Still Life

What does it take to be a good writer? After reading Still Life by Skip Hollandsworth in the May 2009 edition of Texas Monthly, not only are my eyes filled with tears, but I am inspired to write good stories. What does it take to move an audience after reading a feature story? I think it takes several things.

Personality. In order to get to know the people you are writing about, you must prove yourself personable. I think it'd be amazing to sit down with interesting people and hear their complete life stories. To really paint a true picture of the family in "Still Life", Skip must have spent hours upon hours with the family. A touchy subject, yes. But when dealing with such a bittersweet story, I'm sure the brother Henry was thankful to see the good side of journalism. To show the rest of the world that this man, John McClamrock, and his mother will always be remembered for their perseverance.

Originality. The story wouldn't be compelling and I wouldn't have just read through 5 pages of a feature story if it wasn't original and creative. What Skip does is transforms a "small story" in the newspapers from 30+ years ago into a lifelong story that touches the hearts of any and every human being that reads it. He allows the readers to truly get to know John and the mother. Dealing with heartbreak after heartbreak, he pulls through time after time. And we fall in love with these characters, per se, and he even places an underlying moral in there. What I got from the story? Keep fighting, never give up. Your family loves you more than you know. Keep a positive attitude no matter the circumstances. Love one another as if there's no tomorrow. The list goes on...

Empathy. If you didn't have this, you wouldn't be able to write such a passionate story. This story deals with death, cancer, family, and other topics that wouldn't be reachable if you couldn't even relate to the people you are talking to. To write such an explicit story about someone's life, you wouldn't really be able to dig very deep if you just nodded your head and kept writing in your little journalism notebook. It takes a conversation. Tears probably. Heck, I felt like I was a part of the family after I just read the story. I can't imagine what it was like learning all the small details about the McClamrock family and compiling everything into a beautiful narrative.

So...I applaud Skip for this story and I applaud Henry McClamrock who probably offered a lot of the details. Skip proves that just one story about a paralyzed child can still be a "sensation" over 30 years later.

John McClamrock

Turning 21

Wow. Quite a celebration...that will not end until the end of the week. I'm not complaining!

Turning 21 in the U.S. is HUGE. You're finally legal to drink and be treated like a normal adult U.S. citizen. No more "trying" to order drinks, let's skip all of that awkwardness.

So, naturally, on your 21st birthday, everyone's goal is to get you as intoxicated as possible. My awesome friends walked into my apartment with a bottle of champagne in hand, cupcakes, flowers, gifts..I feel so special! My wonderful boyfriend took me to a really nice restaurant, my friends decorated my place with balloons. I really wasn't expecting all of that, and I can't tell you how blessed I feel.

After pre-partying at my place for a while (until midnight, when I'm actually legal) we piled into a cab and searched for any bars or clubs that weren't dead on a Tuesday night. That was impossible. We made our own party and continued to drink and chat and dance, etc.

The party continues...our big party at Mizu is on Saturday night and we're expecting over 40 people. Should be amazing!!

Ya Betta Belize It

(photo credit: Laura Wolfe)

Upon arriving to San Pedro, Belize, we were escorted to a private ferry from Matachica Resort and transported to the island of Ambergris Caye. When we stepped on the ferry we were asked whether we preferred wine, beer, champagne, or a mixed drink. The 4 of us (me, Ryan, and his parents) immediately said "champagne" in unison. As soon as we stepped into Matachica Hotel, we were handed our glasses of champagne. The water was a beautiful crystal clear aquamarine. It was a scene out of Couples Retreat. (see above photo). Belize was nothing I expected, and in the best way possible. English is the primary language there, but some speak a English dialect called Creole, and there's some Spanish there. The country was extremely colorful for its size. Lots of African American people, some Asian influence, lots of reggae, and quite a bit of conch dishes. The main town on the coast (San Pedro) was bustling with golf carts and locals trying to make a buck with their jewelry-selling, or just living a laid back life while looking out at the beautiful ocean.

The Blue Hole was something to experience, we'll say. Hitting the #9 best diving spot in the entire world, this diving spot contained the largest fish in the Caribbean sea and was inhabited

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by sharks. Although it appears there is land outlining the hole, it's just the reef and the sandy ledges. On the inside of the Blue Hole, there are layers of 8-10 ft sharks and at 140 ft, we were able to see the stalactite formations. It looked like a reflection from a ceiling, but that could have been the nitrogen narcosis. One thing I will say is it's definitely not a Blue Hole. It's a black hole, and I wouldn't recommend it for beginner divers.

We ate delicious food at Matachica Resort and at a place called Red Ginger in San Pedro.

I have videos that I will post later.

Blogging in LA 5/15/10

Little kids. What is with little children and there constant need to make unnecessary noises? While waiting to board my plane at LAX, 3 young children surrounded me. What sounded to be a horribly tuned choir, there were 3 kids “humming.” My mother informed me this is their way of entertaining themselves. Children are such a strange species. I mean, what if we all just busted out singing in the airport? What kind of world would we be living in? A really, really annoying one. Anyway, I feel there’d be a more efficient way of entertaining oneself. Take listening to music for one. Read a book maybe? Oh wait, they’re like 3 year old. I’ve made my point.

The Hills. Something about girls bitching at each other and sisters and brothers hating each other sucks you in. And it doesn’t really leave a happy feeling inside for either party. What is it with fake celebrities like Heidi Montag? Not to mention her psycho husband, Spencer. She lives a life of glamour and well…plastic glee. In a recent episode, Heidi flies to Colorado to visit her mother for the first time after her 34,678 plastic surgeries she received in one day. Her mother was evidently upset (no, really?) and Heidi expected her to greet her with open arms. So guess what we got? We got a really dramatic and entertaining episode of The Hills. I think it’s a bit much to go through a bunch of surgeries like she did and not even mention it to her own mother. On top of that, to expect her mother to be pleased with her MJ-esque transformation.

Sisters. Can’t do with ‘em, can’t do without. No, but really. A partner to keep you entertained mid flight via trivia games on the iPhone, as well as someone to shop with. A sister is someone you can make fun of and still be really close to! A novel idea. After a weekend trip to Los Angeles with the family, it’s only natural to do the same things as your sister. You can either take naps and be boring (mom and dad), sit around drink beer and talk about music (brothers), or go get Pinkberry, shop around and be given a full-on explanation of everything that Mac Paint Pots can do for you. Thanks, Maddy. I’ve been enlightened.

Countries. One thing I’d love to do in this lifetime is visit as many countries as physically and financially possible. Also, to learn as many languages as possible. I was recently asked if I considered myself a linguist. I thought to myself (after I chuckled) and said, “you know, YEAH.” Even though I’m not, that would be really cool to know lots of languages. Language. I see it as a secret code of extremely different cultures and exciting places. Anyway, back to countries—I played some trivia games that involved thinking of every country in the world. We came up with 75 out of 190. So, go me? I’ve got to get on top of that. GrrrrAAAUUU. P.S. There IS a country named Djibouti. You’re welcome.

Los Angeles

So, here I am at the Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, which is pretty much Los Angeles. 6 hours of flight time and quite a bit of stress later, we arrived and headed straight to the USC Kappa Sig house. We had drinks and had dinner and listened to each of the seniors make a toast. It was bitter sweet and it made me realize I need to really and truly enjoy every minute of college I have, because it's already half over. That hurts to say.

Graduation. So my older brother Matt graduated and received his Bachelor of Science Degree for Music Industry. There were about 45 other undergrads receiving the same degree and there was a lot of excitement in the air. Graduation is such a big deal. Family and friends fly in from all over the world. It's an exciting step in a person's life. The completion of 4 years in higher education. I don't know where I'm going with this. But congrats, Matthew!

Weather. It's absolutely perfect here. Sunny and low 70s. I hear it's not so perfect elsewhere....summer starting out with rain and temperatures in the 50s over in Oklahoma? Sucks.

This Summer. I will be visiting quite a few countries this summer, so I will be posting about each place I visit. First, I will be headed to my favorite place: Akumal, Mexico. Where I can pack all of my worries and stress in a box and leave it at home. Upon arriving, I can just smell the relaxation and good memories that I have had there. Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend and his family, I've been fortunate enough to have stayed there 9 times. 9 times!! Akumal is a place of beauty and character. It's not your run-of-the-mill stay in Mexico. It's old Mexico resort feel, the most gorgeous beach ever, clear waters, delicious food, friendly people, and fun things to do. Did I mention i love Akumal?

Anyway, best of luck to anyone who's still taking finals. I wish everyone a happy and worry free summer :) Stay in tune, I will be updating much more frequently

The Flip Slide HD

I've spent the majority of my day researching Flip cams. I finally decided I want the new HD Slide. It has double the storage, and it has a touch screen that allows you to essentially "slide" through your videos and display them. Basically, it's a really good quality HD video camera that fits in your purse.

This summer I will be visiting several countries-- Mexico, Belize, Spain, France, Monaco, and Portugal. I wanted to be able to document each country in a fun way. I'm envisioning a sort of "where to eat, where to go" kind of thing. My dream has always been to write about travel/food, so I figure a Flip camera is a perfect place to start. That and my being able to travel to so many awesome places this summer (which I'm extremely thankful for).

Please don't let me forget to blog about each city I visit. This is something I need to keep up with.

As far as life these days, many people are stressing about finals and the end of the school year. Yet, I'm finding myself unusually calm about the situation. Perhaps it's because I only have 1 test and then 3 finals, but I will have about a week to study. Nonetheless, summer is just around the corner and I'm ready for it.

Waves

Waves are such a go-to image for just about anything. I realized that today sitting in Electrical Engineering gazing at the sine wave on the board.

Friends. Friends come and go in waves. I've been telling my little sister that friends will be good friends and they'll be bad friends. You will be friends with some people for short periods in your life, and others will remain your friends for a lifetime. Even if they are your lifelong friend, there are waves of seeing them more often than other times. Have I confused everyone yet? As far as college goes, I believe the friends you make in college will be the ones you remember when you're 60 years old. Not to say that your high school or even middle school friends won't be your lifelong friends as well.

Music. I have waves of listening to music all the time and constantly exploring for new artists and quality music. Other times I prefer silence. There are days when I just want to listen to Bob Marley all day, other days I want to indulge in some horrible pop and hip hop music.

Thoughts. Is it just me? I wake up some mornings focusing all of my attention on worries and anxieties from the previous day. Trying to cast my worries and anxieties away, I think about getting rid of these thoughts, but no can do. Other days my thoughts are everything positive. There's nothing in my way, and I am on top of the world. I'll be walking down the road to get to class and I just thank God for my life and for how blessed I am to be attending a great school and be living in a wonderful place.

Is everyone seeing this "wave" trend?

Now, on to more important topics.

Body image. According to my Reporting II professor, a new eating disorder has been identified. I'm not sure what it's called, it's not orthorexia, but it has to do with being a health food junkie. This would be a healthy thing, right? No. In this case, the person is so obsessed with obtaining food that hasn't been processed and is completely and 100% organic, that if they can't find any, they will eat nothing. These health food junkie-arexics would eat nothing over a salad that may or may not have been slightly processed. Even scarier, food labels can say their food is organic if it's only 5% organic. Yep, those daily bananas you've been consuming could be 95% non-organic. Mmmmm chemicals.

Organic Food. I'm a huge advocate of eating green and organic. But I'm not obsessed. Just as a side note, I was at Whole Foods when I reached for a package of raw chicken, only to put my arm back by my side and said "Oh, it's not organic." An actual farmer with an apron approached me and handed me a different package of chicken that looked kind of fancy. "This is my company. It's completely organic. We give the chickens windows and we let them out to play when the weather is nice. We also feed them grains with no antibiotics, hormones, and pesticide-free grass." So that's what the difference is. The chickens are able to lead a happy little life and BOOM. They're organic.

--Nblank