As soon as I could write independently, I was creating characters and developing plotlines and establishing settings. In seventh grade we learned how to write academic essays, including writing theses and citing quotations MLA-style and analyzing their significance. Suddenly writing was tedious, unrewarding work. I had to follow a formula, not my own inspiration. Creative writing…
A floor lamp. A Magic Bullet blender. Handfuls of hangers. Two storage ottomans. Unopened bulk packages of trail mix and granola bars, ziplock bags, and dish detergent. Towels and a bathrobe. A popcorn machine. Costume ladybug wings. Four fans of different sizes. Slightly sticky but gently used Tupperware, pots, and mixing bowls. This is just…
What it is: I Am No One You Know by Joyce Carol Oates is a collection of nineteen short stories surrounding the lives of women and girls encountering a whole range of human experiences from love to grief to danger. She reveals new understanding of humanity through mystery and intrigue. What I liked about it: If you’ve never…
Forces of nature at the Oregon coast.
“April showers bring May flowers,” goes the saying, but it took me eighteen years to discover that on my own. See, in Portland, March showers bring April showers which bring May showers. The only difference between winter and spring is the number of daylight hours and a ten degree temperature difference. It’s rainy starting in…
What it is: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a graphic memoir that examines Bechdel’s childhood, especially her relationship with her father and her discovery and exploration of her sexuality. Almost everything in the graphic memoir, from people in Bechdel’s life to to the literature she reads, seems to parallel elements of her personality, making…
Fun. Exhilarating. Challenging. Busy. Those are probably the four best words to describe the A-Z Challenge. In April I undertook the challenge of writing 26 posts, both alphabetical and themed around college. I completed the challenge, so obviously I’m qualified to give you unsolicited advice about how to do it too. Unsolicited Advice PREWRITE. You’ve…
A collection of ponchos, colorful and intricate.
For the final day of the A-Z Challenge, I’m featuring another guest blogger. Welcome Minnat from Yours Truly, Minnat! The dictionary has two different definitions for zenith: 1. the point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position or observer 2. a highest point or state; culmination. I tend to focus on the latter definition. I…
I tell my friends all the time to do what they want, regardless of expectations or others’ perceptions. “You do you” is a phrase that comes out of my mouth daily. And yet, I found myself failing to follow my own advice. Towards the end of fall semester, I realized that my major, speech-language pathology, wasn’t what…
Victim to Charm 