Maria E. Monteiro's Blog, page 9

Get to Know Emma

Hi my name is Emma Caitlin Paige. I’m 16 years old and live in Cypress Oak in the Catskills, NY. Last year was tough for me. I lost someone very important in my life and it has been hard to exist without them. I’m lucky to have my best friend Britney by my side. She and I are so alike. We both love music and the simple things in life.

My favorite bands are: Stone Solid, O.A.R. American Bang. Citizen Cope, Bayside, and Rival Sons.

My favorite movies are: The Breakfast Club & Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

My favorite TV show is: Shameless

My favorite book are: Twilight (Just kidding) it’s The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and Girl by Blake Nelson

I truly believe I was born in the wrong decade. I should have been a teen in the 60′s or better yet in the 90′s. I would have worn a flannel shirt and listened to nothing but grunge. My introduction to Nirvana’s Nevermind album changed my life.

I don’t mind school, but I can’t stand most of my classmates. I am very happy it’s summer and I don’t have to see most of them for awhile.

The summer before my junior year is supposed to be easy. I’m working at Fairland Park, and I have a great boyfriend named Court.

 

Having Court in my life has taught me how to smile again. I’m so thankful for him. This summer is supposed to be about getting closer to him, but things have changed now that I’ve met Nash. There is something about Nash that wakes up the butterflies in my stomach, and makes me question my relationship with Court.

 

Spending time with Nash is as amazing as the time I spend with Court. My heart is so confused right now. I have no idea what I’m going to do. I hope who ever I pick to be with will bring me happiness.

This summer is going to be full of excitement, music, friends, and hopefully love.

  

Read Hold on Tight to find out who I choose and how my summer turns out.

The Being Happy Challenge

A couple of weeks ago I was watching the Anderson Cooper talk show as he interviewed my favorite actress Drew Barrymore. She said that her life changed when she decided to be happy. Drew said each morning she tells herself “I’m going to be happy today.” She said doing this has changed her life and brought good things to it. So I thought thats easy just be happy. I quickly learned it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially having to remember everyday. So I gave up after a week, but it’s been haunting my mind ever since. I began to wonder if it’s as easy as to just say “I’m going to be happy?”  And will it bring good things to your life? Well on the eve of my 38th birthday I have decided to find out.

For a whole year I will wake up each mornign and say “I’m going to be happy today. No matter what happens I will continue to smile and try my best to make others smile too.”

There are some things that will make this challenge difficult:

I’m not in love with my job.
I just published my first book in a market where no one really knows me.
Reviews for my book, even good ones play with my head.
I’m working on my second book, which is the sequel to Hold on Tight. I’ve been warned that sequals are never as good as the first book.
I only get to see my husband on the weekends.
I’m up to my neck in student loans.
And finally, I get horrible headaches at least 4 times a week.

I know a lot of those things are not real problems, but in a world where most people drown in a little cup a water these are big issues for me that sometimes can ruin my day.

Okay I know what you are thinking, why blog about it?  I’m blogging as a way to remember to stay happy everyday. The last time I tried I kept forgetting.

Now I’m not saying I’m going to be 100% happy everyday; I do have other emotions I have to embrace, but I’m going to try my best not to let things get to me and most of all not to complain. I also want to see if “being happy” does bring good things to your life.

I begin my challenge tomorrow and will hopefully blog about it every other day.

Music Fest: O.A.R

Welcome to music fest where you can enjoy music from groups that are not constantly on the radio.

O.A.R stands for Of A Revolution. This band was formed when the guys were high school in Rockville Maryland. They later met Jerry (guitar/saxophone player) ar Ohio State University. The band is made up of the lead singer and guitar player: Marc Roberge, lead guitar player: Richard On, Bass guitar player: Benj Gershaman, saxophone, guitar player: Jerry DePizzo, and drummer: Chris Culos. All their songs consist of catchy beats and lyrics which bring you to a place that makes you want to dance and flow. Blame it on their rock beats mixed with jazz and reggae.

Their first album The Wander became big on college campuses. Without any real marketing their songs became hits with their fans by word of mouth. One of the greatest things about O.A.R is that they would encourage the audience to record their shows. This is what helped spread their music around. They now have 7 studio albums and 4 live albums.

In 2006 O.A.R sold out Madison Square Garden, which is huge for group that did not get a lot of air time on the radio. 18000 fans were there to enjoy one of the hardest working bands in the business.

And now one of the first songs they ever wrote:

A song from there new album King

I would love to know of any groups you listen to that are not constantly on the radio.

Woodstock State of Mind

Like a lot of Americans I grew up always thinking that Woodstock took place in Woodstock, NY. It wasn't until years later that I found out I was wrong. Actually I found out in 1994 when I was getting ready to attend Woodstock 94. There I was a girl getting ready to enjoy two days of concerts, not really knowing much about what happened in August of 1969.

I never even found out where the orignal Woodstock festival was held, until I moved to the Catskills. When I came to live in Monticello, NY in 2007 I kept seeing signs for a place called Bethel Woods, and wondered why it was so important. Then One day I got tickets to see Bob Dylan at the very place I wondered about. As we drove towards Bethel Woods, which is only 10 miles from my house, I began to see flags with the two doves on them, art work in the shape of peace signs, and tie-dye T-shirts stands. All the sudden, I realized Woodstock took place near here. That's when my wonderful husband, who thought it was funny to keep me in the dark, explained to me that Bethel Woods is actually the farmland that was used for the Woodstock festival. I became so excited I almost jumped out of the sun roof. I felt proud to live near such a historic sight.

You also need to know that a couple of years before this discovery I actually started becoming a fan of the music. I tried to find out everything I could about that time period, but for some strange reason, I skipped the part of learning about which town it was held in.

It has been a treat to live near such an amazing place. Everytime I walk the grounds, I swear I can see all the people dancing and hear jimmy Hendrix playing The Star Spangled Banner on his guitar.

It has also inspired my writing. Some important scenes in Hold on Tight take place at Bethel Woods, and I also make a lot of references about Woodstock in it. As the summer approaches, I'm getting ready to pull out my tie-dye T-shirt, my flips flops, and enjoy outdoor concerts at the home of the 1969 Woodstock festival.

Making My Dream a Reality

My life as a new author has been crazy. A few months ago I was walking around dead, not really knowning what I wanted to do with my life anymore. Yes I'm a preschool teacher, but it was not fullfilling me. It was not what I dreamt about when I was a little girl. I had written Hold on Tight and let a couple of people read it, they all suggested I publish it, but I didn't have enough faith in myself to do that.

Then one day at work our accountant asked me "What are you doing with your life?" It was a simple question that had a simple answer: "Nothing." I knew I had to do something, something to get me out of my funk. It was as if the heavens opened up that day. To top it off as I got in my car my iPod decided to play Walk by the Foo Fighters, I don't know why but it spoke to me like it never had before. All of the sudden the words began to hit home. I had to learn to walk again. I got home that day and pulled out Hold on Tight and began to edit it. Everything started falling into place. I found the book Becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Winters, which became my bible. I got on twitter and began to follow other authors, bloggers, and readers. I have met the coolest people there. I've recieved so much help from other authors, it has been surreal.

I began to smile again. I was happy, something I hadn't felt in such a long time. I wasn't just walking around like a zombie anymore, I was alive again. Don't get me wrong, I would still have my tiny moments of doubt, but they were very small. I remember one day telling my husband, I'm not supposed to be the girl that's supposed to live out her dreams, I'm the girl that keeps her dreams in her head. Right after I said those words out loud I was over any doubts, because I realized how stupid it is to think like that. Thanks to the support of most of my family and my friends I went full steam ahead without any fears.

Now here I am three months later and my book has been officially released on Amazon.com. And in couple of days it will be on iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Sony reader and many other places. It's so freaky. I've been going through so many emotions since I found my book on Amazon. Everytime someone tells me they got my book, I cheer and then I panic. Of course my 1st fear is that they won't like it. But I have to let go of that fear and just enjoy witnessing my dream become my reality.

Even as a little girl I loved to dance

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