway, when I sit in the garden like that, it reminds me of this quote from The World of Pooh by A.A. Milne ( an excellent book, by the way- if you haven’t read it already, read it, and if you have read it, read it again):

Christopher Robin has just asked Pooh what he likes best in the world. Pooh says, “What I like best in the whole world is Me and Piglet going to see You, and You saying ‘What about a little something?’ and Me saying, ‘Well, I shouldn’t mind a little something, should you, Piglet,’ and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing.”

And then, Christopher Robin says, “I like that too, but what I like doing best is Nothing.”

Pooh: “How do you do Nothing?”

Christopher Robin: “Well, it’s when people call out at you just as you’re going off to do it, What are you going to do, Christopher Robin, and you say, Oh, nothing, and then you go and do it.”

It’s just… so simple and so true. I mean, the best part of Pooh is how simple he is- not a care in the world! All he worries about is his honey. Silly old bear. 🙂

And when I sit out in the garden, it’s sort of like taking a break from life- I can get away from all the hustle and bustle of life, and all the stress from school… and I can concentrate on simple things. Sometimes life is way too complicated… and you just need to stop for a moment and smell the flowers (yeah, I know that was really cliche).

But it’s true.