A Hunter's Story

I’m sorry for my long silence. It’s been quite a chore getting settled here in North Carolina. I’m happy to report I’m fully settled and have started working at a job that enjoy. I’m working at a privately own botanic garden and nursery. I work in the gardens. I’ve had a blast despite the ups and downs with the job. Thankfully my body has started adjusting to the environment here. I’ve lived in Utah for three years and lost the ability to handle humidity. I did grow up in Maryland which has some humidity but not as much as North Carolina. I truly love it here and could never imagine leaving it.

However, during my time after work and on the weekends I’ve been busily playing Destiny on my Xbox One. For those who don’t know Destiny is an online game that was made by both Bungie (the makers of Halo) and Activision (the makers of Call of Duty). The game takes place in the far future where humanity has been able to grow thanks to the help of an alien entity called the Traveler. With its help humanity expanded into other planets and this created a Golden Age. However, a few centuries later the Traveler’s enemy the Darkness attacked us and ended our Golden Age. When the game begins humanity is all gathered into a haven here on Earth to hide from the different alien races that hunt us. Guardians are those brought back to life by the Traveler’s Light and can wield the Light as a weapon against these enemies.

  With the advent of the second game in the series coming out in September the game has an event going called the Age of Triumph. As you complete objectives you gain rewards for your guardian. When I started in year One (or Vanilla Destiny to my fellow guardians) I began as a Warlock. However, as life closed in I wasn’t able to play as much and this year in order to help gain some of the class based awards I created a hunter and a titan. I found while playing out of the three classes I identified heavily with the hunter class.

Just like the hunters in Destiny, I enjoyed exploring new places and preferred a very free following life style. I also have an interesting sense of humor and often am found on my own. I may have friends that I care for deeply but I’m mostly found by myself. I’m curious and adventurous by nature. As I’m forging my own path by changing the course of my life now mirrors a hunter’s mastery of the wilds beyond the City.

So, to honor this and my love of Destiny before the next game comes out I’ve decided to work on the story of my hunter. The actual story will be set just before and during the Taken King expansion. With the help of the lore I’ve learned plus some experiences from my own life I’ll bring Krya Masters tale to life. I can’t wait to post it to wattpad for you to read. Also, I may put up some experts from various chapters here on the blog for you guys to preview.

Until next time!

~ChildofCourage~   

The March of Time

I can’t believe how fast time is moving. It seems like it was just yesterday when I first got to Salt Lake and started in my college program here. Now, I’m graduating from my program and have started my internship. I’ve currently gotten Sixty-three hours and 70 minutes under my belt. Hopefully that will be finished by the end of this semester.

This is how it feels right now with my graduation looming over me

It’s feels like time is moving at a blinding speed now that the end of my time here is approaching. At the beginning of this final semester I felt like time wasn’t moving fast enough. Now I’m constantly looking for a break to slow time down. It feels like I’m in a speeding car heading on a straight course for my next destination.

In a way I’m happy for that but at the same time I wish things were taking a much slower pace. It’s definitely bittersweet leaving this place behind me in five weeks. There are people and places I’m going to miss. Yet, I’m ready to start something new. I can’t wait to see what Rexburg has in store for me.

The prospect of seeing new sights, meeting new people, and finding more exciting places to frequent does often have my imagination running wild. I look forward just as much to the major that I will be doing. Biology with a Zoology emphasis is going to be a fun challenge. My mind is ready for it. I know that I can do it and my dream is to one day earn a doctorate in that field. Wither it be Zoology or Marine Biology is a hard choice for me. Either one has its merits and gives me different career paths to choose from.

However, that’s a ways down the road from here. I’m just getting started and I know it’s a long road but as long as it one day leads me to my goal destinations to live I’ll be happy. I refuse to let my dreams be dreams. I will follow this path until I reach the end. I know it certainly will be an adventure and hopefully my chosen career will be just as adventurous as I hope.

See you all in the next post!

~ChildofCourage~

The End of an Era

As some of you on Facebook already know, I’m leaving the art website known as Deviantart. I’ve been on that site for four years. Two of those years was during a hard time in my life where I could do little more than lie in bed, watch T.V., write, and draw. This was due to my (at the time undiagnosed) condition known as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (or POTS).

The site was an escape for me and allowed me to maintain my sanity during the two years I was bound to my bed. However, after I got my condition under control I still continued posting on the site. It was mostly due to the emotional ties I had to the site and the friends I’d made there. Problems soon arose during the next few years that made it hard to want to stay.

Most of those problems were due to the community on the site, especially some of the fandoms I was participating in. Particularly, the Legend of Zelda fandom. They were the most obnoxious and mean group if you didn’t conform to the status quo in the clubs. Many of the character pairings were what cause the most grievance. However, the worst group were the ones demanding that Nintendo give us a timeline. Eventually, the company did give us one but it was obviously thrown together.

Other issues I’ve had with the site had to do with how it was run. I drove me crazy when they made different changes that made no sense. Also warning users that if you weren’t active enough that they’d shut down your account. That was scary. However, it’s unclear if that ever really went through. Either way, I’m now leaving the sites so that I can protect my work from being stolen by thieves on the site.

I’m sad to be leaving a site that has given me a lot of joy over the years but it’s time to move on to other places where I feel that my art will be viewed by a better class of people.  

A Father's Day Tribute

            This week I waited until Sunday to post in honor of Father’s day. This is my present to my dear father. In my personal opinion, he is the best dad this planet has ever known. He is kind, gentle, a guiding hand and everything a father should be. He has helped me so much over the course of my life. From helping me edit school papers to giving me sage advice for when I’m down.

            My father has always been there either in spirit or physically to guide and support me. Often when I was growing up his work kept him from being around a lot but he made up for it the best he could by sending letters, skyping (or what later became skyping), and talking with me even when he was tired from work and I needed him.

            He also worried about me from behind the scenes. He would pray for me and often call just to talk with me. Even now he still does that. I am eternally grateful for everything he has done for me. So, every Father’s day to document these classic moments and my love for my dad I usually make him a new slideshow. However, this year I felt it would be more appropriate to write up this blog post and repost an old (and arguably my best one) slideshow. It was the first one I ever made. Enjoy!

Happy Father’s Day Dad!

My Own Personal Looking Glass

            I recently saw the film, Alice Through the Looking Glass. I loved the film and overall message of the film. However, I’m not going to spoil it for you. If you want to know more about the actual events of the film you have to go and watch it. It’s well worth the money to watch.

            With that out of the way I can begin. As I watched the film I couldn’t help drawing parallels between myself and the main character. How my own nature is much like Alice. However, as the movie went on I began to wonder. What is my own version of Wonderland and the looking glass Alice uses to get there? And what can I draw on when I enter my personal looking glass?

            I went on an exploration through my own life and found that my looking glass is my own wild imagination. My ability to make up vivid fantasy worlds and bring them to life is my Wonderland. It’s a place I go when I need to escape from the pressure of the world around me. However, unlike many who disappear down the rabbit whole never to return my Wonderland helps me. Often times, when I escape to the other side of the Looking Glass my own mind helps me to work out the problems I face without making me feel so stressed in the process.

            I, much like Alice, am a headstrong, independent and peculiar person. However, my personal Wonderland holds not just my own thoughts but often the voices of others who have guided me along my own path. Each person filling the roles of the caterpillar, Cheshire cat, March Hare, Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, White Queen, etc. All of them have a lesson to give me and guidance to share.

            Yet, just like Alice, I often forget about this little place and forget sometimes in my hardest moments to step back through and listen to my old friends. I think it’s about time I went back and perhaps fixed the problems that my own Wonderland may be currently experiencing. Honestly, I’ve already started on it. Let’s just say I’ve let the Queen of Hearts have too much control. It’s time to set things right and just like Alice in this newest movie I can use the lessons of the past help me shape my future.

            So, don’t worry too much about me. I’ll be back from Wonderland very soon and perhaps heading to my own real version of Wonderland in real life. I’m referring to my upcoming transfer (after graduating) to BYU Idaho. This Wonderland will be full of new twists and turns that I’m very excited to see.

See you next week!

~ChildofCourage~  

When You Know You’re Crazy

             

                 I pride myself on being different from the crowd. That I don’t always stick to the norm and often challenge it. However, there is a difference between following your own path and having gone completely off the deep end. Often times I’ve noticed that some of us, including myself, stray from the path of slightly abnormal and take a hard left into crazy.

                Yet, being crazy isn’t all bad. Often times being crazy gives you an advantage over others. It allows you to think outside of the box and challenge the boring norms that most people impose. There is a line between good crazy and bad crazy. Good crazy, is what I consider my friends and I. Where you can be silly and off the wall in public and not care about the weird looks you may get from the average Joe on the street.

                Being good crazy opens doors that being “normal” doesn’t allow. You can find even the simplest things amusing. This allows for endless hours of fun with you and your friends. Where being “normal” keeps you to a rigid set of things and doesn’t allow for much creativity. However, bad crazy is not what you want to shoot for. Those who are bad crazy often are only amusing to themselves and harm others in the process. I’m sure you know a few bad crazies in your life. So, I’d recommend finding some good crazies to balance it out.

                Now, you might be asking how can you tell if you’re good crazy? Well, I can give you a general guide. First, to be good crazy you have to want to have fun and not care what others think. Often this point is a bit of a struggle. You have to strike a balance with this so that you don’t end up in the bad crazy territory. Second, find what you love and do it. Don’t be afraid of it just do it. Third, being open to new things and ideas. Often the most enjoyment a good crazy person finds is doing things that they’ve never done before just to do it. Fourth, find enjoyment in simple things. Sometimes the nicest part of being good crazy is finding fun in things that are simple and don’t cost much money. It makes life easier. Fifth, enjoy the occasional laugh at weird things. This one is hard to explain but being able to laugh at almost anything can help ease tension.

                Those are just a few signs/suggestions I can give to you about being good crazy. How I know that being good crazy is fun is because like I said I am crazy. I can’t imagine being anything but. That’s something that will never change and if you are that way I suggest learning to love that side of yourself. Being happy with who you are is a step closer to being happy in general. Good luck learning how to be crazy!

~ChildofCourage~  

Geeky Girl meets Cute Gamer Boy

At the beginning of Fall Semester at my college in Utah I met my current boyfriend. We ran into each other during student orientation. Our first conversation was over a t-shirt that he was wearing. It had an origami instruction manual on it showing you how to make a bat. I was surprised to see that on a shirt and asked him where he got it. I, unfortunately, forgot his answer then but that lead into a conversation about our mutual interests in gaming and anime. After that little conversation we parted and went about our business getting our first semester started.

I didn’t see him for a while after that or if I did I was too shy to say hi to him. However, we did talk a little once and a while during that fall and then when winter semester came we began to be friendlier with each other. We often ran into each other during our lunch breaks and would talk shop about our geekiness. I would tell him about conventions that were coming up and we’d try to make some plans to go together. We weren’t much more than just pals by then, only talking about games and animes we were watching.

However, during that time I was a little clueless to the fact that he liked me because I was dating another geek who I’d met first. Still, we had fun with each other. It was around March that he made it known that he liked me. I was dating someone else at the time and couldn’t really reciprocate. We remained good friends through that until summer.

In summer, my ex-boyfriend went home and I began to see just how not a good fit he was for me and how much I actually liked my current boyfriend. I think what was the kicker was when he went with me to a convention in June. We had so much fun that day and I loved just hanging out and being my silly, geeky, self with him. So, at the end of June after a lot of thought and consideration I dumped my ex and told my current boyfriend that I wanted to be with him as well.

Adrian and I at Fantasy Con

Our first official date as boyfriend and girlfriend was at Fantasy Con 2014. I went as a modern, female, version of Link from Legend of Zelda and he went as Desmond Miles from Assassin’s Creed. It was a blast for us to wonder around the halls going to booth selling geek gear and going to panels about our favorite games and animes. We even got to meet the voice actor for Altair from Assassin’s Creed, twice even! However, we did also spend a night in Provo for the Fourth of July weekend with a family that he was close with from his mission here in the States. It was our first test as a couple to see how much we could be around each other without going absolutely nuts.

I’m glad to say that we passed that test and after that we continued to hang out with each other on a regular basis for the rest of the summer. We had a lot of great times this past summer and it hopefully won’t be a summer romance. We are wisely taking our relationship slowly so that we don’t end up doing anything stupid or get in too deep too fast and end up hurting our friendship if we break up.

We are such geeks, our current text conversations often devolve into talking about the pokemon teams were working on or animes we hope to watch or other games that we’re playing. However, we still miss each other over the break we’re having. My parents now live in North Carolina and my boyfriend is from Oaxaca, Mexico. I can’t wait to see him again in September. He’s such a sweet and shy boy but I love him all the same.

My bofriend’s name is Adrian Lopez Villalobos. He’s a cute boy that I’m glad to call both my best friend and my boyfriend. I only hope that our relationship continues to go as smoothly as it has so far. However, only time will tell. Wish us luck!