a heart with a twist of lemon

i am in the middle of writing my last paper of the semester. or rather in the middle of reading for it. like always, i have started this quest on the night before it is due. i stay awake as the sun sleeps. 9 papers in the second half of this semester, all of which have been at least 5 pages in length. all written upon the height of my creativty--->late night crunch time. some may wonder how i always manage to accomplish this great feat of composing magnificent papers the night before. i will highlight some of my secrets for you:

a pink headband: good for catching sweat, and keeping the long hair out of my eyes when reading or writing. with no more intramural soccer to get use out of the contraption, i figure i use it for something. and i think it helps in keeping my head focused by holding everything in.

caffeine: when my eyes start to droop, i find some caffeine to prop open my windows to the world.

downtime: it is always good to take a few breathers here and there. after reading a paragraph or writing a sentance or two, i always find it helpful to call a time out and simply do nothing.

read then write: i have gotten through my stacks of paper by skimming the required reading (which i never read throughout the semester when i am supposed to), highlighting passages that sound relavent to the paper topic. develop a clever title to the paper, followed by a thesis, then begin throwing in the highlighted quotes as supports.

crazy music: some fast music that improves writer morale assists one once they reach the writing stage. when accompined by the air guitar or pencil and pen drumming, excess energy is built up for keyboard tapping. this is discouraged when still in the reading stage as ones mind tends to linger off on the lyrics of the song rather than the words in the literature. when one needs to rock and roll all night, it is important to have the soundtrack to back up the action.

competetive paper writing: i have found that one of the most effective tools in writing a paper is when a roommate also has a paper. in this case you must make it a race. this may lessen the quality but it increases the speed. and in the end, the only important part is that you have a paper to turn in. because a grade is way better than no grade.

but why have i ceased my paper writing process to write this when it is my last paper of the semester? a number of reasons actually. the last paper of the spring semester is always hardest to write since summer's liberating rays are near. it is hard to keep coming up with words to fill up papers week after week. i have an over zealous roommate who pressured me to write a blog over continuing with my studies.

but most of all it is due to the fact that two of my highlighters have died out. they have been through a lot this semester and it seems as though they finally hit their limit. first neon orange, then neon green now i will continue with pink. like my headband.