One: not necessarily the loneliest number

As I was looking around WordPress looking for something to write about, one blog caught my eye.  Author Marsha writes “Single Occupancy”, a blog about traveling solo.  She blogs about various travel experiences she has encountered by herself.

I was interested in this blog for a few reasons. First, I love to travel. This summer I had the incredible opportunity to visit Maui, Hawaii with one of my best friends and her parents, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. We went snorkeling and surfing, hiked through the rain forest and jumped off of waterfalls.

Sunset in Maui, Hawaii

Sunset in Maui, Hawaii

But although I’ve been lucky enough to travel to wonderful places, I have always traveled with friends or family. The thought of traveling alone has always scared me. One of my best friends from Creighton is studying abroad in Australia this semester, and she is currently in the beginning of a two week backpack trip through different parts of the country–doing some of this traveling by herself. I was so excited when she told me her travel plans, and impressed by her bravery.

Reading “Single Occupancy” made me stop to think about solo travel. In her most recent post, “The Birth of a Solo Traveler”, Marsha talks about a trip she took alone to the Virgin Islands. She said she was initially supposed to go with friends, but when all of them bailed for various reasons, she decided to go by herself anyway, despite her concerns about safety. Instead of using her courage to help her make the decision to go alone, Marsha credits her pride as the motivating factor.

Once she got there, Marsha said she had a great time; her fear was gone, and she even befriended fellow travelers.

Aside from the helpful insights into traveling solo, I enjoy Marsha’s honest writing style. She tells it like it is, and doesn’t try to sugarcoat anything. Her writing is concise, yet easy to relate to and humorous. I would encourage anyone who is thinking of traveling alone to read her blog. Although I’m sure I would still be scared to travel completely by myself, “Single Occupancy” helped me realize that it’s ok to be afraid–overcoming that fear could lead to some incredible experiences that might not come about with a larger group.

2010
10/21
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This monster doesn’t hide under the bed

Jon Franklin’s “Mrs. Kelly’s Monster” is an incredibly powerful piece of writing that takes an in-depth (literally) look at the horrors associated with brain aneurysms.  Franklin’s writing is vivid and rich, due to his description and attention to detail.

Instead of merely setting the stage for the surgery in which doctors tried to save Mrs. Kelly from her “monster”, Franklin takes readers on a journey describing the entire surgical process, from Mrs. Kelly and Dr. Ducker’s preparations to the incisions Ducker made during surgery.  After I finished the article, I was left wondering how Franklin had come to include so many details in his story.

This telling writing style does not let readers take a seat on the sidelines to watch the show, which is something that I normally would love and greatly appreciate.  However, thanks to some helpful genetics and various other reasons unbeknownst to me, reading about brain surgery in this much detail made me feel more than a little woozy.  Regardless, I read on, and I’m glad I did.  Franklin’s article does an excellent job of showing the fragility of human life.  He does not sugar coat anything, from the intense procedure itself to the dramatic ending.

Franklin took an issue that I knew basically nothing about and painted an educational, emotional picture of  real-life obstacles.  While I did not appreciate the incredible amount of detail in that it left me feeling sick, I appreciate the detail and effortless flow of Franklin’s writing as the stunning art that it is.

2010
10/06
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Fit for a king

I try to make a point to browse through the Lawrence Journal World online every day; I like knowing what’s going on in Lawrence, Kan., the city where I lived for the first 18 years of my life.  I skim through the articles, getting a general feel for the big events around Lawrence.  But yesterday an article caught my eye that I knew I wanted to read in its entirety.

Similarly, in early September, I read an article on ljworld.com that caught my attention.  Students at my alma mater, Lawrence Free State High School, discovered that a few seniors with disabilities had been left off the Homecoming Court nomination ballot.  They quickly petitioned the right to include these deserving students on the ballot, after the initial Homecoming Court had already been determined.

Many school officials had been previously unaware of this practice, and the ballots were immediately rectified.  I was horrified that my high school had formerly been so discriminatory, but so happy that students (none of whom I know) discovered this clearly offensive and unfair policy and took  action to make a change.

Remembering the article from earlier in September, I found myself beaming yesterday morning while I read about Free State’s newest Homecoming King.  Owen Phariss, a senior with Down syndrome, won the title of Homecoming King, to the joy of his family, friends and the entire student body.  After reading the article, I felt such a rush of emotion–which didn’t stop as I looked through pictures and watched a video of the event.  The look on Phariss’ face as he was announced King is one of pure joy, which was echoed in the smiling faces of his mother and his friends.  Needless to say, a few tears escaped my eyes after reading the article, looking at the pictures and seeing the video.

By this point, I don’t know students at my former high school; even some of the faculty and staff have changed since I graduated in 2008.  But after reading such a powerful story and seeing it expressed visually (ahh, the power of the media), I am so proud to be a Free State High School alum.

If that’s  not the feel-good story of the year for this humble Midwestern college down, I don’t know what is.

2010
10/03
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Won’t you be my neighbor?

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who liked playing outside, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.  She loved when Mister Rogers visited the land of make-believe and when he took her on tours of factories and explained how things worked.  But most of all, she loved when Mister Rogers changed his sweater and his shoes.  If you asked her why she loved it, she probably wouldn’t be able to tell you.  She just did.

Zip-up cardigan

“Can You Say…Hero?” by Tom Junod captures the minimalistic beauty of Fred Rogers and his outlook on life.  Even though I haven’t watched Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in years and Mister Rogers died when I was 12, reading this article made memories from my childhood come rushing back.

Junod’s writing style perfectly echos the simplistic language in which Mister Rogers communicated, without seeming condescending.  Furthermore, Junod depicts Mister Rogers as more than just the man who talked to kids on television.  The eager, friendly, happy man everyone loved watching in half-hour increments translated into the personality of the man who stopped to talk to strangers, prayed with those in need and always had time for his abundant fans.

Neighborhood

When I was little, I always assumed Mister Rogers was as nice in real life as he seemed on television.  Then again, I assumed (probably incorrectly, in many cases) that about a lot of people on TV shows.  But after reading Junod’s article, I breathed a sigh of relief, because it seems like this naive childhood assumption turned out to be true.

Once upon a time, there was a not-so-little girl who read a touching, inspirational article profiling Mister Rogers.  She remembered all the good times she spent watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a little girl.  And reading this article brought her happiness, just like Mister Rogers always did.

The end.

2010
09/22
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Singing and dancing and laughing, oh my!

Alright, I’ll admit it.  I love Glee.  Yes, I’m referring to the TV show featuring teenagers singing and dancing in their high school’s glee club.

Not that I should be ashamed to love this show–I will openly admit my obsession with it to anyone who asks.  What I have to admit is that I am not one of the dedicated fans who started watching right when the show began.  I had a feeling I would love it from the moment I saw previews on Fox over a year ago: in high school, singing and dancing were two of the most important parts of my life.  But, like so many other shows, I didn’t let myself start watching it when it first aired because I didn’t think I had enough free time to get sucked into it.

This summer, though, I had plenty of free time.  So why not start watching some of the shows that I had my eye on?  Thus began my discovery of two of my favorite new TV shows.

To make a long story short, Glee is fantastic.  I love the singing and variety of songs that are featured on the show, as well as the hilarious drama created by Jane Lynch’s character and the young, fresh dances that accompany the songs I enjoy so much.  It’s pretty much the epitome of everything I like in a TV show: it’s funny, shows the challenges of friendships and romantic relationships and features talented young actors and actresses who can really sing and dance.

However, my recent TV addictions don’t end with Glee.  I was hanging out with a friend this weekend when she asked if I’d ever seen Modern Family.  Although a couple of my close friends who really understand my sense of humor told me I had to watch it, I had yet to put forth the time to check it out.  When I told my friend that I hadn’t seen it yet, she made me watch the pilot episode then and there–and let’s just say I’ve watched about six episodes since then.  Granted, they are only half-hour episodes, but still, that takes up time, too.  Needless to say, I’m pretty much in love with Modern Family now, too.

The “mockumentary” style of Modern Family is pretty entertaining, as is the way the three families chronicled in the show are intertwined.  But what I really love about this show is how dynamic the characters are.  I find myself laughing out loud for much of each episode as Phil, the dad who thinks he’s cool, makes an incredibly stupid parenting move, or Manny, the fifth-grader who acts like he’s 40 goes to the mall to profess his love to a 16-year-old.

The only unfortunate thing about my newfound favorite shows is that now it’s much harder to focus on homework.  But I’ll keep charging through my schoolwork and reward myself with an episode or two of either of these wonderful shows.  I’ll be back next week to write a new post…unless I’m too busy laughing at one of Phil’s embarrassing parenting moments or singing along with the cast of Glee.

2010
09/08
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Living the dream

Colin Duffy sounds like a dreamboat. He knows what he wants in life, comes from a loving family and likes to have deep conversations. He seems like a perfect catch! It’s just too bad he thinks girls are stupid and is obsessed with video games. Oh yeah, and he’s only ten years old.

Susan Orlean’s feature “The American Male at Age Ten” is a humorous, touching look at a child who desperately wants the American Dream. Colin appears to have his life all planned out: attend Oklahoma City State College University, work for the FBI and move to the country in Wyoming where he can have “every kind of cute animal”.  He has so many goals for a kid who currently wants to learn how to drive in order to buy candy and wants to be married so he can sleep in his clothes.  Colin has many goals and ambitions for someone at such a young age; however, this article was written in 1979.  Children today grow up even faster and lose innocence even sooner than they ever did before.  Yet the childhood naiveté that Orlean so wonderfully illustrates through Colin’s story can still be found in kids today–just not necessarily in the same way.

The ambiguous point of view from which Orleans approaches Colin’s story allowed me to connect even more with Colin and with Orlean herself.  Thanks to her use of amusing detail and vivid quotes, I felt like I really got to know Colin through reading this story.  I got so caught up in Colin’s hilarious personality that I was caught off guard every time he said something so profound and beyond his years, as kids often do.  Orlean’s writing flows beautifully, and at the same time she incorporates funny anecdotes and quotes that make the story so enjoyable to read; I realized after only a few paragraphs that I was smiling to myself as Colin said or did something hilarious and typical of a ten-year-old boy.

This story not only showed me how much times have changed in the past 30 years, but also reminded me how wonderful the innocence of youth truly is.  Oh, how I miss the days when I played pretend in my backyard without a care in the world.  Thank you, Susan Orlean, for taking me back to the blissful days when I still thought boys were smelly (which is still often true, ironically) and the most I had to worry about was the what was on the dinner menu.  In a way, that sounds like my idea of the American Dream right now.

2010
09/01
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Writing about…writing

For all the things I love about writing, there are also things that drive me crazy about the whole process. I’m not one of the super-organized type who like to sit down and map out what they are going to say. If I have to write a paper that seems especially daunting to me I’ll jot down some of my main ideas to help get the writing juices flowing–but often don’t even get around to doing that.

Of course, when I’m not writing a paper about something I couldn’t care less about, I enjoy the writing process much more. The words flow better (even though flow is something I still need to work on) and I feel like I’m actually expressing myself. And self-expression is something I really love about writing.

To be honest, I don’t have much experience as a reporter. But in News Reporting last year the article that I enjoyed writing the most was a profile of a Jesuit priest at Creighton. He was my World Lit professor, and I was glad that I could share with readers some of his background and personality traits that just didn’t have time to be shared in one semester in the classroom.

As for reading–I love it. This summer I went through many books, ranging from Love the One You’re With to Atonement. But I also really like reading magazines. My sister subscribes to People magazine, and I’m not going to lie, I love reading the old issues she gives me when I visit her. Mostly I read fashion magazines, like InStyle, but I like reading Time when I get the chance, too. I also like to keep in touch with news from my hometown on the local paper’s website, such as this gem that I read the other day.

Whether it’s for class or entertainment, writing is something that I really enjoy. Hopefully the self-expression that I strive for comes across in my writing!

2010
08/27
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