Kayla Bloom
Bio
Teacher by day, fantasy worldbuilder by night. I write about books, burnout, and the strange comfort of morally questionable characters. If I’m not plotting a novel, I’m probably drinking iced coffee and pretending it’s a coping strategy.
Stories (50)
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What Fantasy Writing Taught Me About Hope
Sometimes, life feels heavier than we expect. Daily routines, obligations, and the constant hum of the world can make hope seem like a distant, fragile thing—something others possess but we’ve misplaced. Yet, for me, hope has often been found in the most unexpected places: in the stories we tell.
By Kayla Bloom5 months ago in Writers
How I Got on the ACOTAR Hype
First of all, SPOILER ALERT! You probably already figured that, but just in case you haven’t read every Sarah J Maas book under the sun yet and want to, you have been warned. This article will largely focus on the books A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames.
By Kayla Bloom3 years ago in Geeks
Contemporary Morality in the MCU
I came to the Marvel Cinematic Universe kind of late. Tobey Maguire was firmly cemented as Spider-Man, and I didn’t much understand or care for X-Men. Iron Man, 2008, was alright, but lost in the background against the likes of Twilight and Juno. Keeping an international fanbase engaged in a franchise that now spans more than twenty films in more than a decade is no mean feat. But of course, I’m not sure anyone could understand the sheer magnitude of what this movie would create.
By Kayla Bloom4 years ago in Geeks
How to Grow Beautiful Tomatoes
Nothing is more satisfying than growing your own food. Though I have been known to be impatient, being involved in every step of producing helps one appreciate what we so often take for granted. This vital necessity for survival does not appear on grocery shelves and in pantries. How far has your food traveled to land on your table? Who did the planting, the maintaining, the harvesting? These may seem like insignificant questions, but what were to happen if they suddenly didn’t have an answer? I don’t mean to sound an alarm, by any means, but taking a step back to examine the way we live, shop, and eat may benefit individuals as well as the planet. One thing I have learned from my start to gardening a year ago was the idea of experimenting and getting to know your food. How many of us have a preconceived notion as to what a Brussel sprout, beet, or, as this article is about, tomato, should taste like? It is not commonly acknowledged that the methods of production and the vast distances food currently travels makes for at the very least not so pleasant product when compared to locally grown, organic alternatives. I never stopped to think I may one day be biting into a sun-warmed, sweetly ripe tomato straight from the vine without an ounce of squeamishness or repulsion. Could you say the same thing with the red, perfectly round tomato from the corner supermarket? As you learn more about fruits, vegetables, and herbs, you begin to uncover the vast varieties available with heirlooms in which whole new worlds can be discovered. With tomatoes alone, there are an estimated 10,000 varieties to choose from!
By Kayla Bloom4 years ago in Lifehack
Reasons I Teach
As I conversed with my grandfather in the seldom-used patio overlooking his backyard, a story I had dreamed only the night before returned to my thoughts. I quickly acquired pen and paper with which to transcribe my dream, and wrote furiously as I imagined dialogue to expand upon the vague visualizations and feelings. Page after page kept turning in my notebook, and as I neared the end of my visit, I read my story aloud to my eager grandfather. He smiled with admiration and remarked on the creativity I had exhibited. I reminded him of his own mother, my great-grandmother Dorothy. Like her, I have always been drawn towards education, unaware of my familial links to the teaching profession. We are both family-oriented, compassionate, and possessing what my grandfather described as a quiet intelligence. I like to think that I understand her in a way, despite the distance between our two generations.
By Kayla Bloom4 years ago in Education
Regenerative Agriculture
I have recently had the opportunity to watch the 2020 documentary “Kiss the Ground” with narrator Woody Harrelson, and let me tell you – if you haven’t seen it yet, PLEASE DO! We are dealing with many pressing circumstances as a global society, and none poses as existential a crisis as climate change. This is what the documentary tries to tackle. A difficult task, I’m aware, but one I have come away from the documentary knowing has solutions that are not as difficult to implement in themselves as we might initially believe. As ever, it has shown that the main obstacle is our willingness and commitment to change the way we do one thing – grow our food. It’s not some alien-like technology still in its infancy, or barely a twinkle in a future-innovator’s eye. No, when its boiled down, it is a few changes that could mean the world and it all has to do with our soil.
By Kayla Bloom4 years ago in Earth
