Life Update: I Graduated College

Hello, everyone! It has been quite a few months since I posted anything (especially anything bookish related) however, I've been a busy bee lately. Mainly because I finally finished college! I graduated on May 12, 2018, and attained my Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History with a minor in Technical & Professional Communications.

Although this is an exciting accomplishment, my emotions about this is mixed. What many new graduates - or those in the road of graduating - may not realize is that once you're done with college, you must face the adult world. Yes, it is time to officially "adult." Now we must immerse ourselves into the market and workforce, find a job, shop for professional attire, pay our bills (especially our student loans), and become a working individual who must tackle all adult things. It's scary. Really, really scary - but it's also inevitable. This is a part of life that we must all face and accept, even if we don't want to.

It's funny, reflecting back on my younger years, I always yearned to be a grown woman; I wanted to be a twenty-something year-old with a life because everything adults did appealed to me. From the mind of a child, being adult meant staying up late and not having a bed time; having the free-will to go places without being supervised; having a career and earning money; owning a home and getting a pet of your choice; or being able to wear heels and dress in pretty outfits that make you look and seem mature and wise. Now as a twenty-two year-old college graduate, I look back at my young self and think how much of a naive fool I was. Adulting is nothing that I imagined it to be. It's in fact worse. Being adult in the 21st century means getting into a ton of debt from student loans; having to work two to three jobs to pay off those loans; dealing with the social pressures of society; having to always prove to people you're worthy, especially to employers; to live at home until you're financially able to be independent; facing the sheer reality that adulting is nothing that you hoped it would be. The list can go on and on.

Happy and proud of myself that I overcame many obstacles to attain my bachelor's, I'm still continuing to face many more. Now my next step in life is to find a job - a job that will contribute to the future and growth of my career. It's hard. Employers nowadays are seeking people with experience. Although I've gotten a lot of experience from internships to volunteer work, it's hard to prove to employers that I am adept and capable to perform any job. There's a terrible stigma towards liberal arts degrees; in fact, I plan on creating a separate post that relays my experiences and the common stereotypes of liberal arts degrees. I think it's important for many people to realize that these common stereotypes of liberal arts students are nothing close to the truth - we have certain skill sets that many other majors tend to neglect in teaching students, especially when it comes to written communication.

But, in addition to attaining my bachelor's, I am also going to be getting my Master of Science (M.S.) in Mass Media Arts & Journalism starting in August. My ultimate goal is to go to school online as I'm working full-time. Personally, I don't want to put my career on hold for my education again. I want to find a job, work, earn money, and take care of my responsbilities. I shall see, when August comes around and if I can get a full-time position by then, if this can be achievable - but I know deep down that I have the discipline to balance both at the same time.

One chapter closed and another one begins. College has really made me grow and become a better person. I've learned to manage on my own, and I think that in itself is highly important for any individual to learn. I've also learned the value of friendship, which was a lesson that came with its own separate challenges. But for now, I can at least enjoy a bit of my summer (as I am actively applying for jobs and praying to find one before July) until I must start the grind all over again.

x, Kayla

Harry Potter Feature Paper: The History of Magic

All pictures above were taken by me in my Universal Studios trip last March. 

This is the final draft of my feature that I wrote for my Reviewing the Arts class in college. The paper focuses solely on the Harry Potter series, its effects on modern culture, J.K. Rowling's inspiration behind the series, the play, and much more. Hard work and a lot of research was invested in this paper, so I hope you all enjoy reading this (extensively long) paper of mine.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Albus Dumbeldore said, "While we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one." Since 1997, the Harry Potter series has captivated the hearts of young and old souls from all around the world; the books have built bridges and connections amongst people from different nations through their mutual love and infatuation of the Harry Potter books. The books have given people an opportunity to enter an enchanted community that is centered on mystical and magical creatures, objects, and gifted wizards and witches. It shares a tale of bravery, friendship, adventure, and love—a theme that resonates with many Potterheads in modern-day society. This imaginary universe that the author J.K Rowling has formed, has become an international phenomenon and continues to be relevant part of society due to the publication of The Cursed Child in 2016, which has given many people a chance to continue their immersion in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The Magic of J.K. Rowling

Through her Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling has taught readers to never give up on something that you feel strongly about. Harry Potter is more than just a children’s tale—it is a fable centered on good versus evil, love versus hatred, along with lessons of life and death.  The inspiration behind all seven of the Potter books is a reflection of Rowling’s personal experiences of hardship, betrayal, love, sadness, and loss. 

After leaving a tumultuous marriage in Portugal, she moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, to start anew with her young daughter in 1993. Although it was a new chapter in her life, she was a struggling, unemployed, single-mother who barely met ends meet. It was a dark period in her life, but it truly motivated her to start a book based on an idea she had in 1990, about a gifted and orphaned boy while traveling from Manchester to London King’s Cross (Inside the Magical World of 'Harry Potter' Author). 

Her places of location and living situations are something that Rowling includes in her stories about Harry and the Wizarding World. Not only do Rowling and Harry share the same birthday—July 31st—Rowling was raised in a suburban part of south Britain, a home similar to that of Harry’s uncle and aunt, the Dursleys, which also had a little cupboard under the stairwell; fortunately for Rowling, she was not forced to sleep there. When Rowling was nine, her family moved to the country near Forest Dean—a forestry area where Rowling imagined magical creatures inhabited. Rowling has always been drawn to forests—she not only sees it a solitary place, but a place of enchantment, safety and shelter. As a result, she constructed The Forbidden Forest in her books, which is a part of the Hogwarts grounds. The forest is home to many magical creatures, such as unicorns, centaurs, and gigantic spiders (Inside the Magical World of 'Harry Potter' Author).

Similarly, Rowling and her sister Di have also endured the same traumatic experiences and disappointments that Harry did. In 1980, Rowling’s mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and as a result, the diagnosis strained her relationship with her father. Due to her unhealthy relationship with her father, it inspired her to develop ideal father-figure characters like Hagrid, Dumbeldore, and Sirius Black. Her mother would later die from multiple sclerosis, and the relationship with her father became nonexistent. It was the loss of her mother and the absence of her father that had a major influence in her writing about the stories and experiences of Harry. Dealing with the tragic loss of her mother and finding herself in an unhappy marriage, Rowling was in a deep depression that led her to create the foulest creatures in the Harry Potter books, the dementors; dementors prey on people’s happiness and suck the life out of human souls (Inside the Magical World of 'Harry Potter' Author).

Her personal understandings of unhappiness and tragedy are a part of the moral dilemmas shared in the series; in many ways, Harry is a reflection of Rowling. After finishing the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, she sent the manuscripts to various publishing houses only to be rejected. Fortunately, Bloomsbury publishing saw not only the potential, but also the magic in the book and decided to publish it in June of 1997. The book became a quick bestseller and rapidly spread across the globe (Joanne Rowling: The Girl Who Grew Up to Write Harry Potter).

The Harry Potter books have caused a worldwide fervor and sensation. In 2007, the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows became the fastest selling book in the history—selling 2.65 million copies within the first twenty-four hours in the United Kingdom. Currently, the series is published into seventy-eight different languages and approximately four hundred and fifty million copies have been sold globally (Joanne Rowling: The Girl Who Grew Up to Write Harry Potter). 

The Harry Potter Effect

The Harry Potter books not only relay a slew of invaluable moral quandaries, it has also brought a vast amount of cultural changes in society that continues to influence mainstream culture. Additionally, the series possess the power to bring together readers from all different age groups, social and ethnic backgrounds, in which sets it a part from any other children’s literature. Today, it has become unfathomable that life before Harry Potter even existed. The series is now viewed as a classic piece of modern literature, and has cemented itself as a permanent fixture.

The most imperative impact that the books have brought is the increase of reading levels among children and young adults as a result from the many themes that the books address. Both adults and children cannot only relate to the stories, but can also see themselves in the stories because of the moral dilemmas and decisions that Harry and his fellow Hogwarts friends are confronted with; the major themes are identifiable to readers. Research has proved that fifty-nine percent of children feel that the Potter books have enhanced their reading skills and inspired them to read a wide range of other books. Eighty-four percent of professional educators believe that the young wizard has worked his magic on children by making a positive impact in their reading abilities, and also two-thirds of educators believe that Harry has turned non-readers into bookworms (Smith). 

Harry Potter has even had a bigger influence in the millennial generation as a whole, better known as “Potterverse.” Potterverse is the millennial universe that focuses on the moral imagination of millennials. It may be a literary work of fantasy, but it has been seen as a substitute religion for today’s era. The books are about the battle between good and evil—it teaches people that bigotry must never be tolerated, but that both tolerance and difference must be equally celebrated. According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers from different European universities show that those who have read Harry Potter are more tolerant; the study was called “The Greatest Magic of Harry Potter: Reducing Prejudice.” The study continues to show that Potter books have improved millennial attitudes toward many stigmatized groups, as a result from the series’ examination on the social and discriminatory issues that take place. For example, in Harry’s world, “half-bloods” and “mud-bloods” are discriminated against because they only have one or no magical relatives (Kozlowska). 

Besides its moral impact on today’s generation, the series have developed new startling trends ranging from amusement parks, costumes, merchandise, to even fandom sites; therefore, bringing an everlasting effect to society and cementing a legacy. Firstly, not only can Harry and his gang of Hogwarts mates play the thrilling game of Quidditch on a broomstick, so can muggles. In 2005, college students at Middlebury College in Vermont created a muggle version of Quidditch that blends both basketball and rugby into one sport. As a result, other college institutions and high schools followed suit by starting their own muggle Quidditch team, thus leading to the formation of a Major League Quidditch team and even international competitions. In the real-life version of the sport, five balls are used: a volleyball (Quaffle), three dodgeballs (bludgers), and a tennis ball (Snitch). The key element to the game is that each player must have a broom between his or her legs throughout the entire game (Sosa).

Although peoples love for Harry Potter have inspired many to start their own real-life Quidditch team, it has also led to the development of a Wizard-rock festival, better known as Wrockstock. Wrockstock is an annual music festival that features wizard rock music, in which Potterheads perform their Harry-Potter inspired songs. This type of music is also known as “lit rock” or just “wrock,” where all the songs are about the Harry Potter books and even other young adult fantasy novels, such as Twilight, the Hunger Games, or His Dark Materials. This wizard-rock inspired music has grown over the years and has become popular amongst librarians who host wizard wrock concerts at their libraries as a way to bring young people to the library and inspire them to utilize the libraries resources, as wells as use library books (Kittner). 

Potter-mania does not stop there, Durham University in the United Kingdom are offering students a course that focuses on the world of Harry Potter, called “Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion,” in order to evaluate the prejudice, citizenship and bullying in today’s society. According to the university, eighty undergraduates have signed up—it will be a part of the Bachelor’s of Arts degree in the Education Studies program. The course will focus on a number of themes that the series explores; it will place the books in a “wider social and cultural context” to help students understand important fundamental issues. Dr. Martin Richardson, who is the head of the Department of Education at Durham University, created the class in response to the growing demand from the student body; he sees the novels as a serious educational tool to understand society’s moral universe (Durham University Students Offered Harry Potter Course). 

The Boy Who Lived is not the only inspiration behind the current Harry Potter modern trends, Professor Severus Snape—the most unlikeable, stern Potions Master professor in the series—has motivated some Potterheads to start a fiction-based religious sect called Snapeism. The religion consists of Snape fans, mostly women, who have developed a retelling of the fictional character. Women in this religious group are called Snapewives or Snapists, who channel Snape and are involved in romantic relations with the character—they also view Snape as a vital part of their lives for daily guidance. These Snapeists are Snape devotees are spiritual spouses to the character. Snapists believe that Snape exists independently of Rowling, and lives in feeling spirit; believers claim that Snape is as real as the Christian God.  In the article by Zoe Aldterton, "‘Snapewives’ and ‘Snapeism’: A Fiction-Based Religion within the Harry Potter Fandom,” Snapists believes Snape to be  “the reason, the reason [of] my sanity, my life, my growth, my guidance, my love, my focus, my aid, my Lord, my Master, my Teacher…everything and so much more” (Alderton, 219-67).

It is evident that some Harry Potter fans have taken their fandom to an extreme level of fandom, but the obsession does not stop there. Harry Potter fandom has become massive that the term for non-magic people, “muggle,” has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). According to the dictionary, muggle is defined as “a person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill.” Furthermore, the famous beverage mentioned in the Harry Potter books, Butterbeer, has also become an actual beverage in the muggle world. Buttbeer recipes are available to anyone’s disposal online, which has even led to the creation of the alcoholic Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer that could be bought at TalDepot. 

Fictional wizards and witches are not the only ones who can enjoy the magical universe Rowling has constructed—muggles can too. In 2009, Universal Studios created the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which consists of two different areas in two different theme parks. The first one is Hogsmeade, located in Islands of Adventure at Universal. In the books, Hogsmeade is a magical, wizarding village in Scotland where Harry and other Hogwarts students come and explore for adventure, as well as for some Butterbeer; Hogsmeade at Universal also includes the marvelous Hogwarts Castle. Then there is Diagon Alley, which is nestled inside Universal Studios; it is a city block that consists of many side streets and features the Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Visitors are also given a chance to take a ride on the Hogwarts Express train at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, where they can watch a simulation of their trip to Hogwarts as they travel to Universal’s Hogsmeade. At Hogsmeade, guests also get a chance to purchase their own Ollivander’s wand and other magical goods (Insider’s Guide to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter). 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

After nine years since the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, thus ending the most beloved series in the world, the magic returned on bookstore shelves with the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on July 31, 2016. It is a play written by Jack Thorne, along with the creator of Rowling, in which follows Harry’s friends and his children who set off for Hogwarts.

The play mainly focuses on Albus Severus, who is the second son of Ginny and Harry Potter, and his friendship with Scorpio Malfoy—Malfoy Draco’s son. Both Albus and Scorpio try to bring back Cedric Diggory, who died in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Lord Voldemort, by stealing a Time-Turner from the Ministry of Magic. The Time-Turner allows them to go back in time to the to the events leading to Cedric’s death at the Triwizard Tournament. Although they do this with good intention, their attempts to change the past effect major changes to their life (Begley).

The play premiered in London at the Palace Theater. Before the premiere, Potterheads got a chance to see a sneak peek of the production through Pottermore.com—a website created by Rowling that solely focuses on the Harry Potter books and characters. Currently, the play has made its way to the United States, in the New York Broadway stage. The script has sold over two million copies in North America, and in the U.K. it sold four million in the first week. What makes the play so relevant is not only its continuation of the most beloved series in the world, but it retouches many of the novel’s original plots, themes, and moral dilemmas—which hits home for many long-lasting Potter fans (Begley).

Harry Potter and its Wider Social Context

On a wider social and even cultural context, Harry Potter examines and teaches people of all ages and backgrounds of imperative principles. As mentioned before, the Potter series is cutting-edge because it fills the differences in culture; it gives readers a chance to evaluate the books many undertones, also the themes and characters are greatly identifiable; but lastly, the books combine academia and human development.

Rowling’s use of fictional magic has performed real-life magic because the books provide readers with social and moral guidance; the stories deal with universal issues. Although the Potter books were mostly inspired by her personal experiences, it was also through myths and folklores—which has impacted the moral themes that the story examines. Folklores and mythology have the power to display what humans are able to know and experience—it has influenced civilization in unbelievable ways. The author’s use of folklore and myths touches upon Rowling’s moral messages. Britain is used as the backdrop for the series since it has so much rich history, such as the nation’s governance and past tyrannical ruling, conquest of land, national identity, and progression of culture—topics that the books address as well. As a result, she utilized and included history to give more depth to her world and the principles she wants to teach (Vanderstock).

The author constructed a fantastical world that fills in for the moral education of adolescents and even adults. Rowling gives power to the Wizarding World by making her characters confront everyday issues that real-life people deal with, it teaches children how to co-exist with other people (muggles and pure bloods), and how to combat the most greatest evils like Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters (Vanderstock). As readers’ journey along with Harry and his friends, the books effortlessly teach human kindness and understanding. 

Although stated previously, there are some essential lessons and principles that the series has taught readers. The first lesson is that genuine friendship can help a person get through the rough patches. The trio—Harry, Ron and Hermione—continuously proved readers that real friendship creates an indestructible bond. Together, the trio was able to combat the greatest evils that the Wizarding World has ever seen, along with surviving the struggles of being a teenager. The second lesson is a cliché one, but it is to never judge a book by its cover; meaning that making a quick judgment of someone may not always be accurate, which was the case of a scary half-giant who turned out to be kind, friendly, and a gentle comrade. Thirdly, it teaches people to not be afraid to ask for aid; sometimes you cannot do things alone and this mindset can have crippling effects. The fourth is that heartbreak is bound to happen; in the case of Lily Potter and Severus Snape, sometimes things do not work out like we want them to, but life does go on. The most important one is that true love is everlasting. Love is a well-known theme in the book, it was Lily’s love for Harry that gave him protection; the lesson is even though a person you love has died, the love you have for them does not fade (Rowling).

These are principles that are applied to everyday matters in life. It is these moral dilemmas that have taught readers to be genuine and kind-hearted individuals. In a world fixated on division and dislike for others, the Harry Potter books provide readers with a human outlook on social issues and problems of today. These are principles and lessons that will never grow old nor will it ever become irrelevant to our ever-changing society. The Potter books continues to teach compassion in young children and even touches the hearts of many adults—it provides readers with a different outlook on situations and social contexts that are not truly addressed in schools and sometimes in everyday life. Potter books prove that books have the power to influence and change the minds of all kinds of people.

Conclusion

After twenty years, it may be safe to say that Potter mania will not die down anytime soon. Readers continue to view the series as an escape and as a form of comfort, because the books are identifiable to people of all ages—not just children. Most importantly, the Harry Potter books also prove that literature and words contain unimaginable power; it has the power to teach, influence, and unite people of all ages and backgrounds. The themes that the books addresses has impacted readers in unimaginable ways because it teaches and emphasizes pertinent principles, such as love, friendship, kindness, loss, sadness, and good versus evil. Not only does it teach readers important lessons, but it has had amazing effects on modern culture like the invention of a real-life Quidditch team, new religions inspired by the series, college courses based on the books, and much more. Now with the production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, Potterheads can still continue their journey and love for the books and characters. Harry Potter is not just a fantasy series, to many it is real magic. 

Feature Prospectus: The Harry Potter Series

This is a feature prospectus I wrote for my Reviewing the Arts of Publication class this semester. The prospectus focuses on the Harry Potter series and its impact on modern-day culture.

As quoted in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, “For in dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud.” The Harry Potter series has given people an opportunity to enter the British Wizarding World of an enchanted community that is centered purely on the inborn ability of magic from wizards and witches. This fictional universe that the author J.K Rowling has constructed, has become an international phenomenon for the past twenty years. Since its first publication in 1997, 400 million copies of the Harry Potter series has been sold in 200 countries, and has been published into 69 different languages (Kennedy). The series is not only a set of fantasy novels, but are books that share a tale of bravery, friendship, adventure, and love. This is a theme that plays an important role in each of the seven books, and is also a theme that resonates with many Potterheads.

There are many important elements that have made Harry Potter widely successful. It is not only an outlet for children to escape the real world into a magical one, but it is a book series that many grew up with. Readers grew and still grow alongside with many of the major characters—whether it is smarty-pants Hermione Granger, the whiney Ron Weasley, the timid Neville Longbottom, or the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. The characters are in many ways role models for children to look up to—they are individuals who have faced many adversities at a young age, but overcame them together. Through the characters challenges, both the readers and protagonists grow more mature and wiser.

Although the Harry Potter series is known to be a children’s series, the books have appealed to readers of all ages. It is a story of how power can ruin the best, of unrequited love, of a mother and her child, of friendship, of betrayal, and of courage. It should not only be viewed as a cute children’s story, but should be seen and respected as a “coming of age” story. The books teach impactful life lessons from many wise characters like Albus Dumbeldore, Potterheads beloved wizard and headmaster of Hogwarts. It even addresses morbid topics like the pain of losing someone you love. Many readers will find themselves connect with each of the characters on a personal level because of the lessons the book teaches, especially with Harry Potter—an orphan boy who demonstrates remarkability by facing his fears and risking his life for the safety of the wizarding community and his friends.

The Harry Potter series is not only great literature—the books are both morally and socially insightful works of fiction and fantasy. Each of the Potter books have casted a wide spell in the lives of many readers from various countries around the world. This spell has lead to massive book sales, the launch of the Harry Potter movies, the piles of Potter merchandise, and even the development of a Potter theme park in Universal Studios. In the last twenty years, England, the United States, and the rest of the world have become fixated on Harry Potter in which has turned into a big culture-altering phenomenon. Harry Potter has lived in the hearts of millions of readers, and continues to do so.

The Little Free Library: It's Finally Installed

In the second week of September, I was thrilled to see my Little Free Library installed at my college town’s new trailhead. It was a satisfying and proud moment for both my professor and I; we both worked endlessly in trying to find a home for my book exchange, and luckily, we did. After an entire year of my Little Free Library sitting in my apartment, patiently waiting for the day for it to be stored with books, I can finally watch it prosper.

For all who do not know, during my junior year in college, I had to work on an academic project for my Technical Writing I class. The main focus of the project was for students to solve a dilemma on or off campus.  While wracking up my brain with different ideas, I came across a website called “The Little Free Library.” Created and initiated by Tod Bol of Wisconsin, it is a nonprofit organization with a goal to promote literacy in the United States an abroad. My main objective for the project was to not only solve a problem that I felt needed to be addressed in my college community, but to also find something creative that could potentially unite a community—it so happens that the Little Free Library was the best way to do it!

The main focus of the Little Free Library is for people in the area to take a book, share a book, and exchange it with a new read. It is a wonderful way to inspire non-readers to read, encourage children to value books, and to give book-lover’s a chance to exhibit their love of reading by sharing their favorite pieces of literature.

After devising proposals and writing grants, I was able to successfully receive funding for purchase of the book-swap and book donations from nonprofit organizations in my college community.

Now I finally got to see my vision come true! I am amazed at the amount of positive responses I have received from local residents about my little library. People have been ecstatic and enthused about having a book exchange right in town. Every time I stop by and check up on my little library, I see it filled with an array of different books. It’s truly a rewarding feeling to see people get so involved in a small movement like this.

I guess I truly have accomplished my goal, which was to unify an entire area. And I am happy to share that I aspired another college student to start a second book exchange in the community as well.

For those interested in learning more about the Little Free Library movement, I encourage you to check out their website: www.littlefreelibrary.org. You can also purchase your book exchange box from the organization, which is handmade by the Amish, or purchase other knick-knacks for an already installed book exchange.

(To read a previous post about my journey and more thorough information about the Little Library, check out my old post: https://simplybookishblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/little-free-library-movement.html).


x, Kayla

Finishing Up the Semester + Book Reviews: History is All You Left Me (3 Stars)

The semester is coming to a close, which means finals and assignments are all due around the same timeframe next week. Therefore, I have been extremely occupied and inundated (as usual) with schoolwork, so I truly apologize to my dedicated readers for not posting anything recently. This painful process of cramming for exams and writing academic papers will finally be over by next week, which means that I will have some leisure time to read and enjoy my summer break. It is truly scary to know that I will be finishing up my third year in university and entering my senior year next fall semester—but it also amazes me how time can just swiftly pass by. I feel like I don’t have enough time to do what I need to do to prepare myself for adulthood. But in all honesty, nobody is really ready or prepared for the obstacles that await new college graduates when it comes to “adulting.” Knowing that by the fall, I will be a senior and that by next year, around this same exact time, I will be graduating! I am so happy and amazed with the accomplishments that I have achieved thus far in my academic career. I know my journey to future successes will be hard, but eventually I will get there. Nothing will ever come easy in life, which I know is such a cliché, but it is accurate and true. I know that my hard work, dedication, and my perseverance will pay off.

This semester, I have been able to publish an analytical paper in my university’s literary journal, I have presented my book exchange project from last semester at an academic conference, and I have landed a great internship at a museum! Things are somewhat coming together, but I have also encountered many problems along the way. I have learned a lot of life lessons, such as to be careful in whom you trust and help. Most importantly, I learned that not everyone deserves your kindness because some will take advantage of it. Also, I learned to be careful in who I choose to be friends with. I realized that not many college students are at that mature age where they should treat people with respect and value a good friend, but instead, dispose friends and friendships because they found someone new to be friends with. It astounds me how immature some college students can be, but not all the time does college mature people into upright adults. My goal for next semester is to focus on myself and to be accepting or be okay with being alone, and to find happiness in my own solitude. Sometimes it’s for the better.

But without further ado, I am just going to briefly give a quick book review on a recent read that I finished (weeks ago). I finished History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera. It is a Young Adult (YA) novel that focuses on a story of teen-love, heartbreak and sorrow. The book is about a teenage boy, Griffin, and his boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, Theo, who dies in a drowning accident. The story (or history) is told through Griffin’s perspective, and is also told in a series of flashbacks or memories that Griffin has of Theo. After learning about the death of Theo, Griffin becomes a lost soul, consumed with sorrow and sadness over the loss of both his friend and former lover.

Living seems impossible to Griffin, nothing feels the same or is the same after losing Theo, even if they had broken up and even though Theo had found someone else to love. This leads Griffin to go into a destructive path of inner emotional battles and upheaval. Eventually, Griffin accepts Theo’s death, but it was a journey and a struggle to get there. At the beginning, he finds solace in Theo’s boyfriend, Jackson. In this unforeseen friendship, the duo try to heal each other’s wounds—but it leads Griffin to uncover untold histories about the life Theo led after the break up and other secrets, hence leading Griffin to enter another realm of different kinds of emotional complexities.

Many people have praised the book for capturing the raw emotions of first love and heartbreak, but I do not know if I entirely agree. Although I love how authors try to make their characters flawed in order to make them feel real to readers, Griffin, and all of the characters in the book, were beyond flawed; they were so flawed, it came off as somewhat agitating. I do not know if it was Silvera’s intention to make Griffin into a whiny teenage boy, who feels that he is the only person entitled to grieve and can, therefore, act and behave the way he wants to because he lost his ex-boyfriend. I felt that Silvera was just going a tad overboard about the array of emotions Griffin was going through and his behavior, which I found hard to read through at times because it felt exaggerated or overdone. I do like how Silvera captured how complicated humans can be, which is definitely relayed through Griffin. It is hard to find the right words to convey how I feel about the book and what I dislike the most, but it mostly centers on Griffin’s personality and how he deals with the loss of Theo.

It was a decent read, but I was not in love with it. I think Silvera is a fantastic writer and I look forward to reading more books from him in the near future.

x, Kayla

Book Updates + Little Free Library

Before I knew it, spring was here! Its arrival was a tad chilly, but nonetheless, I greeted spring with welcome arms. The semester is halfway over for me—although I am excited to finish this term, I am also beyond inundated with work. It’s time for the grind!

Due to my busy and hectic schedule, I haven’t had time to read much lately. I thought I should take the time to share with my readers on my reading updates! Yesterday, I FINALLY finished A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I won’t be doing a specific book review about it because everyone in the bookish community is talking about it. I loved the book and I cannot wait to read more of the book series, but as I expressed in my Goodreads book review, it took awhile for the book to reach its peak or climax. Even though it was a bit slow, towards the end, I was consumed with so much anxiety, excitement, anticipation, and so much more. Schwab is an excellent writer and I encourage many others to read the book if they haven’t yet already.

Currently, I am reading a book of short stories by Shirley Jackson called Dark Tales. Some may remember her as the author of The Lottery, which was read in many schools within the United States and abroad, but Jackson was truly a successful writer 50-60 years ago. I strongly feel that she is greatly under-appreciated and underrated as talented female writer. My goal is to read more books by her and to also revive her name in mainstream culture and in the bookish community. I am really enjoying these dark and terrifying tales—I hope to finish it soon and give a full book review on it.

Also, I have some good news! As some of you may already know, I am starting a Little Free Library in my college community. It is a book exchange movement that is shaped as a birdhouse, in which will be filled with books, in order to promote literacy in the area and to unify the local community. The main concept of this book exchange movement is to take a book, share a book and exchange a book. This will also create a free-learning environment and will hopefully inspire others to read, and to allow bookworms to share their favorite pieces of literature with community members. Well the good news is that I will be sharing and discussing my journey of implementing a book exchange at an English conference in late April. I am nervous in presenting my project to students and professors from different schools, but I hope to encourage many to start their own book exchange movement in their own community to promote the importance of reading. So, wish me luck! I will also keep updates on my progress, in regards to the Little Free Library, if anything new comes up.

Anyway, I shall get back to my studying and writing academic papers!

x, Kayla

My First Week Back

Hello everyone!

I survived my first week of spring semester classes, and I am beyond overwhelmed. Luckily, I have Fridays off and that gives me the day to finish any work that I did not get to during the beginning of the week. I do not know what I was thinking of scheduling an hour and fifteen minute classes for all of my five courses this semester; the time does not seem much, but to be going back and forth and sitting for that long in class each day, can feel really exhausting.

Additionally, next week I am officially starting my new job as a Writing Studio Tutor at my university’s Learning Center. I am excited, anxious and nervous about starting this position. My biggest and only fear is not being an effective tutor. I do not expect to know every grammar rule, but I do want to do my best to help students who need assistance.

Although my Fridays will mostly consist of catching up and finishing my schoolwork—I am determined to devote my time in my busy schedule to read.  Currently, I am inundated with required reading material—which kind of depresses me because none of the books that I have to read for my classes are at all intriguing. But I have to do what I have to do—I pay my professors lots of money to tell me what do, right?

For my Mexican History and my Oral History classes, we are reading:

• Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570 by Inga Clendinnen
• Life and Death in the Delta by Kim Lacy
• Doing Oral History by Donald A. Ritchie 

As an FYI, I am not doing any book reviews for any of these books. I don’t want to bore you with boring reviews about boring reading material. As of right now, I am reading a superb and excellent recreational book. I am determined to finish it up today, so a book review will be written about it soon!

Also, in regards to my Little Free Library project, I received my Little Library in December, and fortunately I am making great progress with it! On Monday, I am going to propose to my university’s History Club if they would like to help decorate the book exchange—which I don’t think they’ll have a problem with—and just a few days ago, I found a location for the Little Library. My goal is to have it installed by May, but I shall see how things pan out in the coming months. I will continue to post any updates about the Little Free Library and its progress through my blog. I can’t wait to post the finish product of my Little Library when it is officially done. So please, stay tuned!

x, Kayla

One Final Down, 2 More to Go

I conquered my first final of the week! I survived, I made it through and tolerated the painful throbbing of my right hand, throughout the duration of the 2 hour exam. The final consisted of choosing 4 terms, in which students had to write a paragraph for each one--in addition to that, students were required to write 2 essays. It may not sound a lot, but it was a lot to write!

Anyway, since the toughest part is finally over, I can now have some free-time to actually read. Although I procrastinated extensively throughout this past weekend, I believe that I will finish Heartless and Rebecca by the end of this week; I hope to write a review about them before I head off to my holiday road trip.

But the great thing is that the semester is nearly over, which means that I will have the time to actually READ! I already purchased books yesterday night and I am so anxious and excited to start reading them, as well as blog about them.

For tonight, I will enjoy the company of my greatest comfort, books--with a nice cup of hot chocolate. This is a perfect way to end a brutal day.

x, Kayla

Book Reviews: American Hippies, All Shook Up, Three Lives for Mississippi, & Patty's Got a Gun

As much as I should be studying for my finals right now (taking procrastination to a whole new level, as we speak), I decided to take the time to review some books that I had to read for two of my classes, which are U.S. Contemporary History and Modern Germany.

Usually, I would not think of making book reviews on assigned reading materials, but I have to admit—these history-related books were and are quite intriguing. Whenever I am “assigned” to read something that does not come out of my own freewill to do so, even if it is reading, I dread it—especially if there’s an assignment with it. Nobody wants to be forced to do something and then having to do extra work for it! Luckily, this was not the case for me this semester—I have been assigned to read some thought provoking, interesting, eye-opening books that definitely enriched my knowledge on certain events of the past. I would not say that each of the books I am reviewing are phenomenal - some were slow to read, but nonetheless they were decent reading material—good enough to at least write about. Although I had to write extensive analytical papers or really long book quizzes for some of these reads, I actually enjoyed reading them, and I hope that maybe I will spark an interest in you to read them as well.

Before I start, I am going to book review four books that I read for my U.S. Contemporary History class, and then I'll do a separate blog post/book review on my other class. Hope you enjoy my reviews!

American Hippies by W.J. Rorabaugh (✭✭✭✭)

This has been a really exciting read for me. Who doesn’t want to learn about the counterculture and hippie movements, psychedelic drugs, Acid Rock, sexual freedom, communes or cults, and more sex and drugs? This book encompasses the radical period of the 1960s and tells the story of the counterculture movement vividly; a historical analysis during a time when America embraced radical permissiveness. It made the hippie counterculture sound thrilling, scary, and to a good degree pointless and chaotic.

The author does an excellent job in explaining the historical context, or background, of the events and movements that led up to the creation of hippies. It also mentions prominent members of the Beatniks, in which provided a basis for hippie counterculture, like the famous Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg.  It also discusses Ken Kesey, as some of you may know—he wrote the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and he was actually a big supporter of LSD. In fact, Kesey gave up his career as a writer to promote LSD. He believed that the purpose of LSD was to have fun and be free; the drug apparently allowed him to question cultural assumptions, therefore, he wanted to bring universal enlightenment to society and to have everyone experience it. This author, who turned into an LSD crazed hippie, started a nationwide tour called Merry Pranksters, in which was a celebratory approach with the goal of flooding the nation with LSD quickly and democratically—on a massive scale—in order to create a cultural revolution. This actually became a stepping-stone to the creation of Acid Rock. It also goes ahead and mentions the Woodstock Festival, which was 3 days of peace, love and music, and other imperative countercultural events that shook the entire nation.

I truly found this book to be very fascinating. People tend to think that the countercultural movement began in the 1970s, but it really began in the early or mid sixties when the Vietnam War first broke out. People, who were born in 1950s affluence culture, were dissatisfied with their life and felt that conformity was not the way to find their individualism. Even though some might not find reading anything history-related at all interesting as reading a fiction novel, I will say that this book is anything but boring. You will be getting a good dose of learning while you simultaneously enjoy reading about this crazy time in American history. Additionally, I think many will find a connection the hippie movement and the purpose of the counterculture, because we have all experienced what it is like to want to try something different and to break away from the things that people expect us to do; simply, it is about searching for an adventure of a lifetime and spontaneity.

All Shook Up, How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America by Glenn C. Altschuler (★★★★)

In Glenn C. Altschuler’s book, All Shook Up, How Rock ’N’ Roll Changed America, the author argued that rock and roll created conflict, at times making it worse and in other times lessening it. Altschuler focuses on the major conflicts that the music genre contributed to, such as race, sexuality, corruption of youth, pop culture, and American society. The book discusses how rock and roll started a firestorm of controversy, especially for race relations, generational values and pop culture. Most importantly, rock and roll’s societal conflicts turned into a positive cultural revolution in American society, because it united blacks and whites, it gave teens their own special identity, and it redefined a new culture.

It is interesting to read about how the emergence of this thunderous, rollicking and harmonic tune represented, to many Americans, rebellion, sex, drugs, and racial integration. Although the music back then bears no comparison to the music of today’s generation, I found it amusing to read about the worries and concerns that parents had about their children listening to this supposed “God-forsaken” music. Also, I find it amazing on how a piece of rock and roll altered America in unimaginable ways; who would ever think that a piece of music could lead to immense social changes.

Rock and roll had an everlasting effect on America while causing inconceivable problems and conflict that ended up setting forth change. The change that occurred influenced different parts of American life and culture, such as in race, generational values, and pop culture. Rock and roll made integration possible, allowed teens to find their voices through the music, and redefined a new culture that threatened pop culture. What rock and roll did was create a revolution in social trends that impacted lives and reshaped the American way of life.

If anyone is interested in learning about social changes in American society during the early 50’s to even late 60’s, this is definitely the right book! The author does a great job in engaging readers throughout the entirety of  his novel, and he does a great job in having the reader journey along through the cultural transformations that rock and roll contributed to, through his words.

Three Lives for Mississippi by William Bradford Huie (★★★★★)

The first chapter of Three Lives for Mississippi was heart stopping. So far, this has to be my favorite read out this entire book review post. It is a story about three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) workers who were murdered during the Freedom Summer of 1964. For all of you who do not know about the Freedom Summer, CORE and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), that were both civil rights organizations, created a movement aimed at garnering more African Americans to register to vote in the state of Mississippi. What resulted was the deaths of two Jewish men, Mickey Schwerner and Andy Goodman, and an African American, James Chaney.

As I mentioned, the first chapter was tough to get through. It does not dive straightaway into the main premise, but gives the reader an overall context of the African American struggles in the South. The first chapter was about a 34 year-old African American citizen, from Alabama, by the name of Edward Aaron. A lieutenant Klansmen, Bart Floyd, wanted to be promoted to captain, and in order to prove himself to his fellow Klansmen, he had to be willing to go to any extreme measure to get “blood from any black person.” Aaron was walking home one night, with a family friend, when he was attacked and castrated by Floyd. Aaron survived the attack, but it left a deep scar in his mind and forever changed his life.

The author, Huie, was a young journalist at the time of the murders. When the three men were reported missing, he was afraid of going down South to report on it, because he was afraid that it would lead to terrible consequences that could lead to potential violence for his part. Shamefully to say, at the time, Southerners approved of these types of murder or at least did not show any objection to it. Huie at first believed that “reason and restraint have no voice,” he felt it would be a useless cause to try to report on the disappearances since nobody down there cared. But somehow, he was convinced to go down there, because Huie was a person who understood both sides. He was inspired to report the case to explain civil rights workers to the white supremacists and white supremacists to the civil rights workers.

Throughout the book, you learn more about the victims, their beliefs, humanitarian efforts, and their struggle to bring racial justice in a world and era where equality was nonexistent. This is a fantastic book, a book that you won’t want to put down.

Patty's Got a Gun by William Graebner (★★★)

This is a story about the Patricia Hearst kidnapping. It is a bizarre tale of a nineteen-year-old newspaper heiress, who eventually turned into a fire-armed bank robber, that was abducted by a radical group of domestic terrorists that were known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). In William Graebner’s Patty’s Got a Gun, the author analyzes a time when America was caught midway between permissive radicalism of the 1960s and the United States transition to conservatism of the 1980s. The events of and surrounding the kidnapping of Hearst, and her subsequent trial, can be seen as both the culmination of radicalism and shift to conservatism, because the trial confronted the issues of ideology and philosophy. At the time, two forces were at odds—it was between a culture of the victim versus the emerging culture of personal accountability. The events and actions of SLA and Patty Hearst represented many of the liberal principles of that time, while the trial represented the end of radicalism; cultural and social contexts influenced the verdict of the Patty Hearst trial. 

Patty Hearst symbolized a misguided sixties radical, that was in the mist of cultural and social chaos, involved in the fight for a revolutionary change, and in search an exciting adventure; she also was an example of the wide variety of cultural anxieties and critical perspectives. When the seventies emerged, many Americans were searching for a sense of normalcy; Hearst’s conviction showed a sign that a new political corner had turned and that homegrown terrorism would not be allowed. Hearst and the SLA began to be viewed as small fragments of the past and of an insignificant era of social and cultural disorder; it was the end of progressive enthusiasm that was popular in the 1960s. According to the author, Hearst was a “quintessential symbol of privilege and wealth,” and therefore Hearst presented herself, in American society, as a powerful figure of what had gone wrong in the nation at the time—which was the fact that radicalism ideologies did not bring change, but crime and chaos.

Today, Patty is living the life of a free person. If you want to know about interesting and also questionable, yet an impressionable case in American history, this book might be it. I didn’t give it a high rating, because the author makes the case hard to follow and understand. It was a complex time in American history—the counterculture was shifting to radicalism and violence, and once the seventies emerged, many people just wanted to have a sense of normalcy and control in society. It was scary, exciting, and confusing time period—this then began to pave the way to the Reagan Era, or the New Right, where law and order would be enforced and respected. In the end, you still wonder if she’s innocent, a victim of kidnapping, or a true criminal. But I’ll leave you up to decide!

x, Kayla 

Little Free Library Movement

As an avid reader, I have made it my mission to try to establish free book exchanges in the my community. I feel very strong about enforcing one in the area due to the fact that reading helps the human mind in many ways—it challenges people to critically think, learn new things, and it aids in creating imagination. There are many benefits to reading, thus making it essential in society.

Therefore, I am thrilled and proud to announce that I am starting a Little Free Library in my college town. This is a nonprofit book exchange movement that is dedicated to promoting literacy, creating a free-learning environment for the public to enjoy, and to unify people through books. It is a great way to encourage or inspire people to read and to also allow bookworms to share their favorite pieces of literature. Most importantly, it will help raise awareness and enforce people to recognize the importance of extensive reading.

My professor, for my Technical Writing I class, asked students to brainstorm creative ideas on something that we would like to see changed or added on or off campus, for our project. As someone who enjoys reading, I thought a creative idea would be to install free book-swaps in the area. The main objective of the Little Free Library is to share a book, take a book and exchange a book.

There are approximately 40,000 free libraries in all 50 states in America as well as in 70 different countries around the world. The organization hopes to achieve their new goal of having 100,000 free libraries by 2017. These book exchanges greatly resemble to birdhouses or adorable dollhouses, in which you can customize and paint yourself--it can be purchased through the Little Free Library’s website.

Although book exchanges are a great way to discover new reading material for any community, low literacy continues to be a major problem among adults, not just for adolescents, in the United States. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) discovered that approximately 30 million adults have what is considered to be “below basic” literacy skills—with more than half of those scoring at that level do not have a high school diploma or a GED.

With hard work, perseverance, patience, extensive grant/proposal writing, and lots of Advil (the project has given me migraines) I successfully received funding from the Rotary Club and book donations from the Friends of the Public Library—it’s a nonprofit group that assists the local library with fundraising and advocacy.

I have been confronted with many obstacles in trying to establish a book-swap or two, therefore making this a bumpy journey for me, but I am glad that this idea of mine is turning into a reality! Currently, I am still waiting to hear back from Rotary, in regards to the check, but once I receive it I will finally be able to order the book exchange model of my choice, paint/customize it, and install it right in town—with the help of my classmates, professor, and volunteers.

Writing about it is making me feel more and more excited! I will definitely post updates, in regards to the project, and will share the finished masterpiece of the little library once it officially done. I am so thrilled to share and document my journey in implementing these wonderful book exchanges to the public--through this blog, and I hope that I will inspire any reader of this blog to start one. It is something that I strongly encourage; it is a fantastic way of building a sense of community while also advocating learning.

If anyone is interested in learning more about this nonprofit movement and organization, please check out the website: http://www.littlefreelibrary.org

x, Kayla