March Writers

Our March Writers are up on the Blog!  There are thirteen pieces this month.  You guys know the drill.  Read ALL submissions.  Choose five--three senior and two freshmen--and write thoughtful, constructive feedback and comments.  If you are a writer, keep checking back, and read your blog comments.  You only need to leave comments for two writers--one senior and one freshman.

Comments are due Monday night, April 6, by 11:59 pm.

Have fun and Happy Reading!!!!!!

Chris--Lost In Love

Love a four letter word with a million meanings. I can’t help but get lost in definitions of love ever since I was a kid I always wanted to know what the true meaning of this four letter word really means. Is it posting a Instagram picture telling the world that you met your true love in the 7th grade? Is it making out by the MPR in 11th grade? or is it really putting your heart in a girl and getting friend zoned? Whatever the case may be, I think everyone has their own definition of love. This makes me think, i’m surrounded by so called “love” but is it really love? This isn’t to make everyone feel like what they feel like isn’t love, but just to make you think and really find your true definition. Love is only a word until someone or something can give it meaning. Is it waiting for your prince charming to ride up on a stallion and slay the mighty dragon just to ask you on a date, or are you waiting to experience a feeling you never felt before? I wouldn’t know because I don’t know your situation but what I do know is that the average lifespan of a human is around 82 years old. Considering the most of us are 17 plus or minus. Your missing out on 65 good years to maybe find something or someone else you love. Not just another human either, maybe a passion for art takes you to Italy to have your own renaissance, or a passion for soccer takes you to Spain to watch a Barcelona game at the Camp Nou. Maybe love means to experience everything and anything with something to a point you can’t live without it. Whatever your meaning is all I can say really now is.... I’m lost in love.

Tanya--A Little Bit About Me

A Little Bit About Me

            Some of you may know me, some of you may think you know me, and some of you do not know me at all. That’s what this is for. My name is Tanya. I am 18 years old. I love romantic movies. I have a cat and a sister. I love spending time with my family and friends. And I am extremely indecisive.

            I have a really hard time when it comes to decision making. There is an app on my phone called “decision maker”; it helps me make my decisions. Otherwise I leave it up to my family, friends, quarters, dimes and nickels to make decisions for me. Ordering food, deciding what to wear, or what to say is just the beginning of my problem. One time the tiny train at Victoria Gardens was coming straight at me and I couldn’t decide whether I should go left or right. Even deciding what to write about was a really hard decision to make. That is why I decided, by myself, to pick a couple of the things I wanted to write about. So here we go.

            Flash Fiction: She sat in the little corner of her room, curled up in a small ball, with tears streaming down her face. She didn’t want to cry, but that’s how emotions work, you can’t control them.  The past couple months had been great. She met a wonderful guy and she started to think that everything would be great, but oh, was she wrong. Things were not great and as usual she was left sitting in her room crying. This was not what all the movies taught her. She was supposed to be Cinderella, she was supposed to find her Austin Ames, she was supposed to fall in love and everything was supposed to be perfect. But I guess that’s one thing they don’t teach you in movies. Nothing is perfect and true love doesn’t exist.

            How To: How to ruin your life by watching more TV than you can handle.

Step 1: Pick a TV show to watch (something with over 3 seasons)

Step 2: Go pee (it sucks when you have to pause your show because you have to go to the restroom)

Step 3: Get food

Step 4: Start watching your show. This is the most important step. You have to watch as much as you can in one day if you want to finish the season to start the next one. After 5 or 6 hours you might think that it is time to stop and take a break. However, that is what you should never do. Keep watching the show. After about 7 hours (on a school day) you should stop. On the weekend 10 to 11 hours of TV is a good amount to watch. At this point you should be addicted to your show and your life should start falling apart. This is when you know you have successfully ruined your life by watching more TV than you can handle.

Diana--

2:25 PM. I am walking across Pomona College with lead-trodden feet. My mind is occupied and I am unable to notice the warmth of the summer day or the green on the towering trees. I arrive: the sign reads “Lebus 201.” I walk up the spiral concrete steps into a dim-lit hallway reminiscent of the old Sunday school building I went to as a child, with shabby brown carpets and yellowing white walls. The aesthetic breeds an essence of familiarity, but the room reeks of cigarette smoke that has seeped into the pores of the building. I have been a research assistant for only two weeks, but I am drained and apprehensive.

I walk into the room and see the intimidated faces of my frustrated peers---we had all met the dead hours of the night doing research for the fourth consecutive day, and we all had the same thing in mind: in a little over a week, we are putting on a presentation entitled “Decoding Visual Culture and Constructing Cultural Criticism.” What does that string of highfalutin words even mean? Each session consists of an analytical viewing of independent documentaries created to reveal the invisible history of groups of Africana and Latino diaspora. The terms “lead with the visual” and “form, content, and context” are swarming in my head, but I am having trouble piecing together the information.

I really want the presentation to succeed, but beyond that, I want to obtain a firm grasp of the breadth of the study. Our research professor built a rough exterior through her experiences of joining the Black Panthers in her twenties, earning a PhD, and fighting her way to become a professor at one of the most renowned institutions in the nation. She did not sugar-coat her opinions or hesitate to speak her mind. I had never been so intimidated by an educator, while maintaining so much respect. She is a fireball of scathing honesty, dangerous knowledge and formidable opinions, and some part of me wants to emulate those characteristics. I want to possess a cunning critical lens and fearlessness in expressing my thoughts.

Time passes quickly. After countless sleep-deprived nights, hours of concentration and group run-throughs, the presentation day arrives. We are the first group to present, and it is time to show the crowd of over one hundred people what we have studied. In the crowd, I see a blend of shocked faces and looks of deep interest. The half hour escapes in a snap and at the end of the presentation, I am proud---proud of persevering, proud of the information presented, and most importantly, proud of gaining a fresh perspective. Those four brief weeks in research were the most challenging and mentally-tasking experience that I have ever had in an academic environment, but I have learned that although institutions of power control the presentation of information, I have agency over my interpretation via my understanding of power structures. I will not be limited by my understanding alone; I will use what I know to give voice to marginalized individuals.