Swallowing Stones

Have you ever done something in which you felt that you were "Swallowing Stones?" Explain.

Don't Be Afraid to Fail.  Be afraid NOT to try.


React to this quote.  What does it mean to you?

Blog post

Neil Gaiman, the author of Coraline and The Graveyard Book , as well as many other books, wrote:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

And almost half a decade ago I said,

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it's this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

Please REACT to this quote at length, in your BLOG post this month!

Ella vs Cinderella

How difficult was it to compare Ella to Cinderella? Did you like or dislike Grimm's Cinderella. Why?

Ella Enchanted

Discuss the traits that you love about Ella.

The Mazerunner

Would you recommend this book to someone else? What does this book remind you of?

What traits would you assign to Thomas?