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30-day writing challenge: Day 12

13 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by in College, Family, Life, Literature, Uncategorized

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Day 12: Write about five blessings in your life

These are the things I am truly grateful for and couldn’t imagine my life without them.

My parents
Behind every nerdy, weird and well-awarded student is a strong support at home. I know if I leave a sticky note on our Keurig asking my dad to wake me when he gets up and 4 a.m. because I’m napping on the couch in an attempt to survive my all-nighter. I know if I rant to my mom she’ll listen and try to make me laugh to relieve the stress. I adore the two of them and couldn’t imagine where I would be without the two of them.

My nephew and I shortly after he was born.

My nephew and I shortly after he was born.

My nephew
Though I am usually left highly annoyed by his antics, I couldn’t imagine not having the little hellion around. He came in the winter “storm of the century” in February 2011 (jokes on us, February 2015 was way worse) and has provided endless mischief. Should I also mention I used to get him to smile when no one else could and he’s repaid me with blaming me for the smallest of things?

Jules
Though I no longer have her, she was one of the greatest things in my life. Right before my sophomore year of high school, we rescued an eight-year-old shih tzu that became my partner in crime, my shadow and my snuggle buddy. She was mine and I was hers. Ultimately, the worst decision of my life was deciding when to let go and giving the go-ahead for my mom to make the appointment that I wouldn’t be taking her home from.

Jules in her comfort zone, my lap, less than a week before we said goodbye.

Jules in her comfort zone, my lap, less than a week before we said goodbye.

My education
I think our education is often overlooked when people think about the things they are grateful for. I’m not only lucky to have had access to a K-12 education but am also lucky to have received a scholarship to Wayne State University, a research institution on par with the University of Michigan. I’ve spent the last four years working hard at a degree and with my recently added minor I still have a bit to go before I’ve conquered college.

My dreams
I guess sometimes you need to have something you want to reach for but won’t put yourself down when you figure out it’s an inch passed your fingertips. I have many dreams, some of which evolve and others fizzle, and I’ve always been happy to be the type that has them. I feel dreams are linked to drive seeing as everything starts as a dream you wish to accomplish and must possess the drive to do so.

30-day writing challenge: Day 11

12 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in Art, College, Life, Uncategorized

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Day 11: Something you always think “what if” about

Done sometime in my second or third year of college.

Done sometime in my second or third year of college.

I have a strong passion for art. In a recent discussion board post in my new media theory class my professor had mentioned art as her first true love and contemporary art was her first true lust. In my response that week I ended it with art being my first true love and Baroque/Romanticism was my first true lust.

It should be no surprise I wanted to go art school.

I’ve always been drawn to drawing and painting and used to spend hours in our basement working on various pieces in various mediums and dreamed of selling my work someday.

Done in my senior year of high school.

Done in my senior year of high school.

When I started high school, I began looking into different art schools. I didn’t exactly want to go to one of the Art Institutes and I knew I wanted to look into schools in a city setting. I had lowered it down to two; the School of Visual Arts in New York City and Columbia College in Chicago.

I was excited to get my portfolio together. I was a sophomore in high school and figured I would start early to have my best pieces together. It was during that time that I had a harsh realization with myself.

I was a terrible professional but an amazing hobbyist.

My first oil, The Rev, done in my third year of college.

My first oil, The Rev, done in my third year of college.

I had my strengths and weaknesses but decided to save myself the heartache of being told I wasn’t good enough not only to get into an art school but also to make a career out of it. It was a sad moment, yes, but necessary.

Now, many years after that Sopranos-style sit down I had with myself, I still am left wondering “what if” I had just gone for it and applied to art school. Would I have gotten accepted or rejected?

Guess I’ll just have to stick with the “what if.”

30-day writing challenge: Day 10

11 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by in Life, Uncategorized

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Day 10. Write about something for which you feel strongly

As a journalism student it is important to begin removing yourself and your opinion from your writing. I guess you could say there is one thing I cannot remove myself from because frankly I don’t think I can let go and must stay true to myself.

Equal rights, particularly the rights of the LGBTQ community.

I’ve written quite a bit about the type of home I was raised in and how it’s shaped my life. I never knew there was supposedly something wrong with someone loving another person just because they happen to be the same gender. I’m not quite sure when I became aware that homosexuality was “wrong” or a “sin” but I would guess it was sometime between fifth and seventh grade.

I never caught on to it being “wrong” because it’s not wrong.

In a past post I talked about how I became aware of how judgmental the people in my town are. It made me angry knowing I was being raised next to so many small-minded people. Homophobia spreads like a disease in a town like this. There were many of us that shrugged and said “so what” if someone came out and never batted an eyelash when a celebrity came out.

One of the required courses for my degree is called Reporting on Race, Gender and Culture. The big project in the class is to get into teams and create a panel based on a particular group of people that you have been assigned. My team had the LGBTQ and one of our panelists was Jerry Peterson, the executive director of the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit, a safe haven for at risk LGBTQ youth. He made the point that it’s difficult for people to come to terms with being born in the incorrect body but trying to tell your friends and family is one of the even larger hurdles.

Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover.

Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover.

There are so many people, youth and beyond alike, who are afraid of being who they are because of the ridicule they will face. With Caitlyn Jenner’s recent Vanity Fair cover, we were able to see the horrific side of the connectivity the Internet has provided us.

My thoughts? Congratulations Caitlyn, you’re free.

Some people’s thoughts? That’s disgusting and some people even signed a petition trying to get Bruce Jenner’s Olympic medal revoked.

Why? Bruce may have always known he was Caitlyn but he won those with pure athletic talent. Not to get sappy but I’m pretty sure this is one of the many reasons John Lennon wrote “Imagine.”