Five chords in and you already know the song. You know the next four words and immediately think of that person with whom you want to be singing along. The lyrics and rhythm seize control of your mind and all you can focus on for the next three and a half minutes is the way it flows. This effect is exactly why music is considered therapy. It has the power to make you forget your concerns and even help you address them to move forward. For me, finding the right song for my moo

I have a confession to make, and it’s that I’ve never actually read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I know what you’re thinking: that I’m a creative writing major and a feminist, and the main character is a spitfire feminist author! How have I never read it? The answer is pretty stupid, and it’s just that I think I tried to read it when I was too young to understand it. I picked up Little Women when I was probably six or seven, and after a chapter or two, I just couldn’t g

Different people write and make art for different reasons. Sometimes it’s an escape, and other times it’s to express an idea. Some people create without ever planning on sharing their creation with others. This can stem from the use of artistic activities as a de-stressing mechanism or other individual exercise. Even so, art, either written, musical, or visual, is an incredible form of expression and can allow the maker to share ideas in a clear and almost experiential way as

Chances are if you have a smartphone then you have at least once in your life seen or sent an emoji to a friend or family member. I know this because even my technologically impaired father knows what they are and how to send them. Whether or not the audience appreciates the emoji is up for debate. If you are like my past three English/Communication professors, then you may not be the biggest fan. Some reasons why they argue against the emoji are they claim emojis are pointle

Now that I have reached week three of the spring semester, I’ve come to the point where I begin to feel like I need to be reoriented again. Classes are starting up and the busyness is beginning to fill all my evenings and free time turns into twenty-minute nap time before my next obligation. Music, writing, and art can be a worthy escape, but when the weather jumped up to sixty degrees, the idea of a very real and physical escape teased my mind as I sat on my computer and sta

Yes, you heard me right. It all started with one New Year’s resolution: become a more “prolific” writer. What does this entail? Well, for someone like myself, it means producing more poetry I’m proud of. Great writers only ever become great because they choose to write abundantly-- otherwise we’d have nothing to know them by. But the talons of writer’s block and creative paralysis never seem to go easy on me. I’ve gone entire months without picking up a pen and spilling my em

Since most people know I’m a creative writing major, it doesn’t surprise them one bit when they find out that when I was a kid, I read a lot of books. I consumed everything I could get my hands on, from nonfiction to standalone novels, YA fiction to my parents’ books that I would steal from the big bookshelves in our family room. I couldn’t get enough, but my truest literary love for as long as I can remember has been book series. I’m the kind of person who tends to fall in l