The Perfect Outdoor Reading Day!

 

LET'S GO READ a BOOK!

Do you ever just think, it is the perfect day to read? I'm gonna be honest. I think that EVERYDAY. But today is especially beautiful and the perfect outdoor reading day! See that picture up there? That is what the weather is currently like in the ATL. 

Come on Georgia! Put your devices down (after you read my post of course) and go outside! Read (my personal preference), play golf, basketball, frisbee, run, or just grab a blanket and lay down. No matter what, just go outside for a few minutes and enjoy this wonderful weather while we have it! 

When you come back inside, tell me what you did. If you read a book, send me the link so we can gush on it. Share some pictures of the glorious time you spent outside! 

Come on...let's go. I believe in you! 

Love and rainbows, 

Lis 

Go F*** Yourself Superwoman

I wrote this poem a few years ago when I was in college. I had just worked a 13 hour shift for my then boss. Because I stayed that extra hour to help him out I had one less hour to work on my midterm for my poetry class. I turned in my paper at midnight, and come to find out the paper was due at 11:59 PM. I was devastated. When I reached out to my professor at 12:00 AM telling him I missed the deadline and I had attached my midterm in the email, he responded with a very clear, "you should have budgeted your time better." 

What you see below is my reaction to that encounter. I ended up submitting this poem for my next assignment. My professor hated it along with a handful of my classmates. The rest of the class loved it, and they spent a good part of the class debating the poem and it's layers. 

This is probably one of the most personal things I have ever written. I hope it strikes debates for years to come. 

Happy Reading Y'all! 

Go Fuck Yourself Superwoman

By LR Leigh

I have a family. They need a house to live in, and the house cost’s money. I need a job to get that money, but I need a car to get to my job. A job I hate. That sucks joy from my soul until I have nothing left to offer. Ah! I know! I’ll go back to school, so I can get a better job. A job I love. So I can have a house for my family to live in. I will make more money and work less. That’s the ticket! It’s so obvious now. Just a few papers and twelve hours of class a week. 

School is great. It gets me closer to having it all. Just have to write papers and turn in a few assignments here and there. But this assignment…it feels like busy work, and I have another paper due? I just turned one in last week! Another assignment due? And a paper? And another paper?! Shit…school is more work! 

More time gone. Time I don’t have. Wait…why did I go back to...? Oh, right…Money. Yeah money would be nice. 

I have to work, and study. And make it to my kid’s damn recital! If I miss another one I am not…then all of this shit…these papers, and fucking lectures…and sleepless nights are for nothing. Then what’s the point!? 

Focus. 

This is what I want. The job, the education, the house, the car, the family. That’s the dream right? I can’t remember…I’m forgetting something. It’s there on the periphery of my mind. Something important…shit! What is it? Something about…taking care of my family. No, I already covered that. They need money so we can spend time together, and go on trips. But I have to work, and study, and write papers…and more papers…and more fucking papers…but there is someone I’m forgetting in all this. Who needs me too…

Shit. My husband.

*All rights reserved. Please do not copy and paste this poem. This is an original work of art and can not be duplicated or used as another's work.*

Life After College...

It's been a minute since I actually wrote anything for myself. Every paper, poem, short story, tweet, and comment were all used as steps to get me closer to my goal. My end game.

I made it. I did it. I did something no one in my family had ever done before. I graduated from college. It's been almost three years since I graduated, and I still have nightmares where I am late to class. In the nightmare I sometimes make it to class but somehow it is the last day of school but it is my first day in class! I wonder if those will ever pass.

Anyway, I did it. For so long, that was the only thing I focused on. Get my degree. All of this chaos will be worth it once I have that degree. All of the sleepless nights, and the endless papers would all be worth it. The degree makes you valuable. Right? 

To say I had tunnel vision is an understatement. I just KNEW that once I graduated, all of my dreams would come true.

What an idiot I was.

The thing I didn't factor in? Networking. Even if you have the degree, it doesn't matter. The job market is all about who you know. And I know NO ONE! I was a full time student, working a FULL TIME forty hour work week job. I have two kids and a husband. I hardly had time to sleep let alone network while I was trying to get my degree. 

Applying for jobs can be soul crushing. Honestly, how can I prove to an algorithm that I am worth the job interview? How do I prove that even though I went to a no-named college that my experience was just as good (if not better) than my peers applying for the same job? The reason why I have my current job is only because I knew someone who knew someone. I didn't "earn" my job. I wasn't "better" than any of the other candidates, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. They don't even care that I have a degree. I don't even get to use my degree. 

Again I say, soul crushing.  

So, now what? Graduate School? Certification of some sort? 

I can't be the only person experiencing this, right? 

I am fortunate that I get to do freelance editing. That is my jam even if the jobs are few and far between. Those jobs are what keep me ticking. They keep the dream alive that maybe one day I will build a big enough name for myself in the publishing industry. 

I think it is important to remind myself that although life after college is not what I thought it would be, it is a huge freaking deal that despite all the odds against me I got that damn degree. It's a celebration. Even if it doesn't always feel like it. 

Happy Reading y'all! Keep the faith! 

Lis

Don't Call it a Comeback

 I started this blog for two reasons: 

1. A grade. I know, I know. How cliché. But honestly, It was either a twenty page research paper, or create a blog. In hindsight, I probably  spent several more hours on this blog than my classmates spent writing their papers (on the night before it was due), but I don't regret it. I stand by my decision. Which brings me to my second reason for creating this space. 

2. I love books. I love reading. I love editing. And I wanted to create a space where all of my loves could live together under one roof. It's that simple. 

I am sad to report that I let this place go to waste in blogger land, and starve to death with all the other abandoned content dying in the internet. I could name endless reasons why I stopped putting time into my pet project, but that is not the purpose of this post. The purpose of this post is to say, "I'M BACK BABY." 

I believe in this space I created. I believe that there is an audience out there craving what I am craving. And I believe there is nothing more soothing to the soul than reading a good book, and telling the people in your life how freaking amazing it is. There is no better feeling than having someone share in your love of something that you recommended to them. 

I never stopped reading. But I did stop telling the people in my life about the books that I read. And that is not okay! It's time to come back with a vengeance! 

From here on, I will go old school and write book reviews, try to do author interviews, and I am going to start releasing some of my own work. Why not!?  A few poems (that are REALLY bad) here and there, or short stories perhaps. I took the time to write them down, why would I not share them with my community? 

So, I'm back baby. Tell  your friends! 

Happy Reading! 

Lis

Thoughts on, Wicked Abyss

I'm late to the Immortals After Dark new release! I know! But, I finally got time to read some books, so for a while I am going to just do book reviews. My roots are in reviews and I am excited to get back to it. If you want to see some of my previous reviews, click here. Anyway, let's do this.














Immortals After Dark is a wonderful series written by the talented Kresley Cole. I have been a fan of the series since about book five. So, I am always impatiently waiting for the next book. This is a series that you can jump right into, but you will want to go back and read from the beginning because she has so many wonderful characters and stories.

Wicked Abyss, is a take on the Beauty and the Beast, story. Sian lives in a magical mansion and has a terribly cure places upon him that makes him utterly hideous to look at. His attitude matches his looks. Lila is a beautiful princess who is held captive by the beast. They both have flaws and a hard time listening to each other. There is war, blood, death, fallen kingdoms, love, hate, and humor all within the story.

I don't believe in spoilers, but I think it is safe to say that you can always count on Cole to give you an ending that is filled with the warm and fuzzies.

I read this book in one sitting. I could not put it down! That is one of the things I enjoy most about Cole's books. There is never a moment where I feel like I can put the book down for a little while. I have to know what happens next or I will die!

You can always count on Kresley Cole to make you laugh, cry, and swoon in the same chapter! Read the book. Read the series. Read the author. They are all great!

Happy reading!

Lisa :)

What's Next?

It's time to graduate. The all-nighters are over. You have turned in your final assignments. The only thing left is to walk and get your diploma.

So, what's next?

Now you gotta get a job! The job that helped you get through college now seems like a burden. It's time to hit the pavement (or internet really), and find a job that you have worked so hard to earn.

Let's just pump the brakes for a moment. I had some recent advice come in from my amazing aunt. She told me to just enjoy the process. Enjoy the butterflies you get the first time you land an interview. Enjoy the whole graduation parade. Just take a moment and enjoy life.

It was sage advice. I was getting too nervous about what the heck I was going to do after graduation, that I was missing the actual graduation fun.

So, graduates I say this; congratulations! You rock! Enjoy the next few weeks! The time for job interviews will come, so just bask in your success and relax! You freaking earned it!

Good Luck,

Lisa

This One's For You

A personal letter from me to my family. I love you all.










A few years ago, my cousin sent out a letter to several members of my family thanking us for being her "village." The letter came about because of her oldest son's graduation from high school. The letter stuck with me, because I never realized how much time we put into making sure they had everything they needed throughout the years. Family takes care of family, after all. It's just the way it is. But when I was reading the letter I saw how much we influenced the lives of my cousin and her son.

Years later, I still think about the village and its influence. Now that I am graduating from college I think of my own village and the sacrifices they made to help me reach my goal. It would be unfair for me to take all the credit when there is no way in Hades that I could have ever made it to this point in my life without the help of my friends and family.

My mom, who lives over an hour from me, would drive to my house twice a week and watch my kids while my husband and I went to night classes at GGC. My grandmother, who is one of the most amazing women I have ever met, would be the first person to offer to help out with tuition if I was unsure about the cost of a semester. Summers, my kids would go from my sister's house, to my cousin's, to my in-law's. My dad, who always told me I was way too intelligent to settle for the life I had, would buy my school books when I ran out of grant money. He would tell me that the best debt you could ever have was school debt. He would say that it always paid for itself in the long run. My amazing aunt, who decided to go back to college when she was 41!, would answer my millions of questions about my major and what I was doing with my life. My kids would always try to help me with my homework. My amazing boss always reminded me that school is more important than work.

My husband. Man, I don't even know where to start. He is my biggest cheerleader. He constantly reminded me to stop stressing. He would make me cup after cup of coffee during those late nights where assignment after assignment was piling up. If not for him forcing me to stop working and to have a life outside of work and school, I would have had a nervous breakdown, and probably never finished school. He is my rock who always reminds me that I am wonderful.

I have been so lucky to be surrounded by such a great support system. 

So, it's finally happening. I'm graduating in just a few short weeks, and I can't help but think about how I honestly never thought it was going to happen. And how grateful I am to those who helped my dream come true.

Love you all, 

Lis :)