A new decade brings new change to the country, we hope

Since the earthquake in Haiti, Americans have come together in support of a people who desperately need our help. We have been donating our time, sending supplies, and raising money.  In fact, the recent Hope for Haiti Now telethon has broken records since raking in more than 66 million dollars two weeks ago.

Our good deeds have proven that when we come together in support of a cause, positive change prevails. In this new decade we cannot afford to live our lives while the major issues facing this country lay on the back-burner. This earthquake woke us up and showed us the kind of people we need to be.

 There will come a day when the images of the Haiti leave our newscasts and fade in our memories; no excuse for Americans to stop banding together. If change can be accomplished in support of Haiti, it can be achieved in our own country. Let’s take a pledge to make this new decade a period of prosperity and growth on the part of the American people. We have been stagnant for far too long.

 Now is the time to come together and put an end to the Global Climate crisis by effecting change and constructively helping out planet earth. By lessening our dependence on foreign oil and working towards utilizing renewable resources in our cars, homes, schools, and business America will begin the work of being transformed and live up to the promise of our ancestors.

What is it going to take for hybrids to outweigh gas guzzling SUVs on our roadways? Does the price of gas have to skyrocket before American’s take action? It is time to bring biodegradable bags with us to the supermarket and end our obsession with plastic water bottles. We have been coasting for far too long. That needs to end today. 

For not only the planet but our own health, we need to band together as a nation and put an end to the over processing of food and the treatment of livestock. So many of us claim to be animal lovers, yet continue to support companies that raise livestock in the most inhumane conditions imaginable.

It is time to educate ourselves about what where the food comes from that we put on our plates. We need to come together and support farmers who raise grass-fed cattle even though it is more expensive. Money should be no object when it comes to our health. The price of being healthy far outweighs the price we pay for all the sickness and disease caused by all the over processed crap we stuff into our mouths.

Along with curbing our carbon emissions and eating more fruits, vegetables, and grass-fed meat, we need to come together and help each other end an addiction that is more hazardous than smoking or dangerous than drugs: distracted driving. Who ever thought it was a good idea to use a cell phone while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle? When we drive and use a cell phone either for talking, texting, or answering an e-mail, we are putting ourselves and everyone else on the road at risk of death or severe injury. Now is the time to turn off those cell phones and put them out of reach. A vehicle is a place to listen to music and safely get you from point a, to point b. If Americans could learn to use seatbelts and get a designated driver when drunk, then there should be no problems putting cell phones away. Sure it will be difficult at first. But the price of saving a life is far more important than whoever is trying to reach you. 

Carrie Underwood so poignantly sings “Just a fool/just a fool/to believe you can change the world/don’t listen to them when they say/you’re just a fool/just a fool/to believe you can change the world” on a track from her latest release Play On. It will take work but it is not hard to be that positive force for good in your community and in your life. America, it is 2010; the beginning of a new year and a new decade. Now is the time to make a difference in the course of our great nation. A time to show that by banding together this will be the best decade of growth and prosperity America has seen in generations. What say you, America? The real work begins now.

Capstone I: The Beginning

There comes a moment in the life of every Communication Studies Colby-Sawyer senior when the dreaded e-mail appears in the inbox. In my case it was a short little note by professor Melissa Meade telling us about the mandatory Capstone meeting in a week’s time. Needless to say, although I had four years to think and plan, I was not ready when the note arrived.

The meeting, at the end of October, got the ball rolling. In the classroom we all sat, waiting to get our marching orders. Looking around no one seemed stressed but you could sense the feeling of uncertainty in the air. The last four months of our college careers lay in the hands of one professor during one meeting.

Everyone talks about the “C” word. The doom that takes the shape of the final hurdle to graduation. Being smart I did not approach the meeting cold turkey. Having gone and sat through three earlier Capstone presentations, I knew fully what kinds of projects the faculty would approve and more importantly what they would not approve. For instance, they told us that all on-campus clients resulted in projects that suck. Their language.

So, the next step…finding your client and writing the proposal. The criteria for a client is simple: work with a non-profit and help them with any communications needs. My first step was to hit up Google and search for “Non-Profits in New London, NH.” While this presented me with an abundance of choices, there were few I found appealing. I thought about my interests including which led to music, animals, and such but I just wasn’t feeling like I had found the one yet. Stressing out I was at a loss for what to do. Believing in God and the notion of him having a plan for all of us, I knew God already knew what I was going to do, I just did not know it yet.

There is a scene in David Wroblewski’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle in which Edgar is naming his first litter of dogs. He looks through the dictionary trying to come up with names but he knows in his heart of hearts that he’s just waiting for the names to be revealed to him. That is exactly how I felt about choosing my client. I was more excited in anticipation than anything else. Also, if you have yet to read David Wroblewski’s brilliant novel, I suggest you do so. Edgar is one of my top 10 literary characters of all time and reading him is such a joy. Edgar Sawtelle is right up there with Holden Caulfield, Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn, and Atticus Finch. He is a boy for the ages.

Anyway, in choosing my project, I saw that The New London Inn did a program where they work with a different non-profit each week. Called Thursday’s Child, they host a dinner each Thursday where funds are raised in support of that week’s non-profit. I met with the owner of the inn and needless to say, he did not go for my idea. Not used to such right out rejection, I did not know what to do. I am not one to have a “Plan B.”   

After thinking for a while, I thought about expanding my horizons out of the greater New London area. I am fortunate to have an escape house (or condo) in Bretton Woods, a town and ski area an hour and a half north of New London nestled in the White Mountains. Living right on the ski mountain is an idyllic experience. The beauty of the natural world is beyond words.

The non-profit I came up with is right at the ski area; Bretton Woods Adaptive. Part of Disabled Sports USA, BWA adapts winter sports to the disabled. They give a worthy service to those who do not let adversity stand in the way of living a normal life. I called them up and had a bit of trouble getting them on the phone which took about a week. In the end they accepted my offer to help them out for a semester.

After meeting with them and learning about what they do, I could not be happier with my client. I am working directly with Miriam Russell who is easily one of the best supervisors I have ever had on a project because she is prompt in answering e-mails, something that is critical when working on a project of this size.

The other benefit to working for Miriam is that I am being kept on my toes. When most of my peers are just beginning their projects, I am already two weeks in and getting all my tasks done no matter how many re-writes I have to complete to get a finished project. I’ve had to complete a press release for their upcoming Winter Blast, write a one page back story on the history of adaptive skiing, a PSA for the winter blast and design a newsletter for them. That is just in the first two weeks of the semester. A lot to do but this is Capstone after all. 

Beyond these first two weeks, I have little insight to what the rest of the semester has in store. I know I will have many more projects coming my way and I say bring them on. I was nervous at first to send items to BWA because I really wanted to impress them and so far I have done just that. With the coveted Capstone Award on the line, I need to keep my eye on the prize.

2010 Grammy Predictions

Country

SHOULD WIN:

• Female:  “Just A Dream” Carrie Underwood
• Male: “High Cost of Living” Jamey Johnson
• Duo or Group: “Chicken Fried” Zac Brown Band
• Collaboration: “Everything But Quits” Lee Ann Womack & George Strait
• Album: Twang George Strait
• Song: “High Cost of Living” Jamey Johnson and James Slater
• Bluegrass Album: Destination Life Rhonda Vincent 

WILL WIN:

• Female: “White Horse” Taylor Swift
• Male: “Sweet Thing” Keith Urban
• Duo or Group: “I Run To You” Lady Antebellum
• Collaboration: “Start A Band” Brad Paisley & Keith Urban 
• Album: Fearless Taylor Swift
• Song: “White Horse” Taylor Swift
• Bluegrass Album: The Crow/New Songs for the Five String Banjo Steve Martin

Other

SHOULD WIN:

• Record: “I Gotta Feeling” Black Eyed Peas
• Song: “Use Somebody” Kings of Leon
• Album: I Am…Sasha Fierce Beyoncé
• New Artist: Zac Brown Band
• Female Pop Vocal: “Halo” Beyoncé
• Pop Collaboration: “Sea of Heartbreak” Rosanne Cash and Bruce Springsteen

 WILL WIN:

• Record: “You Belong With Me” Taylor Swift
• Song: “You Belong With Me” Taylor Swift
• Album: Fearless Taylor Swift
• New Artist: MGMT
• Female Pop Vocal: “Hometown Glory” Adele
• Pop Collaboration: “Sea of Heartbreak” Rosanne Cash and Bruce Springsteen

Best Country Albums of the 2000s:

This is the time of year when best of lists are compiled, usually of the best of everything from the past year. This being 2009, it’s also reflection time on the decade. Here is my list of best country albums of the 2000’s:

 10. Lee Ann Womack Call Me Crazy

Coming off of her CMA win for Album of the year, Lee Ann Womack took three years to craft her flawless follow-up. Featuring a nice mix of both contemporary and traditional, Lee Ann crafted her true artistic statement.

Appealing to everyone, and featuring the best vocals around, Lee Ann made a standout album that showed why she is one of the most important singers of her day.

Essential Listening: “Either Way,” “Solitary Thinkin,” “Have You Seen That Girl”

  

 9. Sugarland Love On The Inside

Capitalizing on the success of “Stay,” Sugarland made the single best contemporary record of the last decade featuring a whopping 17 tracks that justify their place among country music elite. Without a bad song in the bunch, they crafted one heck of a complete and well-rounded record that gave fans everything and more. Following this, will be no easy feat.

Essential Listening: “Love,” “Joey,” “It Happens”

 

 8. Porter Wagoner Wagonmaster

Grand Ole Opry star Porter Wagoner was largely forgotten by the mainstream audience when this Marty Stuart produced disc hit store shelves in 2007. In fact, every label in Nashville passed on releasing the album; it finally came out on a small hip-hop label showing Nashville’s ability to shun its living legends when they can no longer produce a buck. 

Fueled by the deeply personal “Committed to Parkview,” a song written by Johnny Cash about a mental hospital they were both patients of, the album was staged as though the old Poter Wagoner show had been put to record. Featuring everything from special guests to old fiddle tunes, the record is a reminder of country music’s rich past and should serve as a textbook for those wanting to make it in the business today.

Essential Listening: “Eleven Cent Cotton,” “My Hurried Southern Trips,” and “Committed to Parkview”

 

 7. Dixie Chicks Home

Masterpiece. Flawless from start to finish. A truly realized artistic statement. The Chicks’ 2002 release is easily one of the decade’s strongest albums and one of its best. Diving head first into bluegrass for the first time, the Chicks let their musicianship shine  and show their uncanny ability to choose thoughful and insightful songs that strike a chord with everyone.

Unfortunately, the CD pales in comparison to its follow-up Taking The Long Way. Without much by the way of writing credits the CD feels less like an artistic statement and more a really nice covers album sung Dixie Chicks style. On its own, the CD acts as an introduction to 21st century bluegrass, but next to its brilliant successor, it seems puny and weak.

Essential Listening: “Long Time Gone,” “Truth No.2,” “Top of the World”

 

 6. Loretta Lynn Van Lear Rose

Easily the greatest single disc of her legendary career, Lynn shines in a project that pairs her with White Stripes lead vocalist Jack White. Mixing his rock sensibilities with her down home country grit, the disc brings Lynn a fresh sound and shows how at 70, Loretta Lynn is just as fiesty as she was back in her 60s/70s glory.  

Essential Listening: “Van Lear Rose,” “Portland Oregon,” “Woman’s Prison,” and “Miss Being Mrs”

  

 5. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raising Sand

The unlikely pairing of the rock god and the princess of Bluegrass just works on every level, creating an album worthy of mention with the likes of Thriller and Rumors. Never before has a fusion between blues and American Roots sounded this good and it might never again. This is the album you didn’t know you were waiting for and the one you cannot imagine living without.

Essential Listening: “Killing The Blues,” “The Long Journey,” “Please Read The Letter”

 4.  Jamey Johnson That Lonesome Song

Without a doubt, Johnson has crafted the antidote to the slick pop country during the latter part of the decade. Easily the greatest traditional country album of the decade, Johnson pays tribute to his musical hero Waylon Jennings by covering two of Jennings’s iconic songs (“Dreaming my Dreams” and “The Door is Always Open”)

But the truly remarkable aspect of the record lies in Johnson’s ability to write the most truthful and honest songs to come out of Nashville in the last twenty years. His “High Cost of Living” pours more truth and real life experience into four and a half minutes than most of the current Nashville teeny boppers will ever have in a lifetime. And his “In Color” makes me proud to call myself a life-long country music fan.

The bar is so high, to follow this up will be a an epic feet. Good luck with that one Jamey.

Essential Listening: “High Cost of Living,” “Place Out on the Ocean,” “The Door is Always Open,” “In Color,” “That Lonesome Song,” “Dreaming my Dreams with You,” “Women,” “Stars in Alabama,” and “Between Jennings and Jones”

 

 3. Johnny Cash American IV: The Man Comes Around

Never before has a person looked death square in the face and wrote their own eulogy. This, the last album released during his lifetime, is his best since his prison concert days. A mix of reflection, regret, and promise of a life after this, Cash captures those final moments of life and embraces their arrival wholeheartedly.

Essential Listening: “Hurt,” “The Man Comes Around,” “We’ll Meet Again”

 

 2. Patty Loveless Mountain Soul

It is a very rare occasion when a singer can match the material they are singing. In no other record this decade did a singer sound so comfortable nor did material fit a singer so well as it did here. This is the style of music Patty Loveless was born to sing and she brings such an authenticity and freshness to it that it makes even the biggest non-believer into a bluegrass fan.  

This is the greatest album of Patty Loveless’s career and her masterpiece. Though she’s come extremely close, Loveless has yet to top the artistry she possesses on these fifteen perfectly chosen tracks. Thank goodness for the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack for making roots music popular again and making a record like this one possible.

To prove my point go listen to “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.” The Kentucky twang of Loveless’s voice is the perfect backdrop for telling this rich story of  the coal mines where she grew up. “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” makes the daily pain of Appalachia concrete for the average listener. The poignant vocal comes from experience, Loveless’s father died of black lung disease in 1979.

Skip the 2009 sequel Mountain Soul II, as with most sequels it adds nothing to continue what is found here and shows that this level of magic cannot be duplicated.

Essential Listening: “Daniel Prayed,” “Pretty Little Miss,” “Rise Up Lazarus,” “Cheap Whiskey,” “Sorrowful Angels,” “You’ll Never Leave Harlen Alive”   

 

 1. Dixie Chicks Taking The Long Way

Home would have easily made the top spot, if this album had never been created. Simply the finest album of the decade in any genre, The Chicks dazzle with a mix of real emotion and raw honesty. Filled with anger towards an unforgiving and senseless world, and with the hope of a better tomorrow, Taking the Long Way marks a turning point for not only the Chicks but for music itself. Albums rarely get better than this or more complicated.

The Dixie Chicks refused to rest on their laurels and wrote an album from the heart. Home was a masterpiece. Taking The Long Way is in a league of its own.

Essential Listening: “Not Ready to Make Nice,” “Voice Inside my Head,” “Bitter End,” “Easy Silence”

Reality TV makes us dumb; smarten up and watch the news

The following is an editorial I composed for our college newspaper, The Courier. It’s one of my favorite pieces I’ve written:

The continuing “Balloon Boy” saga has perpetuated two evils brewing for years in this country: our unquenchable thirst for fame, and a focus on entertainment as news.  Without apprehending it, Richard Heene inaugurated a national conversation that, as a nation, we should be engaging in every day.

The 2000’s are going to be commemorated as the “reality television” decade. TIME magazine first called attention to the craze in their June 26, 2000 cover story entitled “Voyeur TV.” Our decent into an unrecognizable world had begun.

The need to be famous has risen to unprecedented levels. Everywhere we look; there is coverage of a “celebrity” who is nothing more than someone who achieved fame due to a starring role or appearance on a realty show.

These shows are good television that reel us in with frivolous idiocy and make us feel better about our own lives. What we have failed to grasp, and now need to engage in, is the danger in this type of programming. What Richard Heene exposed to the world, is just how fame hungry our culture has become. The danger lay in one simple fact: we began to care.

Our fondness towards lives of these non-celebrities has added fuel to the fire for families like the Heenes to be able to pull off elaborate hoaxes, like the one we saw with the balloon. The Heene’s are being held accountable for their actions even though they are not the ones to blame. We are.

At what point are we going to stop and reevaluate? America needs to wake up from its long hibernation. The fact that we know intimate details of Jon and Kate Gosselin, or McKenzie Phillips’s experience with incest speaks volumes about where our head is at as a nation.

Non-reports about celebrities have seeped into our national news coverage and pushed us away from the issues that matter most. For example, CNN committed a Sunday afternoon to Britney Spears and her newly shaved head. More recently, coverage was dedicated to Maria Shriver for not following her husband’s law banning cell phones while driving. Are these types of stories really that important?

There are two habits that need to change: what we are given and how it is received. The American people need to focus on the important issues that affect us all. Information is power and the more informed we are, the smarter we are.

The domination of national news coverage by the likes of Kanye West, The Heene family, John and Kate, and other superficial garbage needs to cease.  The American people need to send a message, loud and clear, that they will not tolerate the brutal dumbing down of our culture.

As a nation, America needs to re-engage in the type of conversations that led to a change of public opinion about the Vietnam War. To not be informed about issues that matter (health care, global climate change, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Iran Nuclear crisis, Etc) is ignorant. We have turned a deaf ear to our biggest problems because we either do not understand them, or have grown fatigued by them.

America needs to be concerned again. Only we can effect change in this country. The problems plaguing our nation are up to us to fix, not the legislature in Washington.

I challenge you to really learn about the issues of the day. In the end you will be better for it. At the end of the day, our national issues mean more than who John Mayer may or may not be dating. Put away the gossip magazines, turn off MTV, and watch the news.

Thank you Richard Heene for starting the most important national conversation of our lifetime. America, it is time to continue it.

The 2009 CMA Telecast

Country Music blog, Farce The Music posted the following to their blog:

This is the most creative expression of the CMA’s I’ve seen. Of course, Country Music isn’t dead; Jamey Johnson did win song of the year for “In Color,” the single most important work to come out of 2008 in the genre.

 After watching the telecast I have to applaud the Country Music Association for being bold enough to turn over a new leaf and award different people. With all the hoopla surrounding the sweep by Taylor Swift, it is often swept under the rug that a new super group emerged before our eyes. I couldn’t be happier about Lady Antebellum helping to rob Rascal Flatts of a seventh straight vocal group award.  They have had a breakthrough year and look to have an even better 2010 with the January release of their sophomore set Need You Now. Boy, do we need them now!

I thought this was the best CMA show in years. It will be the most talked about for years to come. Taylor Swift has become the biggest star on the planet within just a few short years. Her singles have all gone at least top ten and she has managed to sell records in an era where record sales have hit record lows. I’m glad the CMA thought it important to recognize this shift in Country Music.

 The problem is, they went at it the wrong way. Taylor Swift did not need to win all four of those awards. She is, easily, the best songwriter in the genre right now, writing some of the most adult songs to come out of Nashville in years. “White Horse” beckons back to vintage Dixie Chicks and “Love Story” is a classic example of the country love song. She also makes the best videos since Faith Hill and Shania Twain.

 Her problem is, she looks weak when put up against heavy weights in her categories. Now, I love Taylor Swift for what she is, and Fearless is a great album. But how is better than Sugarland’s masterpiece Love on the Inside? Or Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song? It doesn’t measure up against that company.

 In short, she won her awards prematurely. I feel like singers should have to earn Entertainer of the Year through years and years of hard work. Brad Paisley should’ve emerged the victor of that award. He has proven year in and year out that he puts together must-see tours and he holds the record for the longest string of consecutive number one hits since George Strait in the late eighties and the most in the soundscan era. American Saturday Night is his weakest album but that shouldn’t be held against him.

 I’m all for change, and I’ve declared my love for Miranda Lambert but I felt Carrie Underwood was robbed. She should’ve won something even if it was Musical Event for “I Told You So.” She is the current princess (Reba’s the queen) of country music and no one should overlook that. At least Carrie co-hosted. If that had gone to Taylor, too I think I would’ve barfed.

 I enjoyed all of the show. I liked the Barbara Mandrell tribute but I’m over Martina McBride. That was such an uninspired performance. She needs to take a good look and focus on fixing her issues. She’s lost herself. Covering country classics has become cliché as of late.

 Carrie Underwood should never have worn…whatever that was. She is a sweet girl and that didn’t help her much. Were those, hot pants? I was turned off by the sex aspect of the whole thing. She’s way better than that. Even her ACM dress (that maroon mass of fabric) was better than that.

 I’m happy for Darius Rucker. He is the newest male vocalist in Country Music and a welcome addition to the genre. I love his singles thus far. He can do little wrong in my mind but has he proven himself yet? I wish the CMA had awarded Zac Brown Band instead as they bring a freshness into the genre not seen in years. Plus, they have a quality missing from today’s Nashville…they’re COUNTRY! Imagine that.

 Also, stop with people from outside the genre giving out awards. Patty Heaton and Neal Flynn? Really? They only made asses out of themselves on stage and added nothing to the awards show. Were other stars not free or something? Trisha Yearwood would’ve done a much better job!

Thank you CMA for a wonderful show this year. You progressed into the future and got America talking. Taylor Swift has not earned her winnings and you didn’t give the best group in country music, Zac Brown Band, anything, but you did put on the best show in years.

I will be watching the re-runs on CMT, I can tell you that!

 Now let’s see Miranda Lambert and Zac Brown Band win next year.

For the record…I’m not saying Taylor Swift didn’t deserve her winnings. I will never say that. She is a fantastic business woman and entertainer and knows what her audiences want. I just believe it was a bit much too soon. That’s all. Congrats, Taylor.

My CMA Rant

Look for my CMA Rant either tomorrow or before Monday morning. Within the course of three hours country music made a dramatic shift…one just as big as the one in 1995 when “Any Man Of Mine” changed everything. I’m glad I can say I was watching live on 11/11/09.

My CMA Rant

Look for my CMA Rant either tomorrow or before Monday morning. Within the course of three hours country music made a dramatic shift…one just as big as the one in 1995 when “Any Man Of Mine” changed everything. I’m proud I can say I was watching live on 11/11/09.

My CMA Predictions

Who SHOULD win:

Entertainer of The Year: Brad Paisley

Male Vocalist: Brad Paisley

Female Vocalist: Miranda Lambert

Top Vocal Group: Lady Antebellum

Top Vocal Duo: Sugarland

Top New Artist: Zac Brown Band

Single: “People Are Crazy”  Billy Currington

Song: “Chicken Fried” Zac Brown & Wyatt Durrette

Video: “Love Story” Taylor Swift

Album: Love On The Inside Sugarland

Musical Event: “Everything But Quits” Lee Ann Womack & George Strait

Who WILL Win:

Entertainer of The Year: Taylor Swift

Male Vocalist: Brad Paisley

Female Vocalist: Carrie Underwood

Top Vocal Group: Rascal Flatts

Top Vocal Duo: Sugarland

Top New Artist: Zac Brown Band

Single: “Then” Brad Paisley

Song: “In Color” Jamey Johnson/Lee Thomas Miller/James Otto (Sung by Jamey Johnson)

Video: “Love Story” Taylor Swift

Album: Fearless Taylor Swift

Musical Event: “Start A Band” Brad Paisley & Keith Urban

Trustees and Balloons

Imagine my shock, when after a wonderfully exciting day of rubbing elbows with Colby-Sawyer trustees, I come back to my room to find a six year old boy took off in his parents’ helium filled balloon! These are the types of stories that always come out of no where and they brighten up a dull news day. It never hurts to have a story that is so outrageous that it bonds the country.

UPDATE: the boy was hiding in the attic

Today’s lunch with the trustees proved very eventful. I love getting a look behind the scenes of the place I go to college. After this summer, I know for sure that I am in the right major. I never knew how much I love to  inform people and how much I love news. I always jump at the chance to watch television whenever a story is breaking. It gets my blood pumping.

But back to today’s trustee lunch. Getting to mix with trustees is great because it gives you another unique perspective on the college. It gives you a chance to tap into their minds and they into those of the students. It is so easy to forget that, while the students are the heart of the college, they don’t run it. It isn’t up to us to make the decisions for the college even though we have to live with all those decisions once they are made.

The highlight of lunch was getting to finally put into words not only my love for the college but for the department I spend my days working in. I love Colby-Sawyer because of what a wonderful  pre=”">enviornment is. Everyone works together and there is a chance for everyone’s voices to be heard. I love how there isn’t a disconnect between the administration and the students. The small atmosphere really plays into that. Colby-Sawyer is so small that nothing goes unnoticed. That can be both a good and bad thing. Trust me when I say, if you’re not in class, your professor will know.

I love being a communication studies major because of all the wonderful opportunities it has provided. I have gotten to mix all my loves while completing a challenging curriculum that keeps me on my feet. One of the highlights has been my radio show. There is nothing I enjoy more than sharing my passion for Country Music with the campus and neighboring communities. My passion comes through when I take the mike.

I actually have two great loves. My number one love is Country Music, and right behind that is writing. I love to write. I love composing excellent writing. Life is too short to be a crappy writer. That’s why I write for the newspaper. It is so much fun to compose articles that help to inform the college about things for which they may not be aware. I believe that one of my life’s purposes is to inform people.

Going along those lines is the idea of bringing about change. There is so much going on not only in this world but on campus that should be changed. The biggest one is the attitudes taken by the students. There is a huge disconnect between those students on top and those sort of in the middle. What makes a student feel that they can make a comittment and not stick to it? The idea is insane to me!

I am guilty of my next point, BUT college is a place to practice being in the real world. I’ve heard twice now from my advisor, a piece of advice the President gave the first year students when he opened the college last month. He told students to get up in the morning saying that a lot goes on between 8am and noon. Truer words never spoken!!! I just want to thank him for raising that point. Believe it or not, people feel better when they get up early in the morning. You have more hours in your day to get things done and you do miss a lot when you sleep in to all hours. Getting up early is SO MUCH better than staying up late. Plus, you feel better when you get a full night of sleep. Thank you, President Galligan, for making that point. 

I love the college because of the atmosphere created here at Colby-Sawyer. I love being a communication studies major because it allows me to do everything I love. I love to be on the radio, be a writer, and follow news. I couldn’t be in a better place for that. 

I have never had more fun in THE COURIER. I got a renewed since of purpose after attending the fabulous conference at the NY Times this past March. I was in a room with people like me, all student journalists who feel the same passion that I do for creating the best college papers possible. Also, I got to hear from the best of the best in the newspaper business and learn insider tricks of the trade. I took extensive notes, but the one point that really stuck with me: to be a good writer, you have to read good writing.

They cited both the NY Times (no bias there, huh?) and THE NEW YORKER. I now faithfully read both. One thing I know for sure is that life is way too short, to fall into bad trips and waste time surrounding yourself with crap. Be it low quality wine, or bad journalism. Life is way too short. 

I’m warning you Colby-Sawyer. No one is perfect and we can always be better. I’m going to keep challenging you while I challenge myself at the same time. PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH! 

I am going to use my voice, in editorials, to hold CSC accountable this year. Everyone should be on top of their games. If you’re not giving 100% you’re going to know about it. This issue is no different. Just read my thoughts on students not keeping commitments. 

I learned in my internship that little mistakes (not unlike my awful misspellings on the front page) make a bad impression. It’s time we all grow people. Grow and get better. Life is too short to be any other way.