21 and Change + ArchivesMouse + City Mentality + Chicks, Lit & Flicks + Cup of Who + discoveringdance + FF: Food & Fashion + Gastronomic Permaculture + The Gym Rat + Humans of Carlisle + Just Ordinary Stories + My Dad Wanted Me to be a Lawyer But… + Outside the Bubble + Playlists for the People + Roll it Right + Something to Smile About
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Hope’s blog is about a college senior making changes and calling it a plan.
21 and Change
If you could change anything about your life today, what would it be?
I have been constantly told that life is a series of decisions that define who we are. The problem is, I am an incredibly indecisive person. So what do I do about it? Well, I make those decisions and then change them practically in an instant.
No, I have not figured out who I am. And no, I have yet to find the key to happiness (though I think Nutella and Modern Family are the closest we’re ever going to get to it). Yes, I might be crazy. But I honestly believe that change is a great thing and I’m going to try to prove it through a series of challenges to myself and to you. So sit back, click away, or just laugh with me at myself along the way.
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Archives Mouse
stems from the author’s love and interest in the ever-changing world of archival science.
ArchivesMouse
With this blog, I hope to explore various concepts connected to archives and special collections. This includes the digital humanities, social media, changing theory and standards, Web 2.0, and archives in popular culture. Some posts will be about my experiences, others will focus on national or international events and trends; all will (hopefully) be fun and insightful! I am always seeking to develop my personal and professional interests through independent study and reading. As a result, this blog should show my development over time.
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City Mentality springs from the author’s belief that cities play an integral role in our past, present, and future
City Mentality
To me, cities are where everything intersects. People of all religions, cultures, races, education backgrounds, and socioeconomic classes come together in cities along with the natural environment, built environment, and the problems of all three.
How do we retrofit cities to have less of an impact on the environment? How do we create cities that work for people? How do we bring the environment into the city? These are all questions that I am exploring. My posts will explore many topics related to sustainable and livable cities including transportation, water resources, food availability, human interaction in cities, and much more.
With this blog I strive to learn more about my burgeoning passion for cities. In many cases, I am exploring ideas or making connections between them for the first time.
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In the end, Meghan is hoping to get other people interested and excited about being more conscious about the ways in which we receive and interpret cultural messages
Chicks, Lit & Flicks
Meghan is a senior at Dickinson College, double majoring in English Lit and American Studies (read: It’s nearly impossible for her to read a book or watch a TV show without looking underlying power structures). She writes:
“I’m constantly reading and analyzing texts, which means I can’t exactly break the habit when I’m watching a movie with friends, or reading a book for fun. With graduation looming in a few months, I’m looking for a way to take conversations about popular culture and social commentary outside of the classroom. There is so much more to what we read and watch, and I’d like to open up a conversation about it.
In this blog I will be reviewing books, movies, TV shows, and social media – both old and new – with a critical lens. I’m particularly interested in constructions of identity of young women in popular culture. Though this isn’t exactly a feminist blog, I am interested in looking at what roles women are playing in popular culture; I’m looking at what kinds of messages young women are receiving through texts and images about these roles, and what that suggests about what it means to be a female today. I’m exploring these topics with humor and a little bit of sarcasm, because analyzing and interpreting texts doesn’t always have to be such a serious thing.”
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My name is Carson Gannon and as many of my friends and family know, I love coffee and conversation.
Cup of Who
Upon returning home for breaks from Dickinson College, where I study Psychology, I catch up with friends over coffee. Something about a cup o’ joe allows for the perfect amount of time to catch up with someone and perhaps may leave you wanting to come back to meet again. I hope “Cup of Who” creates conversation with you as we both enjoy cups of coffee from different locations. Each post I hope to explore a different coffee spot around my campus and give feedback on the coffee/location as well.
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Although this dance blog will, yes, be about dance, I aim to make it reach and relate to other aspects that every human understands.
discoveringdance
My name is Colleen but my friends call me beans. I’m a current student at Dickinson College, undeclared and exploring what I want to do in life. My interests lie in the arts such as painting, ceramics, music and you guessed it dance. I am a jazz, modern, ballet and tap dancer (I can’t pick a favorite). Dance has turned into a passion of mine that I know will always be part of my life, I just don’t know how yet. So I figured writing about and documenting my thoughts and experiences around dance with help me sort out where dance fits in my life.
I reflect through dance, and this blog is an extension of those thoughts I feel while I’m dancing. But since dance is so ingrained in me because I having danced since I was three years old (for my dance history go to When the Music Stopped) I think about dance even when I’m not dancing. For example when I’m eating I think about how that food will give me energy. Or I think about what dance move would best represent my friend. Or I think about how a character in a book reminds me of my dance teacher. Or I think about how society changed over time, dancing style changed too. Not everyone sees it but dance can connect to anything from cultural traditions to scientific anatomy. I think that these connections that cross boundaries are what build a stronger and more diverse community.
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Enjoy these sassy, witty posts about Food and Fashion.
FF: Food & Fashion
Melanie, is a college student and is looking to immerse herself in the social media world. Growing up food and fashion have been a big part of her life. Her parents ventured out with her at the age of 7 to try sushi; the outcome was simply love. Not only did this 7 years old love sushi, she began combining bizarre articles of clothing together in 5th grade, and has only led to a deep passions in these topics. Sure she may be undecided in a major, but maybe this blog will help her morph her interests together to figure it all out. So in reality she has no idea what she wants to do with her life.
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If you love food, keep reading. If you love the earth, keep reading. If you love people, you should definitely keep reading. Because gastronomic permaculture is all three in one.
Gastronomic Permaculture
Tim’s blog about conscious design and maintenance of gastronomically productive networks which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of environment, culture and bodily needs providing food, energy and non-material benefits in a way that goes beyond sustainability. The integration of regenerative culture, from the land, to the kitchen and at the table, is a means to achieving robust, holistic global and individual systems.
As we write, you’ll see examples of how we’re able to live by our own definition. We’ll share how to go about ‘designing’ and ‘maintaining’ a gastronomic network. You’ll see what we mean when we say a “gastronomically productive network”. We’ll write about how to eat healthy, environmentally friendly and community friendly food without a CEO’s salary (heck, we’ll show you how to do that on a college student’s salary). Most importantly, we’ll be writing about the connections that are made when you pay attention to your food and where it comes from; to the integration of food and relationships, rather than the segregation.
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Always push for the extra mile and when you do, give it your all. In the meantime, Paul shares his workout tips.
The Gym Rat
From my own personal experience, I can easily sympathize with anyone that loosing weight is not easy. It takes a lot of dedication, and a lot of focus to not loose site of what you are working towards. At first it’s hard because this lifestyle becomes a new proclivity to adopt. However, at the same time I can tell you it becomes easier after you gain the mind set to push towards your goal. This does not happen over night, and through my posts I hope I can help people reach their goals. This for many can be a long and hard journey that can be just as physically challenging as it is mental. However, Like Shaun T always says, “Decide, Commit, Succeed”, once you make the decision of what you want to give up until you are where you want to be physically. Most importantly never forget, once you go down this road do not stop don’t look back and always push for the extra mile and when you do give it your all.
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Carson is a junior at Dickinson College. She is always taking photos and, for now, is enjoying studying English and living in the small but charming town of Carlisle.
Humans of Carlisle
Having spent two summers in Carlisle, I feel like I’ve started to learn the ins and outs of the community. There are so many things to love about Carlisle. The farmer’s market. Miss Ruth’s Time Bomb, where you can find well-worn t-shirts and fabulous vintage gems. Endless Belgian frites at Bruges. I mean, we have a falafel food cart, what more does one need? I wanted to add these stories into my blog. I may know more about Carlisle than the average Dickinson student, but I have a feeling I’m just scratching the surface.
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Nasir reminds us that we are all just human.
Just Ordinary Stories
It is my dream that I will one day be walking down the red carpet and hear photographers, fans, and correspondents screaming my name. But my fear is that the life I once knew as private and sheltered will be no more. People will judge me harshly on what I wear, how I respond to controversy, and the people I surround myself with. So I decided to start this blog as a way to show society that ordinary people like myself will one day transcend into the public eye but emphasizing the fact that we started off just like everyone else. I, Nasir Ellis, age 20, grew in the upper west side of Manhattan with my paternal grandparents. Long walks in the park and getting caught in the rain are not my favorite things sadly. But I do enjoy beautiful scenery, vanilla bean ice cream, and intense games of squash! Fashion, music, and anything entertainment related is right up my alley. I have probably memorized the lyrics of over 1,000 songs by now and can tell you the major events in the careers of artists like Beyoncé, Drake, and Chris Brown. I’m not sure at what point did entertainment become so important to me but someday in the near future I will appear on your television screens as on camera personality/correspondent. I just hope that when that day comes I have managed to maintain the fact that I am just as normal as the next guy and deserve to be treated that way.
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In the beginning, someone created Ashieda (and couldn’t pronounce her name).
My Dad Wanted Me to be a Lawyer But…
The point of this entire blog is to show that writing and thinking creatively is in everything that we do and therefore can be useful in any career path. Little exercises to spark creativity, reactions and interactions with pieces of the world and maybe sorting through my complex journey into writing, can help you accomplish this goal. If you don’t see it or understand it yet, just wait. Maybe this blog can become something else or get you to think about writing in a different way. Whatever you get from this blog: advice, humor, support, anger, community, confusion, inspiration, happiness, reflection, it’s all allowed. It’s all encouraged (and expected). Mix all of your interests, opinions, and exceptions here—make a sort of creative milkshake—mine would be a blend of cake batter, brownie and strawberries. However, this might be one of those things that are better in theory.
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Max is exploring Carlisle by foot, car, and bike.
Outside the Bubble
My name is Max and I am a sophomore at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. I’m studying Biochemistry, so up until this point the extent of my writing has been a straightforward, and sometimes boring, lab report. Blogging is completely new to me and through my class Writing in and for Digital Environments, I hope to become better at is as I learn more.
I have always had a passion for getting lost in the outdoors. Many of my childhood memories are of bushwhacking through tick and mosquito infested woods trying to find my house. At college I have taken it upon myself to explore my new home. Primarily on bikes, my friends and I explore new and exciting parts of town.
I had the idea for this blog when my friends showed me a local swimming hole, just five minutes from campus. How could it be that such an amazing spot was known by only a few people at Dickinson. Outside the Bubble aims to let people know about the interesting and unique places that surround Carlisle. It will document my experiences exploring Carlisle by foot, car, and bike. It will show the students, both prospective, and current, faculty, and whoever are interested parts of the area that would otherwise go unknown.
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Emily Burton has 5539 songs in her iTunes. If she listened to them in one sitting, it would take 14.2 days!
Playlists for the People
I believe that whenever we make a playlist, we do it for a very deliberate reason. The act of picking songs to accompany the exact mood, state of being, or stage of life you are in is so special. It is what makes playlists so rich and full of meaning. When I listen to one of my old playlists, I can picture exactly where I was, why the playlist was made, maybe even what I was wearing, but most importantly, what I was feeling at that moment in time.Each playlist has a story behind it. This tends to be their nature, and that’s why I love playlists.
For this blog, I will be combing through those 5539 songs of mine and reaching out to the people like me and you who just need a little music sometimes. I will be making playlists for you that will hopefully open your ears to new listening material, but also provide a soundtrack to simply help you do life (cause doing life is sometimes a little hard ya know).
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Sarthak Karki is just trying to say live life to the fullest, people. We have one life to live, so why not make the most out of it.
Roll it Right
The mind is probably the most powerful things we possess as humans, and how our mind sees the world can make all the difference on how we experience and perceive life. Through my blog and the images I post up, I want people to realize how amazing and limitless life really is.
This website is aimed at encouraging people to break free from the shackles of society and to follow their dreams. It is a community of people sharing ideas to expand consciousness and influence change in the world that will spread joy, justice and unity. Readers are welcome to and are encouraged to comment and contribute ideas through comments, for ideas only grow when shared and get closer to getting materialized. No matter how difficult we think our attempt to bring change might be, we will remind each other and ourselves continuously that nothing is hard. Nothing is impossible.
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Liz mixes Positive Psychology research with personal experience.
Something to Smile About
This is a blog about happiness. When I was a little girl my mom and dad would tell me: “do what makes you happy”. Back then it seemed really simple to follow those instructions—and maybe it’s just as simple now, but it feels a lot more complicated. Sometimes I’m honestly not sure what will make me happy and I’m not sure how to make others happy. Happiness often feels like a frustratingly elusive concept. But if there’s one thing about happiness that I’m sure about it is that happiness is something that the world could use more of—a lot more. I wanted to start this blog because everyone (or at least everyone I know) wants to be happy, but most people either don’t know where to find happiness, or they don’t know how to hold onto it. And if you don’t fall into one of those two categories I think it’s safe to assume that you could still use a little reminder every now and then that there’s always something to smile about—and I’m hoping that this blog can act as a reminder of that.
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