Hello and welcome to another Random Thoughts! So, I've written a children's book and I'm currently looking at illustrators. I am so excited to have something I've written in hard copy! It kind of happened accidentally because I always thought the first book I would get publish was going to a young adult novel. I'm also thinking of editing the book I wrote on my wattpad account and reuploading it here. I think it would be really cool to see where I've been and  how far I've come since then. I am a little nervous though because tapas was my way of starting fresh, so maybe I will think a little more on uploading my old content.

The other thing that has been weighing on my mind is my graduation. I kind of fell off the deep end from school because I realized a long time ago that school wasn't for me, but I went because of my family. Now, I am almost done with it and I my opinions on the matter have not changed. I am grateful though, I have had a few classes that I really loved and learned from. However, most of my classes were not really suited for me. Thinking on it now, it would be cool to audit a class. If I don't have to do the work and I can just learn I think I would like school better. But maybe I am just being lazy.

With summer comes a lot of good memories and I hope, truly hope, that this summer is no different. I get out of school officially in august and I really don't know what will happen to me. I am going to do my best to focus on my writing career. I am so excited actually. I know life isn't always easy, and there will be obstacles, but that just makes for even more writing material! I plan on finishing Amongst the Dandelions. I am a done with a third of the first draft and I think if I do a little every day I can be done with it in a couple months. The good thing about writing a children's book first is it's a perfect way to test whether self-publishing is the route I want to take, or if I should work with a publishing company. The latter option makes me more nervous, not because my writing is bad, but that it doesn't matter how good I am, they still could say no. I am not afraid of no's or failures. 

Someone recently told me that if somebody doesn't like me, then there's a good possibility I won't like them. This really struck a chord with me because all my life I've struggled with appeasement. I was bullied as a kid and it messed up my psyche in a way that now, I'd rather be "the good girl that everybody likes," which is not a bad thing don't get me wrong. However, if someone didn't like me, I would often blame myself and apologize profusely for my actions. Looking back now, I think it's important to apologize for your actions, but it's just as important to stand up for yourself. Anyways, I digress. If a publishing house does not want to work with me, then so be it, maybe I don't want to work with them. I am confident in my work. I know I don't have the best editing skills, but I think that's a good thing. It levels me in a way, tells me I need to look over my writing and seek help from others. 

In other news, my finals had put a hold my instagram posts, but I am getting back in the swing of things. I want my account to be somewhat professional, but it's difficult for me to separate friend Odelya from work Odelya. For example, if someone where to comment on my post, I will either like it or comment back because I really do appreciate someone taking the time to write something. However, sometimes I will get someone who is overly friendly and I am not sure how to politely and professionally tell them I am not entirely okay with their comment. And I am not talking about the creepy, or super uncomfortable comments. Those of course I could delete. I am addressing the ones that have generally nice messages, but they will add something in the end that might make me scrunch up my nose. For now, it's not a big deal, but in the future I'll have to make firmer decisions. 

Well that's all for now, I can't tell if I wrote a lot or not enough, but I feel I've said all that I can. Hope y'all have a pleasant week. Fun Fact: Manatees have the same vocal chords as humans, but they can't use them the same way we do because they don't have the proper ears to hear the sounds.

(FF Source: Cool Facts app)