Literature Quiz (this was actually quite fun!)

This is a "quiz" I came across on facebook, and because I enjoy reading so much, I decided to take the time to answer the questions. It was really beneficial for me to do since it brought back a lot of memories of books I had forgotten about, and it allowed me to assess the type of book I want to read more of. I posted it as a note on facebook and tagged several friends, and thought I would share it here on my blog too. Feel free to comment!

1) You own the most books by what author?
I own a lot of books by C.S. Lewis; he is my favorite author. Literary, theological, intellectual, poetic, amusing... you just can't get much better than that.

2) You own the most copies of what book?
I have four different translations of the Bible, three of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and I own two or three copies of many books I read in high school. Sometimes I would buy two copies so I could write and highlight in one and also have a clean, untouched copy. Yes, I am a bit of a word nerd.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
I actually fixed the questions so they don't end with prepositions. :)

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
My response to this question is quite long, so prepare yourself.
This is my first one because I just finished reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. Of all of the Austen men, Mr. Darcy will always be my favorite. This speaks for itself: "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." Sigh.
Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables is also at the top of my list. He was a loyal friend to Anne for years before anything romantic developed, and truly cared about her-such a gentleman.
Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby is great. I promise I don't have a thing for sketchy literary characters with the inability to cope with their feelings for girls. I just love Gatsby because you had to go through a lot to figure him out, but his life was really centered around Daisy. So sweet!
Laurie Laurence in Little Women is another favorite. Little Women has a special place in my heart because it was the very first novel I read in the second grade. I had a completely mental crush on Laurie while I was reading that book. Jo was my favorite character in the book, and I always wanted her to be with him. He was charming, sweet, and just a great childhood boy to fall in love with. It was an estrogen filled book, so there wasn't much to choose from. From one of my literary mentors, Jo, I realized that I needed to follow my heart, and not a man.
I also have a small crush on Sherlock Holmes-sexy, sexy brain!

5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
I prefer to read books once, but I have read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy a few times through. I have also read Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper three or four times. When I was younger I read Charlotte's Web about ten times, I am embarrassed to admit. I was so mesmerized by that story as a child. I have read Bridge to Terabithia two or three times-such a good story. I also used to read L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables books over and over in elementary and middle school. Those books will never grow old, and I most definitely want to share them with my own children someday.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
My favorite book at that age was a book called Half Magic by Edward Eager. I also loved Matilda by Roald Dahl. Humorous fiction books really got me excited, it was like a whole new world to explore.

7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
This is a tough one to answer. I always try to research a book before I read it, and even if it doesn't tickle my fancy I can usually find some redeeming quality. I guess I would have to say The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker, although I didn't make it through the whole thing. I love Walker, and I liked how she brought in characters from The Color Purple, but this one didn't do it for me. It was a bit too controversial. I really want to read The Color Purple though! I just saw the musical and it was wonderful.

8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
One book I am reading right now is, in a word, remarkable. It is a biography about Eudora Welty by her friend Suzanne Marrs. Her life was fascinating and has truly inspired me. I recommend it to anyone.

9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is by far one of the greatest fictional stories ever told, and one of the most popular and influential written works in twentieth century literature. Once you pick up the first book, you’ll read them all.

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
Greg Mortenson, who wrote Three Cups of Tea. In addition to writing this bestselling book, he has dedicated his life to promote community-based education and literacy programs in Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially for girls. I haven't read his book yet, but I can just tell he deserves it. :)

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I would love to see The Hobbit made into a movie, although I am pretty sure this one is already in the works.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
I don't have much of an opinion about this. I would prefer to see books made into musicals or plays over movies! :)

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
One dream I recently had involved myself and some of my friends walking through downtown New York City on New Years Eve. We were walking from the upper tip of Central Park towards Times Square so that we could watch the ball drop. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye made an appearance, although he didn't have a huge role in my dream. He was just there walking with my friends, and it seemed like we had known him for years. I have tried to figure out what inspired this dream, and I think it may be because I really want to go back to NYC and just be there in the city. I have thought a lot about the last trip I just took there in December and how much I enjoyed being there with my friends. I have also started re-reading The Catcher in the Rye, so Holden is probably just on the forefront of my mind. Who knows.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
As much as I enjoyed the sweet stories of Sparks's The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, I was frustrated by Message in a Bottle. My opinion of him has changed a lot in the past few years. I admire him for continuing to write, but I think he is largely a good storyteller and not a good writer.

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I have never cried so much in one sitting. It changed my life, but it was difficult because I am really sensitive to sad stories.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've read?
Titus Andronicus, one of his earliest tragedies. If you read it, you would understand, although I do not recommend it. Read Hamlet instead. :)

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
Honestly, I can't read either language, so I don't have much to say. I enjoy some of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, so I guess I would have to go with Russian.

18) Roth or Updike?
Updike, if for only his Rabbit novels.

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Most definitely Eggers. I haven't read much of his stuff, but I admire his support of teachers and local public schools.

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Chaucer for his Canterbury Tales.

21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen, of course! What female doesn't enjoy Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, or Emma? :)

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I have yet to read Life of Pi by Martel. It has been on my book list for a couple of years, and I just haven't got ahold of a copy yet-I hope to get on that this summer.

23) What is your favorite novel?
I don't have a favorite, although I do have a favorite time period! I love novels that were written in the 1920's. I'm convinced that era would have been a good fit for me.

24) Play?
Am I allowed to pick a musical? :) I really enjoyed The Color Purple-I saw it last week and I was so impressed, and I would love to get ahold of the screenplay. I also loved "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" play and book when I was younger.

25) Poem?
I really like "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou and "There is Another Sky" by Emily Dickinson. I'm not much of a poetry connoisseur.

26) Essay?
The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment by C.S. Lewis, because I am really interested in the topic of capital punishment. I also read an essay by Ezra Pound that I really enjoyed. It was about music, but I can't remember what he titled it.

27) Short story?
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, and Flowers by Alice Walker.

28) Work of nonfiction?
Now we're talking! Nonfiction is my kind of reading. I love, love, love to read biographies, especially about women who changed the world like Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, Eudora Welty, and Elisabeth Elliot. There is something empowering about them, and they are always interesting to bring up in conversation. I also enjoy reading books about photography, music, interior decorating, cooking, marketing, social work, psychology, diseases, journalism, travel, ghost stories, politics, apologetics, theology, etc. I have recently been drawn to books about New York, New Zealand, and Kenya, probably because I want to live in all three places at some point in my life. :)

29) Who is your favorite writer?
C.S. Lewis and Tolkien are two of my favorites. I want to write a doctorate dissertation about them someday, if I make it that far in school. Did you know they shared a legendary friendship? :)

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
I apologize to those who enjoy her books, but I have to say Danielle Steele. What a load of rubbish.

31) What is your desert island book?
I assume this is referring to that book you pick when you need to escape from the rest of life, like a book you would read while you are on the beach. I would have to say my journal is my desert island book. I journal all the time, and have filled up dozens in my lifetime. I think I would go crazy if I couldn't write my thoughts down on paper!

32) And... what are you reading right now?
I'm one of those people who reads twenty books at one time. I have good intentions to finish them all the way through, but sometimes I get sidetracked and end up picking up another book. It's something I'm working on. :)
Right now, I have a stack of about fifteen books that are required reading for divinity school awaiting me. I have already started two or three and I'm loving them so far, which is a good sign. I'm really intrigued by two books by Foster called Devotional Classics and Celebration of Discipline. I also came across a list of books written by Dr. Braswell and Dr. Hoyle in the Campbell Divinity school that I want to get ahold of and read this summer.
I am also reading a biography about Eudora Welty's life, and I literally cannot put it down. I have been reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert for the past few months and I'm almost finished. I have also been working on several books by Elisabeth Elliot. I am currently reading informational books about Lake Norman and Buies Creek that I bought at the beginning of the summer. I think it's important for me to be in the know about the communities I am living in. That's all I can think of right now!

I could go on and on but I think this is a good stopping point. I hope you enjoyed reading some of my thoughts! Good thing it was only about literature and books, and not another topic like music, because this thing would have been twice as long. :)

Campbell Alumnus... say whaaaat?! :)

This week was one of those weeks that you want to hit rewind and replay over and over again, just to make sure it is etched in your mind. It was Campbell's graduation weekend, and my first week as a Campbell alumnus, and it was wonderful to spend time with family and friends.



On Friday, my mom, dad, brother Kevin, Uncle Mac, and Aunt Debbie came,and the graduation festivities began. We spent about two hours walking around the campus, and even got to see some of the pharmacy graduation. We all went out to eat at Blessed Restaurant, and my buddies who had been there last time were there. The little old man was trying to set me up with one of the young men who was eating in there. Clearly, neither one of us was interested. It was cute though. And the food was scrumptious!



The baccalaureate service was on Saturday morning at 10. Only three Social Work majors showed up, which wasn't too much of a surprise. It was actually kind of nice to have a more intimate service. Provost Greene gave the message, and it was great. He talked a lot about the life and teachings of Jesus, and he is certainly a scholar when it comes to that topic. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wish I had a tape recorder to record what he said.



After that service, Wee, Travis, and Pawan came over to hang out at my apartment. Wee had come to see some of us graduate all the way from New York City! Talk about a dedicated friend! It was so so fun to see him and catch up.



After that, I made my way over for graduation. Before we all walked into the convocation center, we were in the McCall practice gym area. Hand sanitizer was provided for everyone to prevent spreadage of the swine flu, but no water. Kind of ironic, haha. However, the time inside the gym was so wonderful. I saw people that I haven't seen in over a year, simply because our paths haven't crossed. I also got to sit with all of the Social Work majors, which was fun. Amanda Haynes, my roommate from my freshman year, was sitting right beside me. She was with me my first day at Campbell, and she was with me on my last. We came up with an ode to the class of 2009, and Luke Morales was sitting in front of us, so he taped us reciting it. We also did some crazy dance moves and made a few funny jokes. I'll never forget that-so fun!



The graduation service itself was long (almost 4 hours), and there was quite a bit of speaking, but it was at least interesting. I didn't pick up my diploma because I had received honors, but it is in the mail, and my name is spelled correctly. In the program I was Diane Elziabeth McClary. How do you misspell Elizabeth? Oh well. The important part is that I graduated and I got to see my friends walk across the stage!



It was also fun to take pictures with friends outside of the Convocation center after graduation! I got a picture with Alicia Jones. I was the first person she met when she came to Campbell and we worked at Mundo Vista together and have become great friends this past year.



After graduation, I went to dinner with my mom, dad, Kevin, Uncle Mac, and Aunt Debbie at Sagebrush. We had a blast! I am so thankful they were able to come up and see me graduate. Their support and love mean more to me than I could ever express.

After dinner, I went to a party at the Patty Tate that Luke, Donald, and Graham hosted. It was so much fun! We had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and just hung out with each other without a care in the world. I can't say that I am especially close to some of the people who are there, but it made for even more interesting conversation. I love meeting new people!

Sunday was Mother's Day, so I went out with my family to celebrate. The morning of, Abigail, Luke, and I went to church together. Luke and I also went to home fellowship at Grace, and it was so great! There were only 6 of us, so we had a more intimate conversation and I really learned a lot from everyone's perspective. Those kind of discussions make me even more excited about starting divinity school! :)



Monday, I got a Macbook for graduation. The guy at the Apple store was a hoot. He spent an hour giving me a tutorial. When I told him that I hope he got a bonus for all of the help he had given me, he said "Nope, we don't get commission. I just wanted to help you out. It makes it a much nicer place to work, believe me." I also had a chance to go grocery shopping with Robyn and hang out at the Happy House for a bit before heading back to the Creek. I am going to miss her so much this summer.

Tuesday, my mom came to help me move more stuff out of my apartment. I have determined that I own way too much stuff and it is time to seriously weed out the unused items. Yet another summer project. :) Thankfully, my friends Ben and Jesse came again to help me move some things out. It was so nice of them to do that! I am so so thankful to have great guy friends like them.

Today, I had the opportunity to go over to the Carrie Rich Memorial library and just read. I also found most of the books that I will need for my first semester of divinity school, and checked them all out. Summer reading, here I come! I also downloaded the new Sandra McCraken CD today. It is brilliant! I have been listening to it all day. She really is such a talented musician. I can only hope to be half as good as her one day.

Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the Residence Life Staff about freshman programming for next year. Should be fun! Then I will be heading over to a press conference at the convocation center. Campbell is making the old switcheroo back to the Big South Conference after almost twenty years of being in the Atlantic Sun conference.

I can't believe the past four years are over. My friend Dusty posted this on her facebook status today, and I thought it was fitting and want to share it: "Don't cry because it is over. Smile because it happened." :) The culmination of activities, conversations, and thoughts in the past four weeks have been the PERFECT end to those four amazing, fantastic years. Seriously, I could write a book about it. Every day something else happens and I think "Yes, another chapter in the book!" I am going to work on writing out those thoughts soon.

For now, I just have to reiterate how thankful I am to have graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from a wonderful university, and to be able to say that it was not myself that accomplished those things, but rather the Lord working through me. He deserves all of the praise, for sure!

Fun at Duke!

Yesterday Lydia and I went on a road trip to Durham to visit Duke University and to have dinner with my friend Bobby. He was my creative writing teacher in high school, and better known as Mr. Rackley at that time. It has taken me a while to get used to calling him Bobby.



First I picked Lydia up at her house in Fuquay-Varina, and I was able to meet her mom and talk to her for a while. She is such a sweetheart, and prayed for us before we set out on the road. We arrived at the campus not knowing what we were going to do, and ended up at the Sarah P. Duke gardens. All I can say is WOW. Gorgeous. We got some amazing pictures, which are all posted up on facebook.



After we explored around the gardens, we drove around the campus for a while looking for the chapel. Must to our dismay, we could not find it, so we decided to head on to the restaurant. We met Bobby and Red Lobster and enjoyed a great seafood meal together, complete with iced tea and cheddar bay biscuits. The discussion we had was phenomenal. We were mostly talking about future plans and theological education, but Lydia and I asked Bobby a lot of questions about Duke and found out some interesting answers. It was so good to catch up with him. I had not seen him in about five years, so that in and of itself was a treat!



After that, we went back to the campus to look for the chapel. On the way, we realized that we had taken no pictures with Bobby, which is a no-no in my book! I texted him and asked if he could meet up with us again, so he came to the chapel and we took a slew of pictures! Probably enough to fill an entire photo album. The chapel was truly mesmerizing. I have seen it before and been inside, but there is something about being there at night that is special. I will never forget that small snippet of time.



Lydia and I headed back towards Raleigh, and when we got back we caught the tail end of the Biggest Loser. Some friends of the family were at her house, and there was a little girl named Jessica who was bursting full of energy. She decided she wanted to teach me some dance moves, and she ended up teaching me all of the moves to a Hannah Montana's Hoedown Throwdown. Lydia got the whole thing on video. It was quite amusing!

I absolutely love this week-being out of school and waiting until graduation with no super pressing plans and plenty of time to hang out with friends. I am going to miss being in the Creek this summer and being around close friends. Hopefully I will be able to make several road trips back here and other various places to visit the friends who are most important to me. I am so excited about being done with undergrad, but at the same time I don't want it to end! I am so thankful I will be back here for graduate school. I'm not ready to say goodbye to this place for good; it has become my second home.

Abigail and Diane's Adventure

Yesterday Abigail and I set out for the adventure of a lifetime (or maybe just of the week). After church we spent the afternoon at Raven Rock, a state park near Campbell. We had a picnic, complete with turkey sandwiches and fruit. Then we hiked for quite some time, and walked around the trails and beside the gargantuan rocks while we talked about life and the future. I love that word, gargantuan. People should use it more often. We also went to the overlook and Abigail read some poetry out loud in her teacher voice. It was so amazing.







On our way back, we passed by a strawberry farm, so we stopped to pick strawberries! We had a little over a pound, and they were so plump and juicy!



Then, we went over to the Patty Tate and jumped on the trampoline for a bit. I can't remember the last time I bounced that high on a trampoline! We were definitely flying. I felt like a little kid again, and it was so freeing.

After bouncing for a bit, we took showers and cooked dinner at my apartment. We made chicken tacos, and I'm pretty sure we had about 6 each. I guess we were just so hungry after all of that walking! They were so tasty though.

After dinner, we watched the movie Pleasantville and ate cupcakes and strawberries dipped in powdered sugar for dessert. Both of us fell asleep before the movie was over, with our heads at opposite ends of my bed. I wish someone had been there to take a picture! I'm sure it was cute. We did take plenty of pictures of our excursion though, and they will be posted soon. The entire day was such a treat, and probably one of my most favorite days at Campbell. I will never ever forget it!

Tonight the adventure continues-we are having a sleepover at my apartment! Being out of school is just too much fun. I've always imagined what college would be like without classes, and it's nice to have a small foretaste of that and to be able to spend large amounts of time with a dear friend.

College has come and gone...

I haven't written here in about a month, mostly because I have been super busy finishing up things in my last month of school and trying to hang out with friends every chance I get! I read through Meredith's blog, and it inspired me to come and write in my own. If you are reading this, thanks for everything you shared, Mere. It made me laugh [the picture of us dressed up like music stars!] and cry [talking about missing people and all.] I can't believe it is all over, but yet just the beginning of new things and great adventures.

In the past month, so many amazing things have happened in my life that have made me have to catch my breath. I have called my mom almost every day with something new and exciting to share. I finished my internship at the Salvation Army, gave my senior presentation, took my last undergraduate exam, said goodbye to my Social Work family, decided I am going to attend the Campbell Divinity School, found out that I will be the Resident Director of Hedgpeth dorm, was offered another job on campus, found out about some great scholarships, had coffee with some amazing people, saw my girl crush at a coffee shop, spoke at the Honors Banquet at Campbell, started running consistently with my friend Lori, read through my senior yearbook, played guitar at Monday Night Bible Study and Erwin First Baptist Church, went to the beach, and had all kinds of fun in between! These things have been the ideal end to my senior year of college. Things have not always been easy, but I have completed this book and I am ready to move on to the next one. Even though these four years are over, I am able to look back and see how the Lord has worked it all out and I didn't even have to do anything. He is the one who brought me to where I am now. He has been so faithful all along, and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for me!





This whole month has been one great conversation after another. Today was no exception. I went to have lunch with Jilene and Terry, two of my friends here at Campbell. We had a really encouraging conversation about strengths that we each see in each other, and some of the things they said were so inspiring to me. They said things about me that I wouldn't have noticed about myself. This evening, I was able to hang out with some of my dearest friends. Abigail, Sara, Meredith, Virginia, Jilene and I all watched The Secret Life of Bees together and spent time telling fun stories about things that have recently happened in our lives. Meredith also played a song she had written on her guitar, and it was absolutely beautiful. She has inspired me to practice up this summer. I can't wait until I buy my own guitar with my graduation money! It was one of my last girly nights with these beautiful women, and what a night it was. I will never, ever forget it.



I know I tend to talk about my friends a lot, but they really are what has made all of the studying and paper writing make more sense. I have been so blessed with so many amazing friends here at Campbell! I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many great things have come about as a result of these wonderful people. Most of them are people I want to keep up with as I graduate and want to continue to enjoy life with. They are all so unique and special. I know that the Lord brought us together for a reason. Each person has helped to shape me into the woman I am now, and I hope I have had an impact on their lives too. So many things have changed for me in the past few years, but one thing that has been constant is the friendship I have shared with these people. They all remain nameless in my blog, but they will always be on my mind. I have grown especially close to many girls, from the girls I lived with in Hedgpeth and had crazy parties with to the girls I live with now at Faculty Memorial. So many wonderful memories are to be had here, and they will only continue for years to come! Saying goodbye to these people is one of the hardest things I will ever have to do. I don't know what I am going to do without them. I have shed several tears thinking about what a strange transition it will be to go from seeing friends on a weekly basis to not seeing them at all. Thankfully, I will still have several close friends in the area, and tons of memories to keep with me for as long as my busy brain remembers them. Things will never be the same, but I am learning to embrace the change and be thankful for it! God's plans are so much greater than my own desires.

I came across a verse this morning during my devotion time that really encouraged me. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:20. It iss so cool to remember that through Christ God's promises are made complete.

I begin this new chapter of my life with excitement and enthusiasm. Whenever I think about new beginnings, I always wear my butterfly shirt-I think I might just have to do that tomorrow. Even though this is "the end", it is really just the beginning! God is so good.