It is midway through June and I still don’t have my summer curriculum set up, so the one I create might bleed into the fall. I’ve decided I want to study Spanish so that I can communicate in Spanish to L and to A. A has been taking Spanish lessons online. I’ll probably use the mondly app. That’s my first subject. I took four years of Spanish in school and actually used to be good at it. But now I’ve lost most of what I learned.
Instax Mini 99 practice is my next subject. Some of my shots aren’t turning out the way I want them to. I need more practice. So instant photography will be a focus area.
My next topic is childhoods of women writers. I plan to read some biographies. I’m thinking Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, and not sure who else. Maybe the Bronte sisters or HD. What do they all have in common? Where do they differ? Under what circumstances do such brilliant female literary minds bloom?
Color! Color is my next topic. Symbolism of color, psychology of color, etc. I have some books already that I don’t remember well because I read them before ECT. I plan to find more research materials on the Libby app too though. I will not be relying solely on the ample library I already possess on the subject of color.
Art. I am taking some little art lessons on a lesson app. The artist teaching me is an abstract painter in South America. She seems very nice. We’ve had one lesson so far, where we practiced color mixing. I am not a natural at that because a lot of times I like to use neon colors and those are easiest to use right out of the tube. So truthfully, I don’t have a lot of practice mixing my own colors because that’s not normally how I paint.
I’m keeping horror on the agenda. Anthologies and craft books will both be on my reading list – if I can find more good craft books. I read so many last fall/winter!
Mother Mary is a core focus area for me. I got an excellent book today on the liturgical calendar. I’ve got another book on Mary. I want to pray the rosary more and become like a daughter to Mary. I’d like to bond with and thank my guardian angel too, and my patron saint, Hildegard of Bingen.
If I have time (I do not do every subject every day) I’d like to study something in science. Maybe learn about an animal or biome, or genetics, or maybe psychology of dress.
And of course, all of this feeds into my Stay at Home University MFA im creative writing. I know it probably sounds like none of this stuff is related, but it gives me inspiration and material, and gets my mind working in flexible ways that allow me to be a better writer and have more to write about. A writer who knows nothing but writing will be able to write very elegantly about nothing. I need experiences, skills, and fresh knowledge. While I will not cover each of my subjects every day, I will endeavour to write something every day.
If your mind isn’t growing, it’s shrinking. If you’re not fighting brain rot, your brain is going to rot. I’m fighting back with off screen pursuits to better my intellect.
Cherished Rainbow 