what life *really* looks like:
Embrace the journey – life is full of unexpected twists and turns and events and friends and you’ll make memories along the way that will tell the story of who you are – so chase your dreams with wide eyes and a big heart!
Studio 1065 – what are your goals?
The brand new Teen Space at the Benbrook Public Library
As I was scouring the Internet for good stuff to add to our Pinterest boards I ran across this introduction to a free eBook. The eBook is written for photographers, but the intro can apply to anyone (In fact, I edited out the sections that are specific to photography. If you are interested, you can find the original here.). As I read the intro, it became abundantly clear that many of these goals were what the Librarians had in mind when we started to put together the new teen “makerspace”. Here’s what we hope YOU accomplish with the space – and if you have goals you’d like to share, tell us in the comments!
“1. Stay curious
– Ask why and ask how
2. Try it out
– Don’t just read. Do: Don’t just read about how things are done. Try them out for yourself! What you learn from reading will stick with you much longer if you supplement with doing.
– Experiment: You definitely don’t need to limit yourself to the techniques you’ve read about. Make up your own concoction of techniques.
3. Try again
– Tweak and repeat: If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. But make sure to tweak your procedure a bit. It’s insanity to do the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.
– Don’t get discouraged: If you’re having a hard time, it’s not because you’re dumb or incompetent, it’s because you’re trying to do something hard! Failure happens for a reason. If it was easy, everyone would be super skilled at it already.
4. Be critical
– Challenge what you read: Don’t trust everything you read online or even what you learn from others. We’re all prone to making a few mistakes here or there and may accidentally suggest misinformation. Follow up on your sources to make sure they’re credible and what they assert is replicable.
– Logic it out: If you feel like something may be wrong, logic it out. Synthesize what you’ve learned to deduce whether something new makes sense.
– Challenge yourself: Take pride in your accomplishments but never forget that there’s always room for improvement. You can always aspire to even greater heights.
5. Keep an open mind
– Be open to change: Understand that nothing is set in stone: Your personal tastes will likely change. Industry standards may change. Audience demographics and preferences may change. Whether you let the latter two changes influence your work is up to you. But be ready and willing to adapt to new changes.
– Be open to new ideas: You never know when you’re going to encounter an idea from a perspective that makes you challenge your own.”
– SOURCE
Quill Seekers – Poetry Edition
We had our first Quill Seekers meeting and kicked it off with magnetic poetry to celebrate National Poetry month. Initially the group consensus was that writing poetry was usually not much fun and often difficult. Then we got out the magnets and suddenly I found myself in a room full of wordsmiths. You might notice some themes, we worked with a limited vocabulary at first – if it wasn’t a word on the tray then something from the bank of magnetic letters had to be substituted. By the end, we were taking two words only from the tray and free writing using the pure creativity unique to each individual there. As we were cleaning up everyone agreed, “Poetry is fun!”
Check it out:
Posted with permission; poetry by “A.B.”:
lather juice
thousand power
smears of wind
boil it till
it rusts
forest language
hot fire
burning trees
a forest whisper
screaming for me
Flower in the garden what shall I do?
Should I tell mother about the glue?
I stepped in it with my new shoe.
I sure don’t know what to do.
Pick the petal till it falls
See where it lands see where it goes
It landed on tell, so I did
I got in trouble so I hid.
Mother found me
And now I see
That hiding from mommy
Should not be.
And “Daisi Lin’s”, posted with permission:
Forest language
Breathe
In
Out
Stand
In
The
Center
Hair
Streaming
Moon
Lighting
Face
Ring
Around
The
Crow-bird
Forest whispers
Noose
Tight
Innocent
Dead
Forever
Whisper
In the shadows
Death is calling
You
For eternity
Peach chocolate
Cool winter
See her breathe
See her breath
Before her death
For
Ever
Eternity
Blood moon
Shines
Bright
On
The crimson
Stream
Across
Her dark
Hair.
My mother
Innocent
Not fair.
I am
Alone
For
Eternity
Enormous beauty
She
Is
An
Enormous
Beauty
Glossy
Hair
Eyes
Wide
Closer
“Good
Girl”
I
Soothe
Beauty
Enormous
Beauty
My
Pony
Co-written by A.B. and Daisi Lin:
She dreams
The black diamond ship
Always darkness
Time pounding
In
Her
Mind
For eternity
And by L.J., posted with permission:
Blood Moon
Deep crimson night
Crickets cry softly
Dark hair
Dark eyes
Shadow soul
Looking for the truth
By the light of the
Blood moon
Gorgeous Whisper
Elaborate sky
Beneath smooth soaring sea
Raw moon
Rocky void pictures
Cool winter
Enormous beauty
Whisper of lilac hair
Lavender skin
Water goddess
Early golden light
Shines delicately
Over the vast
Expanse
That is the
Sea
ALL POEMS COPYRIGHT THEIR AUTHORS. PLEASE DO NOT RE-USE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR.
for all the teen writers in Benbrook
Tomorrow (that’s Wednesday, April 03) at 4:00PM is the debut of the new writing club just for teens! Since its National Poetry Month, we will start with some poetry – but not just any poetry. No, these poems don’t have to be all iambic pentameter-ish or rhyme or even be scholarly. They can be, of course, but they don’t have to be. And, it won’t be a blank page of paper staring you in the face daring you to write something. We have something way more fun and much easier planned: magnetic poetry!
What should you bring? Well, you don’t have to bring anything, but you are encouraged to bring any current projects you wish to share as well as your writing comforts (iPods with earbuds, your favorite writing pen, your writing notebook, etc. are all welcome!) since we might have extra time to discuss and share ideas. We will also talk about our own writing practices and learn what popular authors say about the writing process. What will you leave with? Some new poems, some new writing resources (like how to make your own magnetic poetry!), and hopefully new friends!
Do you seek the Quill?
“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that—but you are the only you… There are better writers than me out there, there are smarter writers, there are people who can plot better—there are all those kinds of things, but there’s nobody who can write a Neil Gaiman story like I can.” Neil Gaiman
Lots of new stuff is happening here at the library! With the Teen Zone under construction, a new Teen Advisory Board, new computers, and more, we thought now was a perfect time to say “Yes!” to a new program. After all, it was one that was specifically requested by y’all. So, without further ado: a teen writing club! It’s for the teens (ages 12-17) wanting help, support, and encouragement in their writing. And, because no one can tell your story like you can. 🙂
We are calling it the Quill Seekers. Why? Because, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, they used bird feathers filled with ink as writing instruments. These were called “quills”. The ancient quill can be used as a symbol for writing and this club is for those seeking to write hence, Quill Seekers. Why only teens? Well, we will let Willa Cather handle this one: “Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.”
Starting April 3rd, 2013 we will meet the first Wednesday of each month and from 4:00-5:00PM write our hearts out. Bring your current projects, your favorite pen (bonus points if it is a quill), or if you write purely on a laptop bring that, and anything else you need to write. We will enjoy light snacks as we work with writing prompts, free time writing, constructive critiques, and other activities that will help teens practice and polish their writing. The only requirement to join: a passion to write.
Remember:
The Power of Six!
If you haven’t been to the library in a while,
a) what’s wrong with you? and…
b) you need to know about the new space we are creating just for you! It will be an area for you to create, study, and just plain hang out in.
ALSO, we are creating a new Teen Advisory Board to help us make design decisions, equipment recommendations, and program suggestions. If you are between the ages of 12 and 17 we would love for you to apply and get your voice heard.
Drop by the library and pick up an application STASAP (sooner than as soon as possible)!
Deadline is March 9th–ish
Believe in Your Shelf 
