write what you know.

how do you become a successful blogger?

here are my guesses:
1. be hilarious and witty about interesting things.
2. write, write, write. (this i've heard since grade school, but still i have trouble with it.)
3. have a really sweet layout and tricked-out design.
4. become a big deal.

more later on which of these are actually achievable.

anyway, you always hear people say that the best writing comes from writing about things that you know about and are meaningful to you. this means i'll be writing on this blog about books...college...teaching English at the middle/high school level...Christianity and faith-related issues...thought-provoking articles, and maybe even reflections on pop culture and current events.

for example, a little pop culture - last night, j and i went to see "slumdog millionaire." ohhhhhhh my gosh. this movie, hands down, is one of the best movies i've seen. a beautiful story that, as far as i can tell, shouldn't have been able to work for all the cliche rags-to-riches elements and the unlikely love story intertwined throughout. and yet it does work. it works because we love a story that follows an unlikely hero - one who should have died or been broken by the harsh experiences life dealt him - who manages to live and even become a winner (of 10,000,000 rupees, no less) rather than a loser. we love to see such a hero, who has carried a torch for a girl he hasn't seen for years, be with her at last, despite the vile attempts of evil men to keep them apart.

are these cliches? yeah, maybe. but they're good cliches. whether we want to admit it or not, this is the kind of story that people have always enjoyed. this story can make your heart sing as you watch it. it reminds us that evil doesn't have the final say for a person determined to overcome. it champions the possibility of achieving something wonderful when you have been considered worthless and good-for-nothing. i see so many good elements exhibited by the characters in this film - determination, sacrifice, endurance, justice, faithfulness, and love (of course), just to name a few.

and according to the golden globes, i'm not the only one who sees these things: http://tiny.cc/sjFkS
so go see it, and when you do, be sure to tell me what you think!