People struggle with a lot of things all the time, every day. Writers, like myself, grapple with writer’s block. Anyone, in any career path, certainly struggles with ups and downs associated to their work and life style. No matter what happens in a person’s life, it’s inherent that there’s going to be some sort of block at points, just like there are going to be periods of idea after idea after idea, of enthusiasm and easy living. To continue with my somewhat inspirational th

Sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration to write. Maybe a million ideas are in your head and you can’t narrow down your focus. Or maybe no ideas are in your head and you feel like you’ll never write a coherent, meaningful sentence again. But like so many other things you tend to put off, writing gets easier after you start. You just have to get momentum. Starting is a whole lot easier said than done, however. Although I’m often guilty of not writing until I’ve found the per

Everyone loves a good cup of coffee; it’s what keeps us going and one of the best things about Blacksburg is there are a ton of coffee shops on and off campus! We all know of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts but did you know of Mill Mountain? It’s an off-campus coffee shop located in downtown Blacksburg. The atmosphere is so chic and simple it makes for a perfect study spot for those days (everyday) when you can’t find a spot in the library. If you don’t live off-campus, located i

NFL teams all across the country made headlines this weekend for a wide-spread protest. Some players and teams chose to sit, kneel, link arms, or simply not appear for the national anthem, making a statement that sent waves throughout the country. But what has also spread are feelings of disgust or disdain with the players’ actions, leading to boycotts by many NFL fans, and a slew of comments from the president. Alongside these feelings come misconceptions about what this pro

On Wednesday, Sept. 13, I attended the first lecture in the "Through Feminist Eyes" series, which is sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Virginia Tech. The series will continue until November and will feature three lectures, each held at 7 p.m. in Fralin Auditorium, given by female faculty members. The first speaker was Carmen Gimenez Smith, who recently joined the faculty of the English department’s creative writing MFA program. Gimenez Smith is an accompl

Something I get asked a lot is, Clare, how do you even have the time to write!?? To which I answer, Well, I mean, I write about a million words a day for my major…. In all seriousness though, finding free time for hobbies (writing for me instead of for my professors) can be a tricky problem to solve. Last week in my poetry class, we were discussing the same topic: how do college students, with their bountiful amounts of homework, club commitments, social activities, time to e

It’s always nice to come home to a tidy little apartment with no shoes to trip over or a wrapper from the gum you had earlier on the living room rug. Especially for those living in a dorm--they aren’t big as it is, so clutter can be chaotic. Keeping your space clean can also give you a “cleaner” mindset, allowing you to be able to focus more on your studies and overall give you a stronger sense of routine. I’ll admit, back home my room was a total mess--like a tornado swept t

If fashion, comedy, and a capella (as discussed in part 1 of “Creative Organizations at VT”) aren’t your thing, but you still want to be involved in the creative community on campus, many other organizations are available for you to join. Read on to find out about dance, art, and music clubs, as well as media organizations at Virginia Tech. photo courtesy of Chrissy Lau If you like to dance There are about 20 organizations at Virginia Tech dedicated to dance. These dance club

I was walking to class on Thursday, staring intently at my phone. I don’t think I was looking at anything particularly important, probably just scrolling through my emails. Whatever it was, it could wait. It wasn’t until I heard a honk that I looked up. A truck, driving on the sidewalk, was waiting for me to look where I was going. I dodged it then immediately returned to whatever I was doing. Of course, this sparked a crisis. Am I really that stupid, that I almost walked str

The society we find ourselves in today is certainly not the most uplifting. There’s anger, war, protest, and despair; especially among college students. In the United States alone, depression is the second leading cause of death among people aged 15-34. College students face many different challenges, pressures, and anxieties that can cause them to feel overwhelmed. However, there are many remedies that can help the uneasiness of living alone or suffering with depression in g