Busy. Busy. Busy. Change.

About three weeks ago started what would be a pretty busy time for me. Not that life tells you these things in advance, usually it just happens and we're left wondering when we will finally be able to relax and catch our breath. My week has sort of been like that, but not in a bad way. It's usually a rare occasion for me to go to bed exhausted so many nights in a row only to wake up early again.

On a side note, I've liked getting up earlier... to some degree. I have been more productive. Or well, active is a better word because though I've written a couple thousand words of fiction: I haven't blogged, journaled, or read much for my challenge.

I read a ton of blog posts and articles a couple days ago, so at least I'm still reading to some degree? Right? Besides, I am working on getting caught back up with that stuff.

Part of all the busyness comes from the fact that I decided not to go to cosmetology school. But each day I become even more grateful that I changed my mind.

It was a hard decision to make, I was very unsure, but through a lot of prayer and conversations I was able to decide that wasn't the path for me. I had an interest in cosmetology, but it was not a growing interest and it did not compare to my passion for writing and literature.

So what am I doing now? I am still going to the same community college, but I am getting my 2 years of general education (Associate of Arts, or so they tell me) and I plan to really start writing. I know I am a writer. I believe I am a writer. 100%. Because I write.

But I want to be an author.

With completed works. And published ones.

Not only that, I want to share my passion for literature, books, stories. Help other aspiring authors if I can. I want to at least see where I can go with this and put my full effort into it.

This decision was a big deal, I was completely changing the course I had set up for myself. Everything had been ready for me to go to cosmetology, that's what I had told everyone I was going to do, and yet there was something in me that wasn't quite at ease. When I allowed myself to think about, I discovered where those echoes of uncertainty were coming from. I'm a writer, and when it all came down to it, I just couldn't bare to put that on the back burner.

Some people may not understand my decision, some are probably thinking, "Well, it took you long enough to figure that out." But either way, I know this is what I am supposed to be doing, and within a week nearly, everything seemed to just fall into place.

On the 13th, my boyfriend and I celebrated being together for 2 years. It was a lot of fun because we packed in a full day together going biking, eating out, seeing a movie, and just riding around and hanging out. With him leaving for school in a month, which will take him about an hour away, we'd like to squeeze out as much time together as we can get before then.

I am still in the process of figuring out what I am going to do for a source of income (a.k.a. a JOB ), and waiting to find out if I'll be able to purchase a vehicle (I have a possible option, but it is in the process of getting fixed, etc.).

And though it may seem like a bunch of excuses. . .

This is why I am still finishing my third book for the reading challenge!!!

I am going to try and at least get four books read by the end of this week, and surprisingly... I am okay with it. Sure, I definitely wanted to read five books (or more really), but I've been busy actually living my life. The books will still be there when I'm not so busy. And I wouldn't change how I've spent my time lately.

My summer reading challenge is ending this Saturday, and I am exciting to see how everyone else has done. Will there be a challenge winner?? I'll be back on Saturday with some final notes and I plan to be sending out an e-mail to everyone who joined so I can get a list of what they read.

Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge! It's been fun knowing other people are doing it with me.

Has your summer been busy?

How have you done on the reading challenge?