End of the Semester

Going into MCJ 102 I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought I knew how to write, and much to my surprise, I did, I just didn't know all the rules for each different outlet. Media writing, as turned out to be a multi-faceted, overlapping, convergence of several media outlet styles of writing, all of which are helpful to know.

Print news can be long and somewhat exhausting. Writing in upside down pyramid style was something to get used to, but learning to communicate clearly and simply was probably the best thing I learned.

And really that's what it comes down to; clear communication. Whether I'm writing print, advertisements, PR, broadcast or any other form of writing, clear concise communication is the most important thing we need to know. And for that I am grateful.

Currently Eventing: The Movie Everyone's Talking About.

Late November and December is my favorite time of year. It isn't just the holidays, though, that get me excited, despite warm family gatherings and the surge in local events. It is also Oscar season and seasoned directors and producers are strategically waiting to put in their vie for 'Best Picture' as closet to the end of the year as they can.

This year has in for itself a great line-up of holiday movie releases. A few weeks ago the book adaptation about a boy stranded at sea, "Life of Pi," opened in theaters around the country bringing with it great reviews.

Another critically acclaimed, yet unexpected contender, "Silver Lining Playbook," was released shortly after. This movie almost slipped under my radar until Peter Travers from Rolling Stone pointed out it's strong lead actors breathtaking performances.

Other movies I'm looking forward to still to come out this year are "The Hobbit" directed by Peter Jackson and "Django Unchained" by Quentin Tarantino; both sure to be blockbusters.

I don't think there is another move, though, that is getting quite as much attention as "Les Miserables." With a strong leading cast including Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe, this movie is expected to break the block Christmas day as well as the oscar nomination ballot.

Originally a book by Victor Hugo about an uprising in France in the early 1800's, it has been hailed one of the most important novels ever written. This may be the reason why this particular movie edition is receiving so much buzz despite the fact it has ben made into several movies as well as a broadway musical.

This season has surely given us the gift of some great movie choices. The members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be hard pressed to try and pick a favorite as will I. Until then, we can always follow the predictions.

Currently Eventing: Random Acts of Holiday Kindness.

His picture has been all ove the internet these past few weeks. Made locally famous, a man with no shoes was given a gift that should be extremely helpful during the bitter cold nights of New York in early winter. A new pair of boot, a $75 pair to be exact, was given to a homeless man, Jeffery Hillman, by NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo. Since the offering, DePrimo has been hailed a hero and has received much media attention.

And at this time of year, it's stories like these people flock to. Stories of selfless giving, giving by one of New York's finest nonetheless.

But, to Jeffery Hillman, being barefoot is much better for him than owning an expensive, new pair shoes. Being homeless in the winter is no new venture for him and his story of homelessness is one of 50,000 others in New York City.

So what do we make of an officer who becomes famous for a single act of kindness when the man to which he gave still remains homeless ... and now shoeless again? Does a random kind act trump all the good work going on by people who seek to help the homeless all year 'round?

Homelessness plagues our country and is now beginning to take many forms. Aside from the classic middle age homeless man model, there are now working-class families as well as victims of natural disasters who are homeless. There are various programs and shelters available for the homeless of places like NYC, but are they really doing the job to get and keep people off the street? According to Forbes magazine, more can and should be done.

A single, random act of kindness can bring about feelings of warmth during the holiday season as well as a restored faith in humanity during hard times. And hopefully it can also bring about a restored desire to see problems like homelessness resolved once and for all, because if that isn't the true spirit behind the Holidays, I don't know what is.

Public Relations Vs. Advertising

I am currently a Public Relations major. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I declared my major, but I knew I'd figure it out along the way. One thing I didn't realize about PR at first was it's close relation to Advertising. Like Advertising, PR gets the word out about a certain organization, product or service. It uses television, print and radio to spread it's intended message.

From there, Advertising and PR diverge.

Advertising seeks to create advertisements that grab people's attention, implore them to buy a certain product or service and often creates new customers while retaining loyal ones. It can be seen as being on the offensive, constantly pushing to get people to do what the advertisers want them to do. This takes clever skills, and often times, a lot of money.

Public Relations works in a different way. Unlike Advertising, it acts more on the defensive, though sometimes it strives to be on the offense. PR seeks to give positive light to an organization or business, often ones that create products or services. It is more subtle than advertising, and can sometimes just be the simple act of getting a clients name out there through the design of a good website of Facebook page. Offensively, PR will create campaigns to make people aware of the good nature of their client. Defensively, PR will work to re-create a positive image in times when their client's image may not be as clean through press-releases and conferences.

Sometimes these campaigns work, sometimes they do not.

Companies, organizations and people who offer services to the community need to get their name out there, they also need to make sure the actions and goings-on of the company are not construed by the public in a negative light. It is the job of the Public Relations person to make sure that at the end of the day, everything for the client is in order and business as usual can proceed in the following days and weeks.

Local Christmas Gatherings.

Since moving to Mississippi I have realized one thing locals here like to do is gather in their downtowns for various random events. Mississippians in small towns love their downtowns. Hattiesburg and Laurel are both involved in an organization called Mississippi Main Street and both put a lot of care into their downtown activities.

This past week Laurel held two events that brought out a majority of the town. Last Thursday, the 29th of November, Laurel had a tree lighting event to light the large pine tree that was erected in Pinehurst for the holidays. Large crowds gathered to see the lighting of the tree followed by an outdoor performance by the Laurel Ballet academy. The whole event rivaled the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center on a small town scale and this wonderful local writer covered the whole event.

On top of the tree lighting, Laurel also held it's anual Christmas parade the following Saturday morning. Droves of people crowded the streets to see area high school bands, homemade floats and local service people parade down the street. This years theme was "Cajun Christmas" and two of the men from "Swamp People" participated as honorary grand marshals. Add on top of that Kiwanis' annual all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast and you have a holiday tradition most Laurel residents would never miss.

Hattiesburg also had a tree lighting ceremony in their downtown that brought out many members of the community as well as a Christmas parade of their own Saturday morning. Upcoming events in hattiesburg include the Downtown Art Walk Saturday the 8th and the Hattiesburg Zoo Lights the 8th, 15th and 22nd of December.

Mississippi is a great place to be for Christmas because Mississippians are proud of their state and they love their downtowns, and it makes me love this place all the more!

Broadcast Vs. Print News

Two of the most prominent ways we get our news today is through written publications and broadcast news. The two are similar in that they report a lot of the same information; the most important information is being presented first and a story is being told.

From there, though, things begin to look much different. Print news is written in a more formal tone, there is a bit of eloquence in the writing and a conversational tone is discouraged. In Broadcast news, the writing actually relies some on being conversational and informal. When you rely on sound and visuals in you news presentation, a quicker, informal tone is needed to connect with your audience and keep their interest.

Broadcast news is a bit of a novelty still since what we know as television news has only been around for 60 years or so. Print news, on the other hand, holds with it a bit of nostalgia and tradition. One could get up early in the morning, fix a cup of coffee, sit in a quiet nook and read current events in a favorite publication at one's own leisure. One of the reasons, among other things, newspapers still have a chance in America's fast paced, internet driven society is this connection with nostalgia.

Print is also seen as being more credible. Whether this statement is based in fact or fiction, the printed word does seem to carry with it a heavier weight of responsibility in presenting accurate information. It is straight forward and does not rely on intro music, good graphics, a soothing announcer's voice, or good looking anchors to be presentable.

As you can probably see, I prefer print news. I love the tangibleness of print media as well as the detail you get from a print news story. It's unfortunate to see the downturn Newspapers face today. I guess it's time to start showing my love by subscribing to my favorite publications, because at this point, I'm sure every penny counts.

Currently Eventing: Black Friday Madness.

The New York Times calls it a "carnival of capitalism." It's Black Friday, and the day nearly stands as it's own national holiday. Traditionally occurring the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday brings retailers monetarily "into the black" by luring customers into their store to buy offering merchandise at a great markdown. This "holiday" often brings with it connotations of punch throwing, clawing, elbowing and general greedy violence over mere products.

This has never been my experience. Working in retail, Black Friday, for the most part, has been a positive experience, aside from the long work hours (this year I worked 9pm-8am), eager groups of people come out to try and get the best deal for their holiday shopping needs. People this year were no different, turning out in droves to buy for kids and loved ones, and in an down-turned economy, it was good to have them out.

Of course, this begs the question, does Black Friday really help the economy? The New York Times seems to think so, stating that "billions of dollars, which would otherwise never be spent, make their way into circulation." Some estimate $59 Billion this year, nearly 13% jump from last year. But others believe big business shopping days led by big businesses like Wal-Mart, Target, Macy's and Kohl's only lead to inflation and mis-read numbers, temporarily pumping up the economy only to drop it later in the season. And this is a problem.

One solution to said problem may be the growing interest in buying local. Many local clothing stores, electronics retailers and record shops opened earlier this year to partake in the Black Friday festivities. Local stores may not be able to offer the deep discounts that national chains do, but by supporting local businesses you are more likely to support the local economy. Small business re-invest in the local economy and are largely responsible for new job creation, so purchasing Holiday gifts from local merchants could also mean investing in local necessities like new jobs, schools and infrastructure.

Black Friday will not be going away any time soon. We can either complain about it's negative impact on the economy as well as our nation's moral character, or we could make the most of it. Shopping local is one way to make the most of it, and hopefully next year I'll be able to stand in line at my local retailers instead of working all night. Until then, I hope to enjoy what the rest of the holiday shopping season has to offer, hopefully at 40% off or more.    

 

Challenges: Communicating Clearly in the Communication Age.

Texting has to be one of the greater inventions of the twenty first century. Like a two way radio, texting sends your message directly to the intended receiver instantly, and often a response is received in matched haste. But what if the sender doesn't receive a reply right away? Did the receiver just miss the message? Are they busy and intend to get back to you later, or do they just hate you? With the influx of instant communication, we must learn a new way of communicating altogether or we will be left with wrong interpretations.

The communication era was brought about by the desire for information. Different forms of communication have existed over the centuries, but only in the past two hundred years or so has it become faster and more accessible. News can be found on television channels devoted solely to the medium at any time of day. News reporters are updating blogs, pages and twitter accounts with up to the second information, and with social media sites like Facebook, personal information can also be up to the second.

All these new avenues of information are supposed to make life easier, but do they? With news at every second of every day, important news can be drowned out in all the filler information designed to maintain viewership and subscribers. Reading up on your friends lives on Facebook means sifting through 10 meaningless posts about food choices and gym accomplishments before anything with substance is found. In todays fast paced information age, content is sacrificed for access, real relationships are sacrificed for 140 character updates. And with things like texting, getting a message immediately to a person can create the need for an immediate response. The ease of information is riddled with more problems and communication in todays age has with it it's own set of new problems.

Today we must be communication and media literate, we must know how to properly interpret the jumbled stream of constant communication or we may become overwhelmed and misinformed. More importantly, though, we need to learn to slow down. The need for constant interaction is a thirst which is too easily touched, but never quenched. It may soon be necessary to take a step back from information sources and concern ourselves again with the important things happening in our real lives.

Opinion: Criticism of News Today.

Don Hewitt, creator of the TV program "60 Minutes," said, "There is a fine line between show biz and news biz. The trick is to walk up to that line and touch it with your toe but don't cross it."

Here Hewitt describes the challenge of creating something people will want to consume all while maintaining the truth. In today's ever changing 24-hour news cycle, that mandate seems harder than ever to uphold.

One example comes during the Presidential election last Tuesday. Different TV news sources could be seen competing for viewership through the use of up-to-date graphics and game show style story telling. News stations such as CNN went to great lengths to create a great event.

Two competitors raced for first place, their progress tracked by red and blue lights creeping up the top of the Empire State Building.

State-by-state progress was meticulously scrutinized and people came out in droves to various "viewing stations" being held in different parts of the nation.

One particular viewing station was in New York City right outside CNN's headquarters and was complete with a larger-than-life TV screen that would provide rally-goers with minute-by-minute information. At one point during the rally, camera crews scanned the crowds of people eagerly anticipating the latest results. As the camera grazed the attendants, the crowd cheered and jumped around with excitement.

One reporter on the scene commented on the celebrants. She stated to the news room and the viewing audience that, those these people were showing great displays of excitement, they were probably just excited to see themselves on the jumbo-tron much like at a sporting event.

So were is the real news here? Is this group of people really excited about the election as if it were second only to New Years Eve, or do they just enjoy seeing themselves on TV? Is this news station reporting news, or creating it?

Don't get me wrong, the election is an important event that deserves some level of excitement. But this was simply over the top.

Incidents like these may not have a profound effect on the election and it may not cause immediate injury to the general public, but it does create a sense of how we as Americans live our lives and what we really care about. Creating a sense of excitement and then reporting on it in order to increase viewership skirts the line of morality in reporting.

Viewership may be an important part of being a broadcast journalist, but it is still important to retain the line of fact vs. fiction, even if to the smallest degree.

As Don Hewitt said, "There has to be a line because the line is the truth. And the difference between what we do (and what others in entertainment do) is we tell true stories."
 

Currently Eventing: When Hurricane Sandy Came For Dinner.

I love New York City. The lights, streets, and parks are all so wonderfully enchanting. But the thing I love most about New York is the people. It's a huge community up there, and everyone from that City is  proud to be a New Yorker.

So, this week when Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, it was no surprise to me to see so many New Yorkers band together to help one another out. Each person has shown concerned for others in the city simply because they hail from the same place. The NYPD, NYFD and other first responders have also stood up again to heroically bring aid to a city in need, and this is a great thing.

One other place, though, where I see a lot of pride and support is from the various entertainers such as late night host Jimmy Kimmel and the comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live.

This week on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Avett Brothers paid a special tribute to Brooklyn by playing an especially moving rendition of their song "I and Love and You" with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The chorus of "Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me home" was met with cheers and applause from the audience. The event was tasteful and beautiful and was a great way to show pride for the city.

Saturday Night Live has also long been known for paying respect to the city in times of crisis. In 2011, SNL tastefully came back on the air shortly after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center believing their job of making people laugh again was important and necessary. This week's SNL host, Louis C.K., who  grew up on the east coast, wrote a heartfelt letter to his fans before the show aired regarding the hurricane and the night's episode. It was thoughtful and ingenious that a host would reach out to his fans in troubled times.

It's thoughtful ideas like these that help make disastrous times easier to bear, and it is entertainers like this who, by doing what they are good at, help bring the community back together, if just for an hour, to laugh and enjoy life again.

Currently Eventing: Guy Jumps Off The Top Of The World

Isn't it funny how, when looking back on the past, we tend to see it with a old-film, sepia-tone, Polaroid-style hue? It seems so other-worldly when something doesn't happen in your lifetime and events of the past tend to feel like they were always supposed to happen the way they did.

In our own lives, everything seems normal, nothing seems groundbreaking, people have to tall us when history is being made.

Take, for example, this weekend which was normal for me in most ways: go to work, catch up on college homework, hang out with friends, etc. I was in fact hanging out on Facebook when I realized a man, Felix Baumgartner, had just jumped out of a specially designed craft/balloon from the top of the Earth. History had just been made and I missed it because I was busy socially networking.

As it turns out, a few really great things were accomplished that day.

First, it was the highest skydive in history. At 128,000 feet, Baumgartner was basically jumping from outer space.

Second, he was the first person to break the sound barrier without aid. This comes on the anniversary of the first person to break the sound barrier 65 years ago.

Third, Baumgartner now has the fastest free-fall with a top speed of 834 mph.

With all these record breaking achievements comes some much needed data for NASA including the use of his jumpsuit which could prove useful for future NASA missions.

It was, in all, an incredibly historic event, whether or not I was aware of it while it happened.

This story may soon be yesterdays news, but yesterdays news is always tomorrow's history, and looking forward I realize my grandkids may be asking me where I was when Felix Baumgartner jumped off the top of the world.

Social Media: Is Facebook Better Than Twitter?

I have been on social media for almost 10 years now. Though I would hardly consider myself an expert, I have been involved long enough to see it change and take shape into what we know and use today.

Xanga was great for writing long posts and was my first introduction into true blogging. Myspace came  next and was only really good for having friends and finding new music. Then Facebook showed up and at first it was only a place to share pictures, and to be honest I was not super impressed.

Then there was Twitter, and Twitter changed everything. The introduction of 140 words or less that could be immediately posted and read by followers via phone notifications was amazing. I remember having full conversations on Twitter when notifications were sent to my phone. This was the best thing ever.

Then Facebook changed their whole "wall" format to essentially interact the same way, and Twitter soon became a thing of the past. I remember thinking, "why be on twitter when I can have everything on Facebook?" At that is the way it has remained for a couple of years now.

I have recently started using Twitter and I am beginning to see it's usefulness again. I can follow people/ news organizations/ tv show I admire. I can easily stay updated on national and world news as well as hear about the latest events going on in my area. Twitter serves a purpose in my life yet again.

Ultimately, I would say about Facebook and Twitter both are equally useful and both serve a different purpose. One I can hear about the personal lives of my friends and family, the other I can stay up-to-date about other global cultural happenings.

When it comes to the integrity of journalism, though, I believe Twitter would win. Facebook relies more on word of mouth whereas journalists are using Twitter to post about news in a more formal way.

Social Media has really come a long way, and I believe it has a long way to go still. People now are taking advantage of the many different outlets afforded them and are turning them into what they need them to be. I'll be interested to see how far we go in the next 10 years.

Intro: Beth Bolyard

Hello, my name is Beth Bolyard and I'd like to take the next few moments to formally introduce myself.

I currently live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and attend the University of Southern Mississippi. I have been studying at this university for over a year and I have lived in Mississippi for over 2 years. I am majoring in Mass Communication and Journalism with an emphasis in public relations. I am also minoring in art, though I am thinking about changing that to English soon. It turns out that if you aren't serious about being an artist, art classes are pretty much useless. 

Attending college has been a long and arduous journey for me. I've been down a few different career paths already, including film school, and I haven't really found what I'm looking for yet. I dabble in photography and have been told my work is pretty good. Unfortunately I don't really feel compelled to pursue this solely as a career. I also play the guitar, ukulele and piano, though I am not really proficient at any of these instruments. 

I have been interested in journalism as a career for a while now. I love news and I love to write. The truth of it is I really just want to be in the middle of it all. Anything great happening in the world and I want to be there. So I suppose being a journalist would go hand in hand with that.

I also really love a good story, whether it's fictional or based in reality. So I suppose what I really want to do is tell stories, good stories, stories worth repeating, writing about or filming. 

 So, here I am at USM trying to make sense of what I want to do and how the university can help me do it. I suppose I'll figure it out one of these days. Until then, thank you for reading.

Why "The Lorax" is changing my life.

So, I went to see the Lorax tonight with a couple of good friends. Not immediately my first choice, but considering it is the top movie this week despite it's 57% rotten tomatoes rating, I went. Immediately I sized up this animated childrens movie as boring and unoriginal comparing the animation and storyline to that of it's superior, Pixar. I cringed at the opening song sequence and oddly dis-proportioned characters and objects in the film (so un-Pixar like). I rolled my eyes at the two main coming of age characters (somewhere between 12 and 20, maybe?) and their simplistic love story. And Betty White, really? She was so, last Super-Bowl season.

Then Ed Helms came in and changed everything.

And I take back what I said earlier, because you can't really say those things about a movie that made you cry.

The Lorax turned out to be quite a multi-faceted movie bringing up a few different talking points (and cringing points for some of my friends). One could debate the weighty political/ economic message of the movie and go on and on about Helms' musical tribute to corruption of modern capitalism.One could also spend quite a bit of time comparing the environmental curriculum to that of movies of an earlier era like Ferngully (this is all just propaganda, right?). But, really what I'd rather focus on is what happens in the last few minutes of the movie, because that is where bipartisan lines cease to divide and the real beauty is found.

I don't know what it is about seeing a film about the end of someone's life that I find so moving. A movie in which someone dies and there is some tribute paid to their life, whether good or bad, large or small, is always particularly touching. I don't like death, to be honest with you, and I don't have some creepy fascination with the death or the pain that is associated with it. What I do love, thought, is the examination of a life lived. What is more emotionally riveting than looking at and celebrating the fullness of a person's life?

I can't say for sure that the end of "The Lorax" was the end of Helms' character's life, there is nothing to really indicate this at all. But there is a specific examination, of sorts, that the Lorax gives of his life. Helms' character, the Once-ler, has lived a life full of regret, and it is quite apparent throughout the movie that he is greatly ashamed of the decisions he made, decisions that have brought about a lasting consequence to the characters around him. Essentially he breaks a promise, and the end result is caos.

But, that's not the whole of the story. I think the great thing about this film is it's ability to inter weave one story with another, revealing bits of plot one small portion at a time until slowly it brings us to one final resplendent conclusion.

So here we are again at the end of the movie, standing outside on old house watching an old unkept Once-ler water his new found landscape. Enter the Lorax. He has returned to express his deep found gratitude to Once-ler for finally keeping his promise.

It's at this part that I couldn't quite keep it all together anymore, it's this part in every movie that just get's me.

So what does all of this mean? I can watch a movie about a man that has a complete breakdown over the fact that he may die of cancer and still retain a straight face, but, watch a big yellow mustache tell a guy in a pink scarf "gee, thanks" and it's waterworks. It's all of this life lived stuff that I'm still trying to figure out, in the movies and in my own life.

I think I love these life reflective movies so much because I desire so desperately to live a life worth celebrating. I want to look back on my life as an old woman and not be filled with the regret of not living as fully as I had intended. But how do I get there without missing the essential steps? This brings me to the place where I have found myself struggling for quite a while now. What do I do with my life? I've found myself recently at an all defining crossroad, a point in my journey where the next few decisions will drastically shape the rest of my life. And I can't move forward.

A barrage of questions keep swirling around in my head; "what do you want to do, what are you good at, what are you passionate about, what is going to make you happy?" And wouldn't I really just like to have the good life without having to work another day in my life? Isn't that the answer we're probably all looking for?

But, watching movies like "Braveheart" has taught me that, in life, we either settle for the ok things, or we fight for the greater things.

And that has become the pivotal factor for me, it's not so much what I do, it's how hard I'm willing to work for it. Good things don't come to those who wait, they come to those who work hard.

And this really goes hand in hand with something Dr. Seuss was trying to say through this movie:

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

So, care greatly, make good decisions and work hard. It seems like this is at least a good start to a greater life.

Metaphors for Life: Running.

Running, for me, has always held the most metaphors for life. Almost every time I run I discover parallels to things I am going through; I made one such discovery today.

I haven't been running in a few weeks now, and I recently decided to pick it back up again during spring break. I am always amazed at how my body functions. Muscle memory and endurance, my body never forgets these things. Once I do start running again, the first week or so is usually pretty pathetic. I spend my time striving, grasping, pushing to even get one mile. Then one day, out of nowhere, something breaks and I run 10.

Ok, maybe not 10, I actually lost track of the laps I ran. I had listened to all of the album "Nothing Left To Lose" by Mat Kearney and gone back to listen to "All I Need" about 5 more times. So, how ever long that takes, that's as far as I ran.

And all because my body resilient.

It's is able to, after all this time, remember where it left off. "Oh, that's right," it says, "we were running, sprinting even. We had goals, a plan, an end to which we were destined to arrive." (whoa body, tone down on the poetry, wouldya?)

And I am able to pick back up, right where I left off, and move forward.

I also think the same is true in life.

We are resilient, able to bounce back after a hard fall. After some time on the ground, we are fully equipped to get back up and not only start running again, but quickly get back to the track we left.

Sometimes, after some time down, we may feel as if life has sped past us and catching up is simply impossible. Being down for any period of time feels wasteful, and setbacks, the end of the world. Because surely, the longer we aren't running, the more our body forgets how to run, right? And someday, when we are able to start running again, we will have to spend all that time teaching our bodies how to run once more.

But we all have setbacks, we all spend a little bit of time down. No one gets it perfect, especially not the first time around. It's not the falling down, it's the staying down that is the true setback.

I guess I say all this to say that we can't fear the fear of falling. To fear this is to fear what will inevitably and definitely happen, and that any break in momentum will set us up for an ultimate and unstoppable downward spiral. But something I've learned recently is that fearing failure and fearing setbacks blinds from decision making. Over thinking our lives to the point that we start to make decisions based on a comparison of what failure will hurt less is really no way to live.

But we are resilient.

In that we can get back up, get back on track, and, despite a really tough week or so of not being quite where we once believed we were, we will eventually, and probably sooner than we think, find ourselves right back on track.

So don't sweat it, just sweat, but not really, I mean yes, but no.

When you're ready, you can rest assured that your body remembers where you were when you stopped running, and you will get to that place again, and soon. And the world has not passed you by, it's just been waiting for you.

  

Awake My Soul

I have long been out of the world of blogging. Twitter and Facebook have simultaneously replaced the world of meaningful (and often lengthy) xanga-style posts with 140 characters or less. And for me, this has been sufficient, until now.

My birthday was a few weeks ago. Not a milestone birthday, necessarily, but an age change nonetheless. I turned 26 this past January, and I did not handle it well. You see, when I turned 25 they told me, "this is the year of reflection, a time for you to look back on your young life and examine and appreciate everything in it. Treasure it, love it, re-experience every moment of what has brought you to the place you are now." But when I turned 26 they said, "Now, get over it."

Seriously? Get over it? That's really all you have to say? It's as if someone was pushing me out of my young 20's and into the scary, dark, older 20's (against my very will, mind you). It was not pleasant and I cried  couple of times...and I mean I ugly cried.

The problem is that I was not done reflecting. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to keep reflecting and examining so long as it kept me from facing an ugly truth; my life did not turn out the way I had planned. Nothing I had planned for in my early 20's had come true. The all-fulfilling life calling, the self-assurance that came with being undoubtedly in God's will, the husband (or at least the man who would surly at this time be, irrefutably, the one); my life, essentially, was a sham.

But, really, it wasn't. I have since then gotten over the initial shock of turning an upper even twenty number, and I am now discovering that, though I don't have what I thought I should have by now, nor do I really know what the rather dark, foggy future holds, I am, in this time and place, right where I want to be.

Where. I. Want. To. Be.

Let me fill you in on what I mean by this. Almost two years ago I made an extremely scary, somewhat irrational decision to move to a foreign place I now like to call home. This place is Mississippi, and I now consider this the best decision of my life. Many over the past two years have asked me why I might move to such a place, and for a period of time, I could not give them a very good reason. And the problem is not that Mississippi has nothing to offer, it is that not many understand what it really means to live in this often overlooked place.

It's here that I am going to introduce you all to an author who has become incredibly famous over the past year or so, and all because of a book she wrote about a time and place in Mississippi. Her name is Katheryn Stockett, and her book, "The Help," has been made into a movie that has been nominated for an Oscar or two (congrats to Octavia Spencer for winning); you all know this. At the end of her book, though, she writes a few cool things about her state of birth. It really is a rather funny portion of the book, and I would read the whole thing for yourself if I were you, but I find this next quote particularly interesting.

"Mississippi is like my mother, I am allowed to complain about her all I want, but God help the person that raises an ill word about her around me, unless she is their mother, too."


I really can't say why exactly, but this quote still makes me smile. And though I don't yet believe I can call Mississippi my mother, I do think I can at least call  her my great aunt in that I  have always been invited to call her home my home as well. She didn't give birth to me, but has provided me a place to give birth to my own ideas and dreams. Her skies are large enough for another dreamer and her pines still compete to see who can touch the meridian Sun. It's a beautiful place that I have found to rest my soul.


So what is it about this place? I first became familiar with the state when I was in elementary school. It was well known among all the kids that Mississippi was the longest word in the dictionary and your ability to spell it correctly and as fast as you could awarded you some kind of gold star in the ever developing social scene that is first grade. This is not a difficult feat and we soon learned that, in fact, supercalafragilisticexpialadocious was the longest word in the dictionary. Since then Mississippi has come and gone in my life as more of an idea; it was a far-away destination, a setting in a book, a place to stop for gas. 


But now it has become so much more. 


Now for a little exercise that I hope will help you understand where I'm coming from. I'm sure you are all familiar with memes.


This is my Mississippi meme:

Where my mom thinks I live:

Where Society thinks I live:

Where my friends think I live:

Where I live:

It's the people that have always meant the most to me, and these are a few of my favorite. If you didn't get your picture in this lineup, don't worry, I'm just not good at taking pictures =). If you want your picture here, just send me a link and I'll post it, because, more than likely, you mean a lot to me and have helped shape my experience here in Mississippi.

Thanks.

No, really, that's all, for now.