Story Circle 1: Helped through Hospitalization

I started volunteering at the city’s Children’s Hospital when I was fourteen to fulfill the required service requirements at my Catholic all girls’ high school. Little did I know, It would change my life. Not only did I form fabulous lifetime friendships, but I also realized that I was being helped in the process.
    I had burn victims, cancer patients, kids who would never walk or breathe on their own, you name it and I had it.
    These children were so happy. I thought they were going to be bitter and difficult but I was so wrong and I still volunteer today. The kids are always happy to see me, always appreciative of whatever I bring or whatever we have in the playroom. They never utter a complaint and they understand when it is not their turn to pick the movie.
    These kids teach me on a daily basis to appreciate ever little small thing that I so often take for granted.  I even appreciate the ability to walk and breathe so much more than I could have ever imagined I would have ever be forced.

word count: 257

Misery loves Company

I once had a teacher who literally smiled when people did poorly on an exam. She would call out the names while handing out the exams in the order of the lowest to the highest grades.
She would snicker when we got a question wrong, pull at girls’ skirts if they were too short and grab the boys’ jaws if they needed to shave. She would even start crying in class almost everyday about her father who died twenty years ago. This was her attempt for us to feel sorry for her and confide in her. She was later fired but I still think about the affect she had on me.
The best educational experience I ever had was over this past Summer. This professor related everything he taught to real life situations, spoke to you like an adult, had a funny video for every subject, and made an impromptu joke practically every ten minutes.
He was full of energy, always paced back and forth, and was always happy to be there. He encouraged any opinion that any student had as long as it could be supported. His attention and respect to the students made them give the same in return.
word count:197

Tale as Old as Time

If there is anything that I have learned in my nineteen years, It is that the journey is the destination.  I had plans to graduate with a four year degree in three years, become a doctor within a fast-paced E.R. and have a family.  However, after having spent many days skipping high school classes and classically putting fun before school, my plans were getting further and further away.  After my boyfriend and I grew apart, I moved out of our house, and I had no place to live.  I became a gypsy.  Eventually, I was literally skipping college classes to either go to the gym to beat out some anger or take up extra shifts at Tumbleweed.  I moved in with another server from the restaurant, a kind soul about my age in a small apartment on the most happening part of town.  However, I was depressed and incoherent most of the time but in all honesty, it was arguably the best time of my life.  I was questioning my dreams and learning more about myself than ever.  And tale as old as time, again I was putting recreation before long-term goals so I packed everything I owned in my green Hyundai and drove ten hours to Baltimore, Maryland to move in with my father’s brother and his wife who I have only seen on the occasional holiday.  I moved up here to try to focus on school but I have become a restless soul, not knowing what I want in life or even what I specifically want out of this education. Through this journey over the last two years, I have had more surprising and valuable experiences than I can count and frankly, it has made me fearless. So if I believe in anything, I believe in learning from the journey and as cliché as it sounds, often times the journey can take you places you are not going to want but they can take you other unimaginable places that may end up feeling right. This I believe. Take the journey and make it count.
Word count: 298

Generation i: I want it bigger, better, faster. Now!

With Netflix, our movies are sent to us through the mail or they can be uploaded in less than a minute through our xbox or Wii which (everyone has these days). With iPods, an unimaginable amount of songs can be found through Mac’s program and held on a tiny, colorful, personal device. This generation wants their options, they want it all, and they have it all. They do not even have to tell the television what they want to watch or when they want to watch it. It already knows. Today is all about personal convenience and that is why our generation is Generation i.
word count: 92

Establishing Trends with Ear Ecstasy

There is a place in my slow-moving, well-loved, metro-city hometown of Louisville, Kentucky that  is affectionately known as “ear-X-tacy.”  It is a music, movie, and memorabilia store that has been around for fifteen years and is also the unspoken hangout for Louisville teens of all ages. Not only is this store a great example of subculture at its best as it gives all underground punk and independent music/movies a chance, it also is the home to young teens' many memories of hopeful weekends, and long summer nights. Ear-X-tacy is a place that matters because it is the home to hopeful upcoming artists and it is also keeping compact discs alive and well as people do not buy cds half as much as they used to because of inventions such as “iTunes” and “Amazon.” This crying shame ceases the social interaction or outing meant for bonding with friends while you search for the next cool artist. This large, brick-walled building amplifies and displays the fact that new cds or artists means that there are cool new trends to go along with that such as demeanor and fashion which therefore continuously sets the trend for youth culture. Trendsetting for culture is obviously a necessity for setting the norms, folkways, and mannerisms of society which is why Ear-X-tacy is a place that matters.    
Word count: 228

Establishing Trends with Ear Ecstasy

There is a place in my slow-moving, well-loved, metro-city hometown of Louisville, Kentucky that  is affectionately known as “ear-X-tacy.”  It is a music, movie, and memorabilia store that has been around for fifteen years and is also the unspoken hangout for every Louisville teen of all ages. Not only is this store a great example of subculture at its best as it gives all underground punk and independent music/movies a chance, it also is the home to young teens' many memories of hopeful weekends, and long summer nights. Ear-X-tacy a place that matters because it is the home to hopeful upcoming artists and it is also keeping compact discs alive and well as people do not buy cds half as much as they used to because of inventions such as “iTunes” and “Amazon.” This crying shame ceases the social interaction or outing meant for bonding with friends while you search for the next cool artist. This large, brick-walled building amplifies and displays the fact that new cds or artists means that there are cool new trends to go along with that such as demeanor and fashion which therefore continuously sets the trend for youth culture. Trendsetting for culture is obviously a necessity for setting the norms, folkways, and mannerisms of society which is why Ear-X-tacy is a place that matters.    
Word count: 228

Androgyny and Aestheticism

In 2010, our youth embodies an androgyny because adolescents are exposed to such a diverse and integrated society that we have become causal as a culture. In the 1960s, not too long ago, women were striving for equality. Women had big, feminine hair, thin eyebrows, and a kind, quiet smile while men were also formal with comb-overs and Ralph Lauren Polos. Segregation was a prominent stand point and it showed through fashion in the sense that people knew they needed to make an economic statement. The way you dressed said a lot about where you rank economically. Today, is actually very hard to distinguish between men and women’s fashion- especially in college. There are few things left that have not been done to shock the world and that is why the youth of today, dress similar and have similar demeanors. Since the sixties, fashion has seen everything from dark tanning to show you vacation a lot to raggedy North Face backpacks to show you are so rich you do not even care. Who can possibly keep up with the fashion and its meaning? Today, fashion among youth is so all over the place that it is hard to deduce anything from one’s fashion choices and that is why fashion has come full circle to androgynous casualty. It is acceptable and actually expected that boys and girls wear casual pants and a t-shirt with maybe a logo or two. Androgyny is the style of our time and it is due to the casualness of everything else in this time. There is no more fighting for integration. We are all connected as one, huge casual social network of youth. There are more lines of communication than one could keep track of. There is Facebook, MySpace, email, calls, texts, faxing, and paging. You name it, we have it. Dating is so casual now that people do it online. Sex is talked about and all over daytime television. We are united as a culture and it shows within the cavalier styles of our everyday life and appearance.
word count: 343

Androgyny and Aestheticism

In 2010, we live in an androgynous universe. We are so equal and integrated that we have become causal as a culture. In the 1960s, not too long ago, women were striving for equality. From looking at the UMBC yearbook of that time, women had big, feminine hair, thin eyebrows, and a kind, quiet smile. College students were proper and would have shocked the world if they had come to class in their pajamas or even women in pants for that matter. Andy Warhol’s factory was controversial, unique, and groundbreaking for both art and culture at that time. No one had ever come across "pop art" or an openly gay man.  Many things were taboo at that time, even women wearing pants on a daily basis was simply unheard of. Today, is actually very hard to distinguish between men's and women’s fashion- especially in college. There are few things left that have not been done to shock the world and that is why the youth of today, dress similar and have a similar demeanor. Clothes are not such a huge deal anymore and people do not feel that they need to dress a certain way or be a certain person. It is very acceptable and actually expected that boys and girls wear casual pants and a t-shirt with maybe a logo or two. Androgyny is the style of our time and it is due to the casualness of everything else in this time. There are more lines of communication than one could keep track of. There is Facebook, MySpace, email, calls, texts, faxing, and paging. You name it, we have it. Dating is so casual now that people do it online. Sex is talked about and all over daytime television. We are united as a culture and it shows within the androgynous styles of our everyday life and appearance.

Word Count: 309

Deception or Sincerity?

There are few things that make me pretty angry but everyday when I get on Facebook the etiquette astounds me.  People have hundreds of pictures of themselves doing God knows what. I recently encountered an old friend who I have been continuously speaking to through Facebook although we have not seen each other in quite some time. We talk almost everyday. You know, the usual stuff like “beautiful picture!” or “ha ha what a great link, how was your day?” Anyway, when we met in person, she was extremely shy and did not have much to say at all. I was shocked. She had always been rude and off putting but for the past few years on Facebook she seemed outright happy , pleasant, and grown-up.
For some people this is the opposite. They tend to whine a lot on Facebook. It seems that many people use their statuses to tell the world about their woes and worries about every hour. Is Facebook making our generation a whiny, needy, mask-wearing club? We are not always who we appear to be on Facebook and that is clear. Is Facebook a negative or a positive thing because of this? The international web sensation allows us to connect immediately with whoever, wherever. Now you can use this resource to make people jealous or you could be reaching out to friends miles away. Like anything, Facebook is not an easy thing to judge. It is all about how you use it.

Word Count: 247

A little bit about me.....

Identity is something in which everyone struggles. As humans, we are constantly discontent. This is my second college and I am nineteen years old. I have been attending UMBC for three semesters now and frankly, I am frustrated with how large it is. (I spent the first eighteen years of my life in Louisville, Kentucky.) I moved here to be with extended family after a very messy breakup. My favorite band is florence and the machine. I am also probably the biggest movie buff you will ever meet and my taste in movies is always evolving. The only thing that is constant is change. Frankly, this upsets me but I guess it is true of all of us. Being discontent comes with change and with that I believe that it is the journey that is important and not always the destination while creating your identity. 


Word Count: 145