How this class has changed my perspective on journalism...

More and more throughout the semester, I felt that journalism requires a certain type of personality, and I'm not sure if I'm that type yet. Yes, I do have a greater appreciation for the craft and technique newswriting requires, but I don't know if I can acquire the personality or if it can be taught. This is still highly my opinion, but I think journalism is a more Type A profession, perfect for someone who loves details, finding the reason for things, hunting down sources, probing...
I know that skill in any type of writing can be taught, but there is a certain amount of talent that bleeds into great writing. The talent that journalism requires is a perspective change for me.
I also have a greater respect for journalists and how they live under constant deadlines that are much more stringent that those the rest of us deal with.
Another thing that has struck me is the public nature of newswriting. Journalists have to deal much more with public opinion of their writing, which is a very personal undertaking. The possibility that their words could come under attack is greater than the rest of the writing world. There is extreme pressure in that.

Enterprise Rough Draft

“Ladies and gentlemen. I present to you the class of 2011, next year’s college freshmen class. Congratulations on your graduation and best of luck next year!” Every spring, from May to June, some derivative of this congratulatory statement is spoken at commencement ceremonies around the country. Weighing down the minds of the graduates may be everything from “please don’t let me trip walking up the aisle” to “I need to start packing for moving into the dorms.” almost certainly the last things on their minds is the very real fact that in a matter of months, they will be faced with paper-writing, research, group projects, and tests, just as they were in high school. No worries, though. With the World Wide Web at their lightening-quick fingers, one may think this would be no problem for today’s youth. Yet the statistics signal something alarming. “Fifty percent of [ARCC] students are before college-level reading, 40% are before college-level writing, and 80% of students are below college-level math,” says Patty Wheeler-Andrews, who teaches a developmental reading and writing course at ARCC. Today’s college freshmen know how to text without looking, Google any topic conceivable, download pictures, incorporate fancy fonts, and are able to quote verbatim the most recent Youtube fad video. But can they spell correctly? Discern the important information in an article? Summarize? Today’s younger generation may be at both an advantage and have been done a great disservice thanks to modern technology. 

Granted the statistics can be due to other factors other than technology, but there is no doubt that the “distractions” from reading or true studying abound in today’s society: t.v. time per day, cell phones, video games, Wikipedia. Do we even need to mention the f-word? Rhymes with lacehook. “A lot of my students have never read a book,” Wheeler-Andrews notes. When asked about how technology has affected the reading levels of college students throughout these last couple of years, Wheeler-Andrews admits that, theoretically, technology should improve reading, given the wealth of information that readily exists to today’s students, the significant state standards that regularly test reading and writing and math. But what happens, she asks, when a person reads a chapter or paragraph and can’t remember what they’ve read? Has it actually been sustained thought? Thanks to Wikipedia and other bullet-pointed information sites, there have been effects on the attention span and retention ability of the young person’s mind. “There is research on the neurological effects of print versus screen, but there are no real findings yet because on generation hans’t yet been through” to accurately measure, she goes on. 

Perhaps the research will exist by the time the generation that is utilizing the iFrogz Tadpole comes of age. iFrogz is a third-party manufacturer of iPod accessories. The Tadpole is a portable iPod cover for infants to kindergarteners; two large side handles make these bright purple or green rubberized covers easy to grip. Accompanied by large headphones, the Tadpole allows for endless toddler entertainment anywhere and anytime parents need some quiet from their little ones, not to mention early immersion in Apple products.

Clearly, technology has an entertainment value; however, as Heidi Haageson, the coordinator for ARCC’s Academic Support Center points out, “we need to think of ‘technology’ beyond computers and cell phones. Think of fuel-efficient vehicles, medical and surgical technology...” Her list of assisting technology goes on, and that technology has saved lives, which is “hard to argue with.” 

In the academic world, Haageson continues, the benefits of technology far outweigh the hinderances to learning. The common argument for technology’s negative effect on students is the internet and simply its vastness, the amount of information available to studentdom around the globe. Regardless of quality (cough, Wikipedia, cough), the information exists for students to use at their whim. It’s true that it is becoming rarer and rarer for students to go to the library or to an encyclopedia to look something up for a research paper or assignment, Haagenson admits, but “the important issue now...is to help students develop the critical thinking and analytical skills required to evaluate the information they find on the Internet. Is it reliable? Is it accurate? Is it timely? Which is the best source? How can we build on this information?” This sentiment is seconded by Deborah Shepherd, an anthropology professor at ARCC, who defines some of the basics of education today as being able to “think critically, judge sources of information, acquire sufficient information, and [to] know how to find the facts.” 

It must be said, though, that technology doesn’t exist soley for fact-finding and research; the success of the recent film, The Social Network, about the creation and early days of Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site, is evidence of that. Haageson defends the benefits of more socially-driven technology, such as social networking and video gaming. With all technologies, she says, “it’s a matter of balance.” Facebook and like sites “not only connect the student socially” with those they may not otherwise communicate with. Video games, too, could potentially fall into the life-saving technology category. Studies have been conducted on the impact of video games on training military surgeons. Participants who played 3 or more hours per week of video games in the past or currently played performed 32-27% fewer errors in laparoscopic surgery. 

  [Insert Conclusion]

Press Release

Needtobreathe, headed by brothers Bear and Bo Rinehart, have taken their southern-gentleman lyrics and boot-stomping banjo and guitar licks to a whole new level with their latest tour “Young and Far From Home.” Playing First Avenue’s Mainroom this last weekend, the brothers Rinehart, along with bandmates Joe Stillwell (drums) and Seth Bolt (bass) have toured once already since the release of their last album, The Outsiders, and this time around, the South Carolina natives repackaged themselves with an edgier attitude and playlist. The Outsiders combines layers of wistful piano, thoughtful percussion, tickling mandolin and banjo with the southern harmonica melodies and blues-like guitar playing of Needtobreathe’s previous albums. The weaving of various layers only serves to prove the growing song-writing and producing capabilities of this still little-known hometown band. 

Heading back to the studio this winter, Needtobreathe’s show seemed a last attempt for the band to play their hearts out on songs they’ve spent the last two years writing, recording and touring with. Their set list contained a few non-yet-recorded songs, but mostly consisted of crowd favorites that were less like the faded cowboy boots the group is known for and more like black biker boots.

Story #7

One teacher’s yellow brick road into teaching and inspiring students

Once upon a time is undoubtedly the most well-known beginning to a story. Thank you Grimm Brothers. And for English teachers out there, it is that fairy tale beginning, along with phrases like “quoth the raven,” “it was the best of times,” and “one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish” that were the hooks drawing us into the literary world, novels, words, analysis, books clubs, and imbued the passion of teaching into our bloodstream. For Patty Wheeler-Andrews, however, her yellow brick road into teaching was filled with many more twists and milestones. 

As the oldest daughter in a family of six, she remembers deciding at 9 years old and in to 4^th grade that she wanted to be a teacher. Tutoring all through high school, Wheeler-Andrews began college with the plan of being a math teacher, but “after a couple years of calculus classes, I thought ‘nope,’” she recalls. “Perhaps I could be a biology teacher?” was her next question, but after the competitiveness of one course with biomed majors, she finally landed in an English major. While taking education courses and completing student teaching, a “once upon a time” moment happened to Wheeler-Andrews, one of those defining beginnings or markers in a journey. She remembers her cooperating teacher being a stern man, who, while students were reading Great Expectations, told the class they were “too stupid to understand Dickens” and to at least just listen while he read them the book. Another villainous example that Wheeler-Andrews encountered during this time was a teacher who, with verbal reprimands so loud, had students crying and forced them to face a mirror to watch themselves as they cried. “‘I’m going to save these students’ I remember thinking at the time and knew I wanted to teach junior high. And I did teach 7^th and 9^th grade initially, but compassion is not a good enough reason to become a teacher,” advises Wheeler-Andrews. After teaching for a time, she returned to the University of Minnesota for a Master’s in Reading, which was a sign of the times, Wheeler-Andrews declares: “social justice was the ethos of the times, and reading and literacy fed righ tinto that.” after job cuts while working in the St. Paul school district, Wheeler-Andrews began working part-time at Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC), coordinating the tutoring center and teaching GED courses. 

Currently, she teaches 16 credits of level-one reading, which works on developmental reading and writing skills. In our conversation, I remarked at my surprise at the number of level-one classes: was the need actually that high? Apparently it is. 50% of incoming ARCC students are below college-level reading, 40% are below college-level writing, and 80% below in math. “A lot of my students have never read a book in their lives. I mean, look at all the distractions there are to keep students from reading: t.v. time per day, cell phones, video games,” Wheeler-Andrews notes. However, when I asked her about the greatest challenge in her current position, it had nothing to do with alarming statistics or concerning trends. “Right now the greatest challenge isin one class...[having] students from Mexico, Nepal, China, Cambodia, Hmong, Liberia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Somalia, and some other countries, plus [students] from Hann Lake, Brooklyn Center. There is an enormous range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. There are highly motivated people but whose language skills are developing, and there are some with really low motivation.” With complete seriousness, Wheeler-Andrews describes her classes as rewarding, because students are so eager even as they are working towards a goal that is a long way off. “They’re coming to this safe environment, without bullets and body parts in the streets; there is an amazing range of backgrounds,” and teaching students with these complicated and lives that are “exponentially harder” than students of 20 years ago is the greatest reward, according to Wheeler-Andrews. 

As I asked Wheeler-Andrews for some teaching advice, being a new teacher myself, I could feel that our conversation was going to be one of those milestones, twists in the brick road that will mark my teaching story. “In my teaching, one of the realizations i’ve had is that I cannot deliver motivation for [students]. I cannot transform.” However, as a teacher, she goes on, we have a great ability to empower without enabling students, to let them show what they can do, to build their internal motivation system. I left our meeting fully motivated and inspired myself. Paired with “once upon a time” is the quintessential ending to a story - “and they lived happily ever after.” And though Wheeler-Andrews is happily continuing to teach and do significant work with faculty development both at ARCC and the MNSCU system, she would be the first to say that her story is far from “ever after.” 

Story #5

Prairie View Elementary hosts World Cafe

Originally, I intended to attend as a mere observer, a gatherer of information, an outsider, at Prairie View Elementary’s World Cafe event, which was held last Thursday evening. Arriving first, it was assumed I was a student parent, and I was quickly drawn in to the evening’s discussion. Our attention was called to the first speaker, Cafe Committee member, Julie Weeden, who explained that the inspiration for the evening was the book The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter. Prairie View decided to attempt this community-building activity after visiting other area schools, such as Forest Lake Elementary, who first attempted this discussion format last school year but with mixed results. The World Cafe is a discussion format where community members, such as school parents, staff, and students are invited to meet together and discuss topics of interest. The intent is simply for community members to get to know each other, and through the fostering of community, it is assumed that the school environment will strengthen and the students’ educational success will thrive. 

This was Prairie View’s first attempt at the World Cafe, and with about 25 various parents, school staff, and outsiders like myself in attendance, the evening was filled with discussion around the evening’s topic: What was a meaningful learning experience in your life? Ishmael Robinson, Eden Prairie School’s Director of Assessment and Testing, kickstarted the evening by sharing his own journey of learning with the story of his high school social studies teacher who “treated [him] and held [him] to the level of an adult.” “I wanted to go back and thank her,” Robinson declares, “unfortunately, she died of cancer before I could, so I tell this story as a thank you to her.”

 Surrounded by hundreds of children’s library books, the primers of student learning, we divided ourselves around five tables, five or six to a table, introduced ourselves, and proceeded to each share a story or event that was critical to our learning, whether it be a school teacher that influenced us for the better, family tragedy or adventure that changed the course of of our learning or life, or a simple lesson learned. After a few minutes discussion, table members rotated in both directions to a new table, to new faces, to new stories. Even though we continued to have the same topic of discussion, the content, variety, and level of personalness that was shared astounded me. In attendance were several mothers of Eden Prairie’s growing Somali population. The life stories of these women, of travel, of familes still left across an ocean, and differences between the American and Somali education systems astounded me. 

Each time I rotated to a new table, I found myself able to share a different experience regarding learning, and as I listened to the stories of others I noticed a singular commonality. No one shared stories of a impactful lesson or subject from school, a favorite book read, speech that eas heard. Each meaningful learning experience had to do with people, places, life. Therein lies the point of the World Cafe: the stories vary but are also extremely similar, and recognizing those commonalities draws humanity together. Prarie View is holding two additional World Cafe sessions throughout the school year. 

Biographic Obituary

Erin Elizabeth Weides, a life-long student and almost a teacher, died Friday at the age of 26. Weides, a graduate of Northwestern College and a current student at Bethel University and Anoka-Ramsey Community College, was three months away from completing her Master’s in Teaching and reaching her life-long goal of becoming a high school English teacher. Weides, having just completed her student teaching experience at Central High School in St. Paul, MN, was described by her cooperating teacher, Megan King, as “one of the strongest student teachers I have encountered in my 14 years of teraching.” 

A former preschool teacher, Weides is survived by her parents, Robert and Elizabeth and her two brothers, Timothy and Daniel Weides. A worship service and funeral will be held at Crosstown Covenant Church next Saturday at 10am. Memorials should be made to the Minnesota Literacy Council. 

Faculty Interview #1

As Dean of Educational Services at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC), Luanne Kane has her hands in many pots. Some of her current responsibilities include overseeing the business department, the biomedical division, computer networking, and the professional training center. Such diversity in responsibilities may seem unrelated, but when asked about the varied nature of her work, Kane insists that “being a dean is less about the knowledge of the area, and more about leadership, program review, and helping departments with their budgets” and not necessarily about the direct knowledge of that specific department. Dividing her time between both the Coon Rapids and Cambridge campuses, Kane’s job is never dull.

Kane’s own education began with a Bachelor’s in communications and was then followed by a  Master’s in college administration. Her history of employment at ARCC has been a winding road through several departments and certainly adds to her knowledge of college administration. “I actually started out for ARCC in grant writing and was soon asked to be the executive director of the college foundation. After that I was involved with Phi Beta Kapp, which is the national honor’s society.” Her twisty way then included becoming Athletic Director and Dean of the Wellness Division as well as being responsible for both campuses’ libraries. 

As if these areas combined weren’t enough, Kane is also one of the contacts for ARCC’s study abroad program. This was where I first encountered her name, while I was researching the locations included in the study aborad program. Two of the more related areas of Kane’s job are Dean of Foreign Languages and International Education, of which the study aborad program fall into nicely. Among ARCC’s three abroad locations include a spring semester session in Costa Rica and a fall semester tour at Oxford, England, although there has been little to no interest these last few years. The third location, and the one Kane is most connected with is the Zhaoqing, China location. Although no ARCC students have studied here recently, the relationship between ARCC and their Chinese university  counterpart is maintained through visiting Chinese students studying at ARCC and a rotating faculty postion, a visiting scholar. Currently the position is held by Profession Xia, who teaches Chinese at ARCC. 

Although Kane has “not visited [Zhaoqing], it’s been talked about many times before, but with the economies and current budgets, it doesn’t seem like a possibility any time soon.” Despite personally never visiting China, Kane has observed that the Chinese educational system is much more structured. Being involved in international studies and so varied anumber of departments has not blinded Kane to both the challenges and rewards to working within the American educational system. “I think the greatest reward is the success of our students, seeing the differences we make. I hear stories daily of student successes.” When asked about the the greatest challenges of her postions, Kane answered with budgets and asking faculty to take on more responsibilities with less money, resources, and more students in the classroom. On the upside, however, “we have and extremely commited faculty,” and that makes all the difference no matter the department. 

Story 4

A Young Florence Nightingale 

How many little girls confidently declare when three or four years old that when grown up they’ll be a princess? A ballerina? If you would have asked a young Nicole Willms what she wanted to be, she would have put down her pretend nursing kits and bandages and told you - a nurse. Currently in the nursing degree program at Anoka-Ramsey, Nicole juggles the full life of employee at a cardiology office, student, and mother to a 2 and a 1/2 and 7 year old. Inspired by her own mother, a nurse for over 30 years and who served overseas in the Navy, Willms knows that all the “slaving over readings or studying for an exam” will benefit her family in the future. The benefit of future patients also drives Willms: “I see how [my mother] was with her patients and how much they respected her and I knew this is something I needed to be. I wanted to be that person that could help prolong a person’s life.” 

The caring profession continues. Willms bought her own daughter a nursing kit for Christmas last year, and now there seems to be in-house practitioner competition. “She takes care of mommy, daddy, and brother along with the puppy and all her stuffed animals.” 

When Willms isn’t studying, working, or mommy-ing, she would prefer a night in, getting “to relax and not having to worry,” or she would be playing on one of her three softball teams. 

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Interview Transcript

Hi Nicole. Here's a few interview questions for you.

Since it's a bit harder conducting an interview not in person, I tried

to include all manner of questions based around your blog profile.

Thank you!

Erin W.

1. So, you're going to school for your RN degree. Where exactly? What

made you want to get in to the medical field? Did you always know you

wanted to? What was the path that led you there? Where would you like

to eventually work: a large hospital, small clinic, with children...?

2. What is the most rewarding part to your current workplace? The most

challenging?

3. Do your two kids ever play pretend doctor or nurse like their mom?

4. Being a mom looks like it's also a large part of your life. Do you

have any funny stories about being a mom to two little ones?

5. If you could have one night free from schoolwork, watching kids'

movies, doing dishes etc...what would you do to unwind?

6. You mention softball and camping on your profile, are you a big

outdoors person? Do you play on a softball league? What is the most

exoctic/exciting place you've traveled? Where would you like to go?

7. Have you been to any country concerts recently? Anyone coming

through that you would like to see?

8. Between school, kids, work, how do you balance your busy life?

I am going to Anoka Ramsey for my nursing degree. I have always wanted to be a nurse growing up. I always had the pretend nursing kits and would walk around and put bandages on everyone and everything to make sure they would heel! I believe my mom played a huge role in influencing me to be a nurse. She has been a nurse for 30 some years now. She started nursing while she was surving over seas in the Navy. She is a wonderful women and a nurse. I see how she was with her patient and how much they respected her and I knew this is something I needed to be. I wanted to be that person that could help prolong a person's life. It gives me much graditude knowing that I helped a person. Currently I am working in a cardiology office but when I am done with school I would love to move into either a clinic or hospital and help take care of children! Its hard being a mom, working full time and going to school full time but in the end I know that its going to beneift my family and make things better. so I try and keep that aspect in the back of my head as I am salving over readings or studying for an exam. There are days when I feel horrible because I am not spedning as much time with them as I should but I know if they were older they would understand. yes my little 2 1/2 loves playing Dr/nurse.. I bought her a nursing kit last year for Christmas and she loves it. she takes care of mommy, daddy and brother along with the puppy and all her stuffed animals. Having kids there is never a dull moment!! its hard to think of something funny when so maany things have occured. lets just say there is never a dull moment and we are always kept on our toes!!

If I had a free night, no kids, no homework. I would love to just stay at home have a few drinks and just lounge. it sounds boring but its nice to be able to jsut relax and not having to worry about getting up because someone needs something or spilled something!

I do love the outdoors. we have a camper and goign camping a lot during the summer. we do not go to far yet because the kids are still a little to little but hopefully soon we will make our adventures out farther. I love playing sports, softball especailly. I have played since I was little. right now I play on 3 teams and its nice to get out and do something I love. It makes it a little easier since our friends are on the team and we all have kids, so they come and run around with eachother while the adults play ball.

please let me know if u need anymore info!

thanks

Nicole!

Story 3

The Sleep Doctor is In

Diana Gant, a psychology professor at Anoka Ramsey, knows the importance of beauty sleep. Actually, just sleep in general. Gant has made a career out of studying the sleepy, both her graduate thesis and doctoral dissertation on the lack of and need for more sleep. When she began her studies 17 years ago, Gant intended to study productivity in people who received little amounts of sleep, but when her subjects were presented with the “chance to sleep in dark, quiet rooms, they all slept for about nine hours.” This early observation and “other work convinced me that most people suffer from sleep deprivation.” 

Nine to ten hours, Gant claims, is the optimal amount of nightly sleep, while most people average seven hours. Gant's research is based on both personal research and studying statistics, such as the correlation between traffic accidents around daylight savings time in both the spring (loose an hour) and fall (gain an hour). Statistics show an 8% increase in accidents the day after spring daylight savings, which Gant likens to national jet lag, its effects lasting up to a week as the body’s biological clock resets. 

How can you tell if you’re sleep deprived? Perform this simple test: do you feel sleepy or desire to doze off after eating a large lunch? Being sleepy at your desk is considerably less hazardous, but Gant attributes sleep deprivation with severities such as the space shuttle Challenger disaster, Russia’s Chernobyl reactor accident, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Regarding the spill, Gant asserts that “the press focused on the possibility that the captain of the Exxon Valdez was drunk, but undershifting and long shifts on the ship may have led to the third mate’s falling asleep at the wheel.” Cutting back on sleep can also cause depression, falling asleep at stoplights, and has the same effects on a person as being drunk, making people “clumsy, stupid, and unhappy.” 

To counteract sleep deprivation, Gant prescribes several things. Find a place that is dark and quiet, lights off and shades drawn. Get a confortable bed and keep bed linens fresh and clean. A cool atmosphere, about 65, is optimal sleeping temperature. Equally important as getting more sleep in general and sleeping conditions is preparing for sleep. “It’s good to relax for an hour or so before going to bed,” Gant says, prescribing watching TV or reading a book. Pre-sleep diet also contributes; “don’t eat or drink a lot” and avoid tobacco, coffee, alcohol, or excessive sugars as these cause the brain to become more alert as their effects wear off. If we all followed this regiment, Gant may be out of a job. 

Story #2

County votes 5-2 denying law enforcement funds

Thursday night’s county commission meeting was the setting for a heated debate between County Sheriff Gus DiCesari and the commission members, led by Commission President Anne Chenn. DiCesari pressed the county for additional law enforcement funds to be used to replace eight police cruisers, each of which accumulated more than 150,000 miles and that DiCesari claims are becoming “too costly to maintain...and they spend more time in the repair shop.” Additional law enforcement funds would also be used to hire five sheriff’s deputies. 

DiCesari was backed by commission members Anita Shenuski and Raymond Laybourne, who suggested during the meeting that the county spend money on the sherrif’s department and less on programs for county migrant workers. Shenuski and Laybourne claim that funds would be better spent protecting “local residents.” Chenn and Commissioners Valerie Dawkins, Faith Ellis, Jose Gardoz and Roland Grauman strongly advocated for the some 5,000 migrant families in the community, highlighting the fact that many migrant workers have “become permanent members of the community.” 

DiCesari claims that in his 27 years as sheriff, this is the first time the department has been without an equipment budget. Cenn claims the county is without the $580,000 needed to replace the police cruisers and to hire new deputies and that the sheriff’s department will simply have to make due this year. “My deputies can’t keep driving these old vehicles,” DiCesari claims, “Something bad is going to happen.” Chenn suggested that deputies not drive their cruisers home each day as is the current practice and thus save milage and make more cars available, even though cruisers parked around neighborhoods is a crime deterrant. 

A vote was held and the commission voted 5-2 against the request for additional law enforcement funds. 

Story #1

Think your work day started off grimly? Well, as long as you were not involved in the crash this morning on Interstate 790, your day was probably okay. At 6:45am, two northbound tractor trailers collided, beginning a chain reaction crash that ultimately included four tractor trailers and 14 cars, several injuries, and fatalities. 

The mechanical mess was so great and chaotic that police officers on the scene had trouble identifying passengers and drivers with their cars, according to Police Sgt. Albert Wei. 

“When I arrived,” says Fire Chief Tony Sullivan, “it looked like a war zone with bodies laying along the road, people covered with blood next to their cars, emergency workers running from place to place trying to help the injured, and sirens wailing in the distance.” Firemen had to actually cut the roofs off of three cars in order to reach the passengers inside. The city’s total number of ambulances were deployed to the scene, and back up was called from four nearby cities. The crash, says Sullivan, had a total of two fatalities both belonging to car drivers. Twenty others were injured, four seriously. Two of the worst injuries were air-lifted to the trauma center in Statesville. “In the 18 and a half years I’ve been with the fire department,” says Sullivan, “I’ve never seen anything that bad.”

The multi-vehicle crash has completely close Interstate 790, and traffic has been rerouted to Interstate 690. As of 10am this morning, traffic on the east side of the city was still backed up as it had been for three hours and without an idea of when it will reopen, according to Wei.  

Summary #1

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-08-25-maya-pompeii_N.htm?csp=hf

New archeological discoveries lead to theories as to why the ancient Mayans left their homes of 1,900 or more years in great haste. Everyday items, such as pottery, found in the Mayan city, Kiuic, point to unplanned retreat. Possible causes include warfare or draught.  

44 words

Other thoughts:

My youngest brother is leaving tomorrow morning for basic training with the National Guard. I'm acutally dropping him off in an hour or so, and he'll be gone until Christmas for a two-week visit, then off again. He'll be training in both South Carolina and Virginia for the next six months. The military told him not to pack many things; they issue most everything he will need. But I got home tonight and all he has packed is one rather small black backpack. Somehow, in that one bag he's taking everything he needs for the next six months. I can't fathom this. Perhaps it's my personality; I know I'm not a hoarder, but maybe I have an exaggerated sense of the essential. Maybe traveling light is a guy thing.

I don't know exactly what he has in there other than simple toiletry items, an ipod, some envelopes, stamps, and writing materials...

I know I'd want pictures, a book (how I'd choose, I don't know), a Bible, markers of my personality, items that would remind and anchor me amidst life-upheaval. But if I were like the Mayans, or my brothers, having to choose singular items to survive on, I can't think of a harder choice. Granted, the Mayans didn't know when they'd return, and my brother at least has some idea of returning to civilization, but what would you bring? What is your anchor?

The questions themselves...

Does it make me odd that I have always loved writing, having a favorite type of pen (the Pilot G-2), being affectionately labeled a grammar nerd, yet I have always been extremely nervous about having others read my writing? So why in the world am I writing a blog? Let me attempt to answer...

When I was a writing undergrad (go ahead and scoff and ask me what I intended to do with that), before I found my calling to be a teacher, I clearly remember two points when I realized that I would never write as a profession. The first was when my brother told me that I wasn't screwed up enough to be a real writer. He truly said this jokingly, but it haunted me. I found myself near wishing for something tragic to happen just so I could have something to write about. My poems seemed trite. Forced short stories. It took me a long time to realize that my life was already made of tragic pieces...still is...nothing grand or historic, but I lived/live a flawed life nonetheless.

The second harsh awakening came while I read Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet for the first time. I often return to this slim volume of wisdom for creative refreshment and as a reminder of why I love writing, when I know it in the deepest parts of myself, but I can't voice why. When I can't write why:
"Search for the reason that bids you write: find out whether it is spreading out its roots in the deepest places of your heart, acknowledge to yourself whether you would have to die if it were denied you to write. This above all - ask yourself in the stillest hour of the night: must I write?" I found that I could not equate death with being denied writing. At the time, that was a small death for me: to realize that I would not be a writer. What was I going to do with my major now? It was too late to switch, and I honestly couldn't think of something I enjoyed more. But Rilke also reminds me:
"...to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to live the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now." I still struggle with this lesson in contentment. But I cherish it.

Sometimes, words are not enough to express life. Authors and artists try, sometimes convincingly and authentically, but I don't know if it always possible. This meager blog is being required of me by a journalism class, yes, but through it, I will at least pretend to be the screwed-up writer that I used to think I couldn't be. I also hope that through it I can attempt to write and to live some of the questions.