A collection of (some of) my personal favorite blog posts (which, should you be new here (welcome!) I hope you’ll find a useful introduction).

Fall 2012:

Write Like Everything is at Stake: A Response to ‘The Pen is Mightier’ by Sarah Sentilles: i truly think this is one of the most important pieces i’ve published here. I’ll let you decide if you agree! (published 23 october 2012).

Making Today Great: thanks to the wisdom of my friend Olivia, i try to re-focus on the task at hand. (published 12 november 2013).

Summer 2012:

hometown tourist #3  - history & home at elmo’s diner: in lieu of my lack of globe-trotitng in a summer spent in my hometown area of the triangle in the piedmont region of north carolina, i decided to write about some of my favorite places around town as though they were exotic destinations. this particular post is special to me because of my love for and longevity with my most favorite restaurant ever, elmo’s diner.

a treat for mom’s from mellark bakery: peeta’s cheese buns: a hunger-games-themed baking endeavor involving mildly burned cheese and a dash of cooking snark from an ill-adept host. strangely, this one seems to be continually sought after, so … bon apetit? (published 13 may 2012)

hate with hate won’t work: marriage equality and where we go from here: in the wake of amendment one, some thoughts concerning what a fight for love can look like and concern for the future of the LGBTQ community in north carolina. (published 10 may 2012)

homeward bound: the end of my second year of college culminating in a road trip home with my father. references to the office and photos of the shenandoah valley abound. (published 5 may 2012)

January – April 2012:

the children are not invisible: why i don’t support kony 2012: my most popular post to date, detailing why i find the narrative and methodology presented by invisible children to be problematic. (published 7 march 2012)

captured & imprisoned again: a lefty-trombonists’ tale by sawktrombone: okay, this is actually not written by me, but in celebration of my blog’s one year anniversary my best friend becca wrote a hysterical guest post about being friends with me irl and, more poignantly, being left-handed and subsequently oppressed. (published 21 february 2012)

dualities: hometowns: reflections on living in-between places. (published 30 january 2012)

the fault in our stars: i met john green, and contemplated infinity. also, people seem to read this post considerably often, so i thought you might want to as well. (published 12 january 2012)

fifteen things in six months: a personal challenge to accomplish fifteen tasks set forth in january by the beginning of may. darren criss and cookies are involved. (published 7 january 2012)

obligatory year-end wrap up title: reflections on a year of life and scars and roads taken (published 3 january 2012)

September – December 2011:

do they know it’s christmastime at all?: a rant on the post-colonial patronizing ideas reflected in the 1984 band aid tune and its unfortunate continued cultural relevance. also, there are cats in christmas hats (you might be interested to know) (published 6 december 2011)

my sexuality is none of your business, thanks: part 3 of a six-part series on why i chose to attend a women’s college (published 17 october 2011)

the hogwarts express through all of time and space: lizzie goes to london. lizzie flies the TARDIS. lizzie goes to platform 9 and 3/4. magic ensues. (published 7 october 2011)

ten things in four months: a personal challenge to accomplish ten tasks in from the commencement of september to the close of december. the tasks range in difficulty and time! (published 3 september 2011)

sexist shirt at kohl’s: an expression of disgust at a tee with the words: ‘my boyfriend thinks i’m studying’ emblazoned on the chest available for sale in the junior department of kohl’s (published 2 september 2011)

Summer 2011:

a video: my first video blog from the entire summer (published 18 august 2011)

to prune, to pluck, to cleanse, to clear: grappling with the complexity of words like home and wrestling with a desire to change my name with the undertaking of a new identity – my final post from uganda (published 11 august 2011)

mischief managed: my farewell to my beloved boy who lived (published 25 july, 2011)

we have received our identity!: reflections from witnessing and celebrating in juba, south sudan, for the nation’s first independence day (published 12 july 2011)

pace: the greatest challenge and most important lesson learned from my internship (published 2 july 2011)

agua: an insight to the trials and joys uncovered in the daily existence of living simply in kotido, uganda (published 23 june 2011)

kampala: thoughts from my time spent in uganda’s capital (published 16 june 2011)

Spring 2011:

one day without shoes: reflections from my day spent without foot attire as a nationwide movement to promote poverty awareness (published 5 april 2011)

thoughts in my head, rachel corrie: the first of the ‘thoughts in my head’ series, prompting questions around the concept of martyrdom and nonviolence. (published 22 march 2011)