<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Ramblings of a Teenager]]></title><description><![CDATA[Written by a teenager for anyone looking to waste time or learn a bit about the world through someone else's eyes.]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2026 07:27:53 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Pertenecer (to belong) - A Short Story]]></title><description><![CDATA[From the battered folding chair on our screened-in porch, I watched little girls hop along their crooked chalk masterpieces and jump rope with colorful, dusty hands. Further down, their brothers weaved between parked cars lining the cramped street, kicking a frayed soccer ball and hollering, “I’m Hugo Sánchez!” “No, I’m  Sánchez! You’re  Ferretti!” When a car entered the neighborhood, they practiced their footwork on the sidewalk art, sticking their tongues out at the displeased girls until...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/pertenecer-to-belong-a-short-story</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699f8bc512cb2e7c18f12027</guid><category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:10:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_0e54b1db73ea4ab68f8af25d915cf29a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to Write Love: 3 Tips for Writing Authentic Love]]></title><description><![CDATA[First, Why Write Love? Love is important in a story because love is important in life! While love might not always be critical to what you’re working on, it plays its part in building a character and showing depth.  Love  has great potential, too. Maybe it can help create that tension  your story has been lacking, either interpersonally or intrapersonally. But most importantly, love is just real. We all feel it in our own ways. When love appears in a story, we can emotionally resonate  with...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/how-to-write-love-3-tips-for-writing-authentic-love</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69934548cf429c4fcb4c7a0b</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Tips]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:31:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_0556c5c99d884ad390271f597dde8b3a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Majoring in Creative Writing: The Pros and Cons (From a University of Michigan Graduate)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Considering majoring in Creative Writing? Read this Pros and Cons list from a college grad!]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/majoring-in-creative-writing-the-pros-and-cons-from-a-university-of-michigan-graduate</link><guid isPermaLink="false">698cfb41636516a3166e5381</guid><category><![CDATA[Ramblings]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 22:20:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_c8c0638e2803429298ec81a636d95586~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Festival of Ghosts]]></title><description><![CDATA["As the cold settled over her, Annaisha thought of those giant serpents slithering their gluttonous bodies along the ocean floor. Were they hungry for something different—for something bigger and warmer than cod or salmon? Had one swallowed Papa’s vessel in one gulp, emerging and disappearing at impossible speed? Maybe that’s why Papa hadn’t visited her for the Festival of Ghosts: he was trapped in the serpent’s cavernous stomach—now the doomed protagonist of his mythical tales."]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/festival-of-ghosts</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69864f2ecafaaac48841d947</guid><category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:47:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_444bce1074af46eb9caa42f6313bd192~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Au Sable]]></title><description><![CDATA[Somewhere to my right, water trickles as the river glides between the branches of fallen trees, their bodies leaning over the surface...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/sample</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5f12129cee38550017497c75</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:05:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_39dd13b6d1a54130a92b73d7e180b486~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[From Community College to a 4-year University: the Pros and Cons of the Transfer Student Path]]></title><description><![CDATA[On a swelting late August day in 2021, I attended a freshman welcome event at my local community college. I'll admit that community...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/from-community-college-to-a-4-year-university-the-pros-and-cons-of-the-transfer-student-path</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6458718b2bd17004657ec06c</guid><category><![CDATA[Ramblings]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 16 Aug 2023 21:02:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_ebf1f368f5f449deb492e52b85ab7018~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[536 Days Later...]]></title><description><![CDATA[and I'm back! Wow. It has been so long since I've written on this blog. November 21, 2021 to May 3, 2023. So, basically, my entire...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/536-days-later</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6452840358dfa2d13c365484</guid><category><![CDATA[Ramblings]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 03 May 2023 20:40:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a7baaf_9100650a2ab2432289c78a5c8e7a67b0~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Busy Bee]]></title><description><![CDATA[The October night sends shivers down their spines, but she buzzes around the crowded streets, eager to see everything, that busy bee....]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/busy-bee</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6155ddd2da9c2b00165536dd</guid><category><![CDATA[Fiction]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 14 Nov 2021 02:02:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_12d310e308214bcab3044c85276c7f28~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[5 Character-building Techniques That I Use]]></title><description><![CDATA[“Everything is driven by characters wanting different things, and by those different things colliding. Every moment that one character...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/sample-5</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5f1349da0c56b500173bf8ec</guid><category><![CDATA[Writing Tips]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2021 19:14:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_857189f583a2464e8638bc5a3a832cae~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_720,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Michigan Wildflower Adventures]]></title><description><![CDATA[I was supposed to write a college essay, but, instead, I grabbed my camera and rode my bike around my local lake and park, capturing photos ]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/sample-3</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5f1277a55883ed0017179e63</guid><category><![CDATA[My Photography]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2020 04:18:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_b6a1ad02fb1647528f8eb6fbec5e414e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Leon Bridges - Coming Home]]></title><description><![CDATA[The voice of Texan singer-songwriter Leon Bridges is often compared to the smooth croon of soul legends Sam Cook and Otis Redding, and...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/sample-2</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5f1274b5c3b87800174769a4</guid><category><![CDATA[Album Recommendations and Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2020 04:06:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_29ee2c81c26146cf867795bcd51c5fb5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram - Book Review]]></title><description><![CDATA[Description: 314 page YA Realistic Fiction Darius Kellner is a tea-loving, Star Trek nerd who knows more Lord of the Rings terminology...]]></description><link>https://alyciapietrzak1.wixsite.com/ramblingsofastudent/post/sample-6</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5f1351fc1d429d0017b5f1a2</guid><category><![CDATA[Book Recommendations and Reviews]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2020 19:48:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f8d7dd_ad0bb5c01678473c9bc2d8a8682203cc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alycia Pietrzak</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>