100 Years

It was really quite interesting to me that my Victorian Literature professor asked the class to write a short paragraph of what we thought would be different in the world in the year 2115. After all, in a class where the past is our guidebook, where the texts of our forefathers are our instructions, why would we be looking ahead to the future?

Of course, I thought about what might change, and came to the conclusion that I am immediately an optimist, though upon reflection I became quite a pessimist. My first responses to the question were lighthearted--I thought that maybe by then, there would at least be a season 4 of Sherlock and a way to teleport to class at 8:59 on Monday mornings. As I began to genuinely think on it, though, I began to hope for the best. I wanted someone to recognize the problems of third-world countries and help them. I believed someone would stand up for them. I believed that we would find ways to become a global community in a way that didn't sacrifice cultural identity, that we would become tolerant of others in a new way. And then it was pointed out to me that one of the best ways to tolerate others is to make them more like oneself--which reminds me a bit of The White Man's Burden and the British empire--and I began to wonder. Will it really get better? Will the environmental movement take hold, or will we wait until the last possible minute to scrounge up the few precious resources that remain? Now I'm beginning to think it might be the second. Maybe we should have taken better heed of our history as a planet.

So why look ahead, when we're trying to use the past as our guide?

And in contemplating this question, I've remembered why I study what I do. I'm a history and literature student because I believe that the past is the key to the future. I believe that if we cannot transfer the situations, themes, and trends of the past into our present mindset, we will end up in a cyclical world that cannot find fulfillment. There will always be more to fix, because someone did not understand the mistake. And I take this chance to say that it must all be a lot easier to do if we have God on our side, for there is no greater force than he for change.

I like change.

And yet I understand that the positive change I am looking for, that I'm hoping in the forefront of my thoughts will be realized only if I, if you, and if our peers--our generation--takes those steps together. This is the world we've been given. The only one. And we've got to take care of it and of each other, because what might happen next depends entirely on whether or not we are optimistic and active or pessimistic and lazy.

New Song! I See Fire

I am delighted to announce that I have finished a new musical project that you can listen to with the link below! It's a cover of Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire" from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Hope you enjoy!

Click Here :)

In other breaking and obviously important news, Benedict Cumberbatch is going to be a father. I'm kind of really excited!

Music Mondays - Artist - Cara Dillon

Today, I'd like to introduce you to the Irish singer Cara Dillon, whose work I have followed for several years. She is a mezzo with a beautifully high tambre and sings both traditional folk music and covers of other songs.

The Streets of Derry

In addition, I'm sharing today one of my own versions of a Cara Dillon song, done a cappella.

Blue Mountain River

Literary Fridays - Reflections On Jane Austen

If I loved her less, I might be able to talk about her more; Jane Austen is kind of awesome.

I don't say this only because it's the token appreciation post of the author class I took last semester, but because, well, Austen's a bit of a literary goddess. She was a wit and wisdom before her time, a brilliant writer whose failure to marry, I'm convinced, was only because there was no one else who could match her caliber.

I mean, I don't even know where to begin. Should I note that Emma is my favorite of her novels, though it's a rough choice between the six we read? Should I lay out the theses for my two papers (which, by the way, I can't help but think were worth the hours upon hours I mulled over them to make sure every word was perfect)?

No, I think that what needs to be said is this: What I learned from my class on Jane Austen is that Austen as a writer is underrated, romanticized in the most feminine ways, and not what non-Austen readers believe her to be. If I learned anything, I learned that Pride and Prejudice is not, and never should be, the 2005 Kiera Knightley film of the same name. It's not about love. It's about acceptance, compromise, sacrifice, and being able to see another for the person that he is and not who one wishes him to be. And I am grateful to have taken the class, because otherwise I do not know that I would have ever been truly introduced to Austen's radiant, wonderful, world.

So I thank Dr. Wehrs and my classmates for the enlightening experience, and I challenge you to go read some Austen. She has the wit of Wilde and the charm of Conan Doyle, the easy rhythm of Yeats and the poetic spirit of Keats. Jane Austen is awesome.



My Reading List:
Northanger Abbey
Sense & Sensibility
Pride & Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Emma
Persuasion

I'm Walking On Moonbeams

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new year. 2015; can you believe it? And I've decided that my resolution coming into this new year is to keep a blog as a record of the triumphs and the defeats that I come across in my life. I mean, a lot of things happened last year, and I want to keep better track of those memories this year, the good and the bad. So, here goes.

But wait! What's a blog? Why write posts on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis? I think perhaps the most important question is this: is this for the people that are going to read it, or is it for me? In my mind, this is most importantly for me to begin to better understand myself, but I know for sure I want others to be on the journey with me. Support is an invaluable thing, and the support of friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances is the best thing a girl could have. Who doesn't want to be surrounded by love and encouragement?

And so I guess that really is what this blog is for. I guess that blogs are meant to help both writer and reader, and so I hope, in the coming weeks, months, and years, that I will remain gold in my intention, and that I will begin to understand myself, my readers, and the world around me. It's time for a change. And I wouldn't trade that for gold.