One of the most influential ideas that I learned from my research for the Voices project was the idea that most religious scriptures used to promote conservative values actually preach the equality of men and women. Both the Quran and the Bible have strong, important female characters. Women are portrayed as smart, kind, and important. The second influential idea that I learned from my research is related: texts can easily be distorted by outspoken people. Patriarchal leaders in many religions have used their religious texts to promote a patriarchal society and restrict the voice of women. It is easy for people to accept these arguments as truth, because leaders are able to find isolated portions of the text, which seem to support their arguments when pulled out of context. However, when one reads the entire work, a different story arises.
I hope that these takeaways from my project will push people to consider their sources and get all the information before developing an opinion. People are easily manipulated when they are uneducated. It takes conscious effort to avoid manipulation and stereotypes. I also hope that people will reconsider the stereotypes that they believe about certain types of people. Stereotypes are oversimplified, hurtful, and frequently untrue. These false beliefs about certain groups of people can have real consequences, in spheres from the job market to personal safety.
I entered NNHS with a very skewed, simplified view of how the world worked. Through my time, I have been exposed to many different people and perspectives, and I think that I am a much more rounded and knowledgeable person. Personally, NNHS gave me time and space to figure myself out. Through classes, clubs, and friends I was able to figure out my interests and goals for the future.
To future NNHS seniors, I would say that it’s never too late to try something. If there’s a club that really interests you, but you think that it’s too late to join, I think you should try it. I psyched myself out with that thought several times during my time here, and there are groups that I regret never trying out. Let yourself enjoy high school, allow yourself to do things solely because they are fun. Also, don’t procrastinate on the important things. You honestly can’t start your college applications too early.

Voices Project Link: https://semccarthy.wixsite.com/women-and-religion

The debate over social media is ongoing and controversial. Does it create unrealistic standards? Destroy self esteem? Encourage unhealthy or rude behavior? Should children/teens/anyone have access to such an unmonitored form of media?

Regardless of your opinions on these questions, there is one inarguable benefit to social media: access to cute dogs! With the rise of TikTok as a social media platform came the rise of several new internet celebrities in the form of man’s best friend. Here I will be listing my top 5 favorite dog accounts on TikTok, and why you should follow them too.

1. Pudgy, aka @pudgywoke

Follower Count: 5.6 million

Claim to Fame: unique bark and aggressive-yet-adorable nature

Pudgy is an 11 year old Chihuahua, who is adored by fans for the comical noises that he makes. The most notable is his bark. Rather than the typical round syllable of a dog’s bark, Pudgy’s barks are articulated as “OWA OWA!” He also often makes a clicking sound with the back of his throat or by chattering his teeth. He is a fierce little dog, who always makes his feelings known. Pudgy’s owner has revealed that his unique sounds and demeanor are the result of injuries due to an accident involving a car. However, Pudgy is in perfect health now, and enjoys his days walking outside, dressing up in cute sweaters, and addressing his fans with an “OWA OWA!”

2. Leo, aka @life.according.to.leo

Follower Count: 171.9 thousand

Claim to Fame: 😛

Leo is an adorable mini Australian shepherd dog with a very unique face. His large, wide set eyes give him a bug-eyed look that followers affectionately describe as having “not a thought behind [them].” However, this quirky dog is more intelligent than he looks. He can stick his tongue out on command! Being a playful and energetic shepherd dog, he often does this trick unprompted, imploring his owners for treats at inconvenient times.

3. Bunny, aka @what_about_bunny

Follower Count: 5.7 million

Claim to Fame: Bunny can talk!

Bunny the dog is truly a fascinating character on TikTok. Bunny’s owners have implemented an experimental method with their dog, where Bunny is given a mat with buttons to express thoughts verbally. Bunny learns what each button means, and can use them to ask for things or to express feelings. In the months since Bunny’s entrance into the public eye, the size of Bunny’s word mat has increased fivefold. Bunny’s words include names, places, activities, and concepts such as time in the form of buttons labeled “yesterday,” “today,” and “tomorrow.” Bunny also has a question mark button, which audiates a “hmmm?” with higher pitch, to imitate the upturn in a person’s voice when they ask a question. Personally, I find Bunny equal parts interesting and scary. While fascinating, the complexity with which Bunny is able to correctly articulate feelings and desires is eerie. Either way, this is not a development that you want to miss.

4. @girlwithedogs

Follower Count: 1.2 million

Claim to Fame: cute dogs getting baths

Unlike the others, this account is not actually an individual dog. @girlwithedogs is a pet groomer based in Ontario, Canada, who films videos of the adorable dogs that she grooms. Upon follower request, she has shown countless breeds, ages, and dispositions of dogs, from Shih Tzu to Great Dane, puppies to seniors. She happily explains the preferences of each dog and their owner, while showing video of the dogs at each step in the grooming process. Her videos are not only cute, but also informative for anyone aspiring to be a groomer or simply improve their care of their dog at home. @girlwithedogs mentions each product and brush that she uses by name, including why she chose certain products. Each video ends with a spritz of Sugar Cookie Cologne for the dog and a smile on my face!

5. @carathevettech

Follower Count: 690.9 thousand

Claim to Fame: doggy interviews

Like the previous account, @carathevettech is not an individual dog’s account. Rather, as the name suggests, it is an account run by a Veterinary Technician. As such, she has regular access to all kinds of cute pups. Cara’s videos are centered around “interviews” of her patients, conducted with a mini microphone. Each dog, cat, or pet’s personality shines through as Cara asks them if they have “anything to say to the people today?” Some animals are shy, some purr or sniff into the mic, and some attempt to eat the microphone. The immense variety, combined with a very regular posting schedule, makes this account a quality follow.

Miss Taylor Swift has done it again. Last Friday, she surprise released her ninth studio album (and second album during COVID quarantine). As a resident Swiftie, it seemed only fitting that I write about her for my blog this week.

In a previous blog, I rated Swift’s albums based on their cover art. This time, I’d like to get into her music. Today I will be rating songs that share the same name as their album.

(only 5 are included because the other 4 albums did not have a namesake song)

5. Lover (2019)

Now this may be controversial, but I’m not a huge fan of the song Lover. Although I love this album as a whole, the song unfortunately suffered from being WAY overplayed on the radio when the Lover album first debuted. This moderately paced love song lacks the creative storytelling and relatability that is characteristic of Taylor’s better love songs. With an unremarkable musical background and lack of unique ideas, this song becomes a bit mundane after listening the first few times. I don’t dislike this song necessarily, but it is far from being a favorite of mine.

4. evermore (2020)

In contrast to many of the other songs on this list, evermore is a very melancholy, sad song. In one ethereal song, Taylor skillfully encapsulates the loneliness and unmoored feeling of quarantine as the seasons change. Gloom is inevitable, as we experience winter mostly alone, and Taylor’s song matches the vibe of the cold air seeping in. Personally, I prefer upbeat songs, and I haven’t had the chance to listen to this song much yet, so my relationship with it is fairly shallow. This song has potential to be ranked higher, if I knew it better.

3. Speak Now (2010)

When this song (and album) came out in 2010, I absolutely loved it. The tune is catchy and upbeat, the storytelling is vivid, and the instrumentals are energetic without overpowering the singer. The chorus of this song is a bit repetitive, but not in an irritating or boring way. However, listening to this song now becomes uncomfortable if I think about it too deeply. The song depicts Taylor fantasizing about crashing the wedding of a male friend, who she thinks is marrying the wrong girl. The setting is described perfectly, but Taylor’s depiction and criticisms of the girl being married expose some internalized misogyny that is apparent on other tracks in this album as well. I only wish that this story could have been told without degrading the other girl.

2. Red (2012)

Though Red is a breakup song, it maintains a fast paced, upbeat energy. Taylor contrasts lyrics about struggling to move on from a breakup with a track that mimics the passionate relationship. The end of the song comes suddenly, as the background music fades out with no warning and Taylor ends by repeating the first line, quiet and slow. This leaves the ending feeling like the breakup depicted in the song: a flame that abruptly fizzles out just as quickly and powerfully as it began. Equating the feelings of a relationship and a breakup to colors makes Taylor’s song both creative and relatable, because the interpretation is somewhat left to the listener. 

1. Fearless (2008)

Though it is the oldest song on this list, Taylor Swift’s Fearless is a classic. This song reminds me of dancing in the rain, and singing at the top of your lungs in the car with friends, and the butterflies in your stomach as you lock eyes with someone. It’s written about Taylor’s relationship with a lover, but anyone living their best life feels this song in some way. The feeling of being fearless because you have someone who will always catch you is not exclusive to romantic relationships. The background music is energetic yet simple, and does not overpower the singer.

When I was little, my family always spent New Years at my grandparents’ house in Wisconsin. We celebrated our own second Christmas with them (actual Christmas was spent with the other grandparents in New York, but that’s a story for a different time). We looked at Christmas lights, opened presents, and spent time together as a family. 

My grandma always had relatively elaborate Christmas decorations. The path to the front door was lined with LED lights, and the front yard was scattered with light-up reindeer, inflatable snowmen, a miniature sleigh, and more. Two human-sized nutcrackers guarded the front door. 

Inside, in the corner of the living room, sat the huge, 8-foot Christmas tree that my grandma painstakingly decorated every year. The decorations were coordinated: mostly silver with a few red and green ornaments, wide silver ribbons, and a sparkly star at the top. The tree was amazing, which was why it sat in the center of the house, to be admired by anyone on the first floor. It was beautiful.

But my favorite part every year was decorating the other Christmas tree. The smaller 5-foot tree was always ready when we arrived. It sat tucked near the back of the house, inside the screened in porch, bare except for the box of ornaments and strings of lights sitting underneath. 

Together my grandma and I, with occasional assistance from my brothers, decorated the tree. 

We blasted Christmas music and danced around the porch. We talked for hours, catching up on absolutely everything that had happened in the months since we’d seen each other, and making plans for the rest of our week together. We took frequent breaks for cookies and hot chocolate. We ended up with fond memories and a tree strewn with rainbow LED lights and miscellaneous ornaments.

Now, the thing about this tree: it was ugly. Certainly. The decorations were not coordinated at all. Many of them were silly, like the collection of carved wooden animals that I liked to play with before placing them on the tree. Half the ornaments  were homemade, from the numerous school art projects sent home right before winter break and then packed in suitcases as a gift for our grandparents. The colorful light bulbs made everything look hectic and a bit cluttered.

But we hadn’t worried about appearance when we decorated the tree. We didn’t care whether it was ugly, so we just allowed ourselves to have fun. We placed the wooden frog and the wooden brown bear next to each other, because they were friends and couldn’t be separated. We placed all the moose near the bottom, since they were afraid of heights. Despite being the heaviest ornament, the likeness of fisherman Santa Claus rode his speedboat to the top of the tree, right under the glittering star.

Visually, the ugly tree did not begin to compare to the beautifully grand decorations that we drove into town to admire, nor was it as pretty as the tall tree in the living room. However, the ugly tree was special. No matter how many Christmas trees we saw, the ugly tree would always be my favorite. The memories of laughing, playing, and decorating the tree together would always outweigh the physical beauty of coordinated trees. Those trees felt impersonal. The ugly tree was perfectly imperfect, as a Christmas tree should be.

My first ever favorite song was Love Story by Taylor Swift. From the moment I heard it on the radio, I was entranced. Soon enough, I knew every word by heart and would sing idly around my house all the time. Fortunately for me, Taylor’s musical style changed almost exactly as my tastes did, so I’m still a huge fan. I considered rating her albums for this blog, but I couldn’t bring myself to rate any of them anything less than a 10/10! Though all of her music is genius, an album does not consist only of the songs on it. Today I will be rating Taylor Swift’s albums by the creativity and aesthetic of their cover art.

Fearless (2008)

Rate: 4/10

Creativity: Honestly, most of the points docked from this album are for lack of creativity. This photograph is really only one step above a simple headshot, and the font is not very stylistic. Though not a bad photo, the creativity is lackluster.

Aesthetic: The redeeming quality of this album cover is that it is fairly aesthetically pleasing. The muted colors of the background and Taylor’s dress draw attention to the artist herself. The cover looks put together, and all the colors match very intentionally. There is really nothing special going on here, so I don’t have much to say positively or negatively about this album cover. Like the actual music of the album, this cover is a good starting point, but pales in comparison to her later works.

Speak Now (2010)

Rate: 5/10

Creativity: This cover is only a bit more creative than the last, still with lots of room for improvement. The concept is nearly the same: Taylor, in the middle of a spin, against a white background. However, this picture includes half of her body, and the flowy dress provides more interest than her hair does on the Fearless cover. The font on this cover is more stylistic and interesting as well.

Aesthetic: Much like the Fearless cover, the colors of this cover are well coordinated. Taylor looks more self confident, which matches the evolution in her songs between Fearless and Speak Now. Her image on this cover is beautiful but realistic.

Red (2012)

Rate: 8/10

Creativity: The difference in creativity between Speak Now and Red is significant. This is the first cover where the photograph is shot with a real background, rather than a white sheet in a photo studio. The use of lighting to obscure half of Taylor’s face is less conventional than her previous cover photos, and it is well worth the risk because the photograph is more interesting than the others. Taylor looks thoughtful and mysterious, which again matches the shift in music between her previous album and this one.

Aesthetic: This album cover is VERY 2012 Tumblr-esque. However, while this album cover would be slightly cringey for an album released today, it works well considering when the album was released. Additionally, the coordination between Taylor’s red lipstick and the album title is satisfying. The same font being used for the album title and the artist’s name looks much more coordinated than previous covers.

1989 (2014)

Rate: 7/10

Creativity: The style of this cover is completely unlike any of the others, before or since. Styled to look like an old polaroid photo rather than an album cover, this cover is very unconventional and very creative. Additionally, the camera is centered away from Taylor’s face, a choice that she avoided on all of her previous albums. In fact, only half of her face is even in the frame. This, combined with her initials next to the album title, indicates Taylor’s stardom at the time that this album was released. She had reached a point of fame where she could confidently release an album knowing that people would recognize her from only half of her face and her initials.

Aesthetic: To be honest, I do not find this cover aesthetically pleasing. The blue sky on Taylor’s shirt contrasts with her red lipstick, and both contrast with the yellowing background. This contrast makes the cover look less put together. Additionally, I do not think that the mood indicated by an old, yellowing polaroid matches the mood of her music on this album.

reputation (2017)

Rate: 8/10

Creativity: The actual photograph on this album is not particularly creative. It reminds me more of the Fearless album than any of the others. However, the choice to use black and white rather than color, along with the overlay of text over her face on the right side, makes this cover similar to Red in terms of creativity. 

Aesthetic: This cover perfectly portrays the mood of the album, as well as Taylor’s mood when it came out. At this time, Taylor was the center of negative media attention. She was receiving hate after her feud with Kanye West, and many criticized her transition to pop music. The newspaper-like font covering Taylor on the right conveys how overwhelmed and scrutinized she felt, while the blank background on the left represents the new beginning that she wished she could have. The blank and white color scheme pulls the cover together, so that it does not look too cluttered and busy.

Lover (2019)

Rate: 9/10

Creativity: This album cover is an evolved version of the simple headshots Taylor used at the beginning of her music career. Instead of a straight-on, simple shot, Taylor adds interest using a low camera angle, slight motion in her hair, intriguing but not distracting background, and statement makeup. All of these carefully curated details elevate this cover album from boring to unique.

Aesthetic: The colors on this album are relaxing and pretty, which matches the mood of her songs. This album is a new beginning, in which she is happier and more comfortable with herself. Overall, the gorgeous cover art matches Taylor’s beautiful music and positive outlook in this album.

folklore (2020)

Rate: 10/10

Creativity: This album cover is the most bold and creative out of all of Taylor’s albums. Taylor herself is barely in the focus of the photo, and the emphasis is instead placed on the surrounding forest. Notably, this album cover lacks the album title and name of the artist. In contrast with 1989, in which the shortening of Taylor’s name indicated her confidence that she would be recognized regardless, this cover indicates personal growth for Taylor. She is not concerned with whether she will be recognized, but instead making music that she enjoys and not worrying about popularity.

Aesthetic: The black and white filter, foggy air, and small human figure give this album cover an ethereal quality. This cover, along with the album’s music, is much more abstract and artistic than her previous work. The stark contrast between this cover and previous album covers perfectly portrays the vast shift between Taylor’s previous music and this album.

Some animals are undoubtedly intelligent. I’ve heard that dolphins may be smarter than humans, read stories about chimps that learned sign language, and I’m amazed by how much a service dog can be taught. However, if you’d asked me about 5 months ago, I would not have said hermit crabs were particularly smart.

Since July, I have been sharing my room with a tank of 4 hermit crabs, and I am fascinated by them. They are extremely agile climbers, and have impressive dexterity with their claws and legs. Though they seem like simple creatures, some of their behaviors are so clearly intentional and shockingly intelligent. 

One of the first things the employee at the pet store asked me when I was buying supplies to set up my tank was how many hermit crabs I would be having. When I replied that I’d like three or four, she emphasized to me that I HAD to keep hermit crabs in multiples of two. If I didn’t, she explained, two of the crabs would pair up and bully the other. The social pairing is definitely apparent in my tank. The crabs in my tank are split into two pairs: the twins (named because they chose identical shells), and the dumb one and the big one (aptly named for personality and size, respectively). Though all the crabs generally get along, they tend to be near their partner at all times. Their buddying is subtle at first but very obvious once you know to look for it.

Another process which I think is fascinating in general is molting. When it is time for a hermit crab to shed their skin, the crab buries itself completely in the dirt, and stays buried for up to 3 months. One of my crabs has molted, and another is currently in the process. When the first crab was ready to molt, it dug a hole in the dirt nearly 6 inches deep, almost touching the bottom of the tank. Once it had climbed into the hole, the crab refilled the entrance to the hole. I was already amazed that the crab had covered itself, but I was even more shocked the next morning when the dirt was totally flattened! I am still not sure how they did it, but the crabs somehow managed to pack down the loose dirt until the hole was totally unnoticeable.

By far the most interesting and the most clearly intelligent process that my crabs perform is switching shells. Before even beginning to leave their current shell, hermit crabs thoroughly inspect prospective new shells. The inspection is very methodical and quite fascinating to watch. They use their legs and antennae to feel around the entire outside of the shell, nimbly handling and manipulating the shell to examine it from all angles. Then, they inspect the inside. They stretch partially out of their current shell so that their eyes and antennae can reach inside the shell and determine if it is acceptable. Without fail, once they have looked with their eyes, they use their larger claw to feel the opening of the shell. They also use their claw to gauge the size of the opening. When threatened, hermit crabs pull their entire body into their shell and use their large claw like a door to seal themselves off from danger. So, when looking to switch shells, they consciously use their large claw to determine whether they are large enough to seal themself inside should they encounter danger. 

Hermit crabs are surprisingly complicated, smart little creatures. They are fun to watch, they interact well with people, and their behaviors and social structures are fascinating.

What will happen to our machines after humanity is gone? Will our own technology, and our hubris, be the death of humanity?

These ideas are explored in the beautifully written “There Will Come Soft Rains,” by Ray Bradbury, which is based on a poem with the same title by Sara Teasdale, written in 1920. Bradbury’s story begins with an automated house waking up on the morning of August 4, 2026, amidst a barren, faintly glowing Allendale, California. Electronic voices ring throughout the empty house, as it prepares breakfast for occupants who will never return. The entire west face of the house is charred completely black, save for the stark white silhouettes of a man, a woman, two children, and a ball in the air, who were there one instant and gone the next. The house knows nothing of nuclear warfare as it draws baths, makes dinner, and reads poetry to its deceased occupants.

The influences of Bradbury’s time period are easily seen in his work. Bradbury wrote this short story in the 1950’s, while the U.S. was both recovering from World War II and anxiously engaged in the Cold War with the USSR (Elon). The world had seen the devastating potential of nuclear bombs in Japan, and many were bracing for impact as tensions rose between the United States and Russia. The thought of nuclear warfare being humanity’s eventual demise was a commonly held fear. Among the precise description of the house and its futuristic technologies, Bradbury includes eerie and accurate details regarding the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. The faint “radioactive glow” of the city of rubble is an image that one can easily picture, only to be struck by a sense of dread at the realization of what has happened there. The detail that is, in my opinion, the most uncanny, is the silhouettes of the family on the outside wall of the house. This phenomenon, dubbed the “Hiroshima Shadow,” is actually real (Sun). After the horrifying bombing in the city of Hiroshima, the silhouettes of people’s terrifying last moments were found burned onto walls and pavement. The nuclear flash of a bomb captures the shadow of anything blocking its path for a moment, before it is obliterated in nuclear fire. The image of the family in Bradbury’s story going about their daily lives – gardening, mowing the lawn, playing with a ball – and then being gone without warning, is hauntingly terrifying. At the time when this story was written, this horrifying scene exemplified readers’ biggest fear.

The sense of doom in Bradbury’s work, combined with his stunningly accurate predictions about the future of home technology, make this story a haunting and thought provoking read today. The automated kitchen cooking breakfast seems only a few steps forward from the “smart” fridges and automated coffee pots that are gaining popularity in suburban homes. As I read about the “voice-clock” in the walls of Bradbury’s fictional house, I thought of the Amazon Alexa sitting next to my computer. This technology, though fantastical in Bradbury’s time, is eerily similar to the most technologically advanced houses of our world now. The dread of humanity’s impending doom is no more inaccurate either. Between global warming, social justice issues, and political tension between world powers, it is hard to live in today’s society and not fear a Soft Rains-esque demise. 

Critics of Bradbury’s work claim that his idea is unoriginal (Ansbro, Goodreads). Certainly this is somewhat true, as many writers in Bradbury’s time wrote about the potential of nuclear warfare. Additionally, as seen in the poem that the story is centered around, the idea of the eventual downfall of humanity is not a concept Bradbury created either. Teasdale’s poem discusses the persistence of nature, and how the animals and the seasons would not notice if “mankind perished utterly” (Teasdale). However, Teasdale’s poem discusses this possibility with a glimmer of hope, an aspect that other critics find to be depressingly absent from Bradbury’s tale (Tadiana, Goodreads). Though these particular criticisms came from an open community review page, please consider that everyone is allowed to have an opinion on literature. I encourage you to visit the Goodreads forum and read other takes on this story.

I can’t say I disagree with these critiques. “There Will Come Soft Rains” is a haunting, beautifully written piece. The story includes startlingly accurate technological predictions, and a future which does not seem wholly unrealistic. The story is descriptive and engaging from beginning to end, and leaves the reader with much to think about. However, the idea of humanity’s demise from nuclear warfare has been written before, especially during the time when Bradbury published this story. Additionally, the future Bradbury portrays seems entirely hopeless. Even nature, even our surviving technology, seem to be struggling. The healing, everlasting presence of nature is absent from this piece. I would recommend this story because it is engaging and thought provoking, but do not go in expecting a happy ending.

Sources:

Multiple Contributors. “There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury.” Goodreads, Goodreads, 1 Jan. 2000, www.goodreads.com/book/show/2260460.There_Will_Come_Soft_Rains. 

McLaughlin, Pat.  A Literary Analysis of There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury. Elon University, elon.digication.com/a_literary_analysis_of_there_will_come_soft_rains/A_Literary_Analysis_of_There_Will_Come_Soft_Rains. 

Nixon, Tim. “The Shadows of Hiroshima: Haunting Imprints of People Killed by the Blast.” The Sun, 5 Apr. 2016, www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/155844/the-shadows-of-hiroshima-haunting-imprints-of-people-killed-by-the-blast/.

I first read by listening. As a toddler, I would ask my parents to read to me constantly. They obliged, until I had all of my books memorized and could correct them for trivial mistakes like saying “an” instead of “the.” Though I did not yet know my letters, and could not piece together words or phrases, I could pretend. I knew what each of my books was supposed to say, and when. By listening, I could read my favorite books before I knew how to read on my own.

Reading maintained the aspect of listening for me, even once I was able to interpret the words on a page. Instead of listening to someone else reading to me, I was listening to the author speaking to me. Authors told me that I should be brave, and a loyal friend. They taught me facts about space and the ocean and my favorite animals. They whispered to me about mysterious caves, and sang jubilantly about magic.

As I listened to authors and narrators, I was sucked into their worlds. All my senses devoted themselves just to hearing what the author had to say. In my third grade class, I was known for regularly not hearing the teacher announce the end of free reading time. I sat curled up between two bookshelves, out of view from the teacher’s desk, and immersed myself in stories. Some days, 15 or 20 minutes of math class would go by before someone turned around and noticed that I was still between the shelves intensely listening to the narrator of the Animorphs series. In a quiet room, I got into the groove of reading. The scenes appeared vividly before my eyes, and I could hear the action and the narrator in my head. I no longer saw the words on the page, and I no longer heard anything going on around me. I was experiencing the story, and I grew to love the worlds of novels just as much as my own.

I could never run out of authors to listen to. When my mom took my brothers and I to the library, she had to impose upon me a limit of 5 books per visit. Still, I would sit between the shelves reading pieces of every book to find the most interesting options until I was forced to go home. The biweekly library visits turned into a visit every week, then into visiting twice a week during summer and winter breaks. I was intrigued by the wide variety of book styles I found in the library. I loved the way the author’s voice sounded more deliberate and emotional when the story was written in verse, I enjoyed the lighthearted playfulness of comics, and I was delighted by the sassy narrators in the Young Adult section. My favorite aspect was, and still is, the way that I could never grow out of the library. The children’s section merged into young adult, then into the teen section downstairs, then into the vast adult section. I knew just looking at row after row of shelves, that I could truly never run out of stories to hear.

My issues with literacy emerged when it came to writing. Although I loved listening to authors, I found myself having nothing to say. I could never think of an idea that I hadn’t heard before, and my perfectionism blocked me from attempting if I wasn’t going to do a better job than the authors I had read. I was intimidated by the great writing that I had witnessed in novels, and my lack of original ideas created anxiety around writing.

Truthfully, this is something I still struggle with. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a story to tell, at least not one that nobody else has told before. The fount of ideas runs dry, and I stare at a blank Google Doc for 30 minutes before writing and immediately deleting an intro paragraph.

I can distinctly remember abandoning those apprehensions once in third grade. My teacher began to give us free writing time, similar in concept to free reading time but we were encouraged to write whatever we wanted for a few minutes every day. Over the course of a week or two, I wrote an eight page story about a kid who got turned into an ant. Every time I sat down to write this story, the words seemed to flow naturally. I did not consider whether a story like this had already been written, or whether the quality of my writing was even good. Free writing time allowed me to disregard the stress I had associated with writing, because I knew no one would ever read my story. This story ended up being my best piece of writing that year because I had denied my inhibitions.

When I reflect on all those novels I fascinatedly consumed as a child, I realize that not all of them were totally unique. Many of them contained similar premises or shared morals. No one book stands out as totally and completely different from all the rest. Writing does not need to be completely unique to have value. Good writers make common experiences relatable, not overdone. It is okay if you’ve heard a story similar to mine. The important part is that you haven’t heard me tell my story yet.

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