Thursday, March 6, 2014

This Post Includes Pirates

Every smart writer has great people behind them backing them up. Parents and friends, peers and critics--in order to be a good writer, you need readers. I'm no exception to this rule, of course. I have close friends and loved ones that proof read, comment on, criticize, praise, and revise my writing because they love me and they want to help. My first source of this help is usually my fiance, Kurt.








This is my very accurate artistic rendering of him.
Kurt is my sounding-board and my rock of encouragement. Sometimes I lose confidence in my ability as a writer or I decide that I want to do something crazy like open an online flower shop (true story). I come to him frustrated and confused, and he calms me down and reassures me that I am capable and smart, especially when I'm not feeling that way. We play video games and bake cookies together, and we FINALLY found an apartment just the other day, which is exciting. I love this man very much, and he seems to like me pretty well too.


A very real movie poster.


My next source of delightful help and encouragement  is my old roommate and homiest homie, Kat. She has been proofreading my awful papers and gently discouraging my bad ideas since we met in the 7th grade. We love Jane Austen and all things Doctor Who, and we bond over weird things like poorly edited MS Paint pictures. The treasure you see to your right is us cleverly disguised as pirates in the new feature film "Katherines of the Caribbean," coming to a theater near you. In all seriousness, Kat is an amazing friend and is always willing to hear my thoughts and give me feedback on my life. We cry and laugh and talk and eat lots and lots of baked goods.






Dad having fun with a statue in Boston.
My final source of inspiration is my excellent father. Some of you may know him as Professor Cutchins, teacher of American literature at BYU. Here's his BYU faculty profile. He's a really great teacher and everyone should take his classes and give him excellent scores on Rate My Professor. But truly, there's nobody whose feedback and criticism is more valuable to me. My daddy has always been my best friend and my place to run in times of crisis. I have had many weepy conversations in his office, and he always has a couple of silly videos on hand to cheer me up. He helps me reason through my worries, and he's always willing to talk to me about anything in the world. We love to backpack in the Uinta Mountains or watch British TV together, and he's always been my buddy for milkshakes or serious talks. He reads my papers and fixes all the silly things I overlook, and he's an excellent friend and father.

I have many other delightful friends and family that support me and help me work through my issues, but if I tried to tell you about all of them, it would take up more pages than anyone is willing to read. These are just a few of the people I hold dear, but they're pretty representative of my entire group of loved ones.

1 comment:

  1. That must be really nice to have an English professor for a father. Also, that Katherines of the Caribbean poster is fantastic. Made my day :)

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