In-between your Facebook and emails, check out one of these eight Wheaton student bloggers. From thoughts, photographs or illustrations, each offers something a little different to the Wheaton community.
Anna Shane
Senior, English writing major
“My Two Cents,”
My blog is a conglomeration of all sorts of writing: it’s a creative outlet for me to process life through creative nonfiction, poetry, ranting, and the occasional short fiction. I write about topics such as love, mental illness, body image, pain and my faith.
When did you start? I started my blog after my freshman year when I went to Amsterdam through YHM. It was a travel blog where I “digested” what I saw through story.
Why did you start? I don’t really know. Maybe because I wanted to be heard?
Most enjoyable? The blog holds me accountable for writing. If I say I’m a writer, then I better, well, write. Sometimes I forget that anyone can read my work, so it’s fun when I get the occasional “Hey, I liked that” from someone I don’t know. It reminds me that writing can not only help me but help others too.
Most challenging? I don’t know any of the technical features of WordPress. I know nothing about generating traffic, boosting more hits, or publicizing. That’s a big problem if I want to actively get my name out there.
Advice? A blog is the perfect place for people with opinions, idea, style and a strong voice. If that’s you, just try it out. It’s free, so why not? Send that provocative poem out to the world wide web: I dare you.
Whitney Bauck
Senior, Studio Art Major
Unwrinkling, unwrinkling.com
Unwrinkling represents my attempt to engage fashion in a theologically and intellectually robust manner. So far, this has manifested itself in a few ways. Sometimes it’s meant explorations of the theoretical or hermeneutical aspects of humanity’s relationship with clothing, which usually translates into text-based posts where I try to unpack terms like “biblical modesty” or grapple with Thoreau’s musings on fashion. At other times, it has expressed itself in image-based posts that may highlight a fashion hero of mine or showcase street style I’ve shot in a city like Stockholm or Toronto. I want to balance deconstruction and critique of the problematic facets of fashion with celebration and participation in the worthwhile aspects.
When did you start? I started my blog in January 2013.
Why did you start? I had always been interested in fashion, but dismissed serious engagement with it for a long time because I felt it was too superficial or unimportant for a serious thinker or Christian. When I started re-examining this assumption in college, I was eager for resources to help me engage fashion in a more nuanced way, but was surprised to find very few available. I started Unwrinkling because I wanted to start chipping away, however minutely, at the creation of the resources I didn’t have. I also wanted some sort of structure to keep me accountable to continue investing my brain space in something that I’m not currently studying in school or getting paid to do.
Most enjoyable? Writing a blog gives me excuses to talk to people about what I’m really passionate about, whether because I’m interviewing them for a feature or because they simply asked what I blog about. It’s encouraging to discover others with similar interests where you’d least expect them.
Most challenging? To keep posting regularly when so much creative energy is being applied towards class projects.
Advice? Set up deadlines for yourself, and hold yourself to them. Know why you started blogging in the first place and remind yourself of those reasons when you’re unmotivated or dry. If you want instant street cred, invest in a “.com” as opposed to a “.wordpress” or “.blogger.” Fail often in order to succeed sooner.
Alex Dooley
Senior, Interpersonal Communication
Dooley Noted; dooleynoted.co
My blog doesn’t really have any one unified theme. I usually address or discuss whatever happens to be relevant in my life at the time.
When did you start? The first post was sometime back in January of this year.
Why did you start? I wanted an outlet through which to express ideas and perspectives that couldn’t fit easily in a Facebook status. I also think that writing for pleasure is really important when it comes to processing life and developing as a person – kind of like reading for pleasure. Maintaining a blog is a great way to make writing for personal reasons feel more productive.
Most enjoyable? Probably the feeling of satisfaction that results from actually publishing a blog post (which doesn’t actually happen often enough, to be honest). It’s also nice to have a written catalog of more well-developed thoughts on which I can reflect at some point down the road.
Most challenging? Writing! It’s hard to make time to write things, which is actually kind of an important part of having a blog.
Advice? Just start writing. It’s easy to think you don’t have anything important to say and that nobody would read your blog, but here’s a secret: I don’t have anything important to say either. But look at me now! I’m in The Record! Seriously, just start writing.
Aseye Agamah
Junior, Sociology with Psychology minor
Aseye Says, aseyesays.wordpress.com
The idea of my blog is kind of broad: it’s really just a place for me to show the world who I am and what I care about — through written word, art, people, photography, fashion, and any other form of expression. I only just recently started it, but I plan on featuring street style of people I see in the city, outfit of the day posts, portraits of my friends, thoughtful musings and poems, and other forms of expression.
When did you start? I had started writing and taking photos a long while before I actually posted any of it, but I think I published my first post sometime this past June.
Why did you start? I think that art, fashion, photography, and words can be such powerful ways to say what you want to say to the world. I used to think that blogging was kind of overrated – “Why did everybody seem to have one these days?” I would say to myself. But I get it now. I see that because we are all such unique individuals, we’re all going to have these really distinct experiences and perspectives that are completely unique to us – and that’s worth sharing with the rest of the world. Blogging is a way to say and express what you feel and see; it lets you externally process the thoughts, experiences, and ideas, and that’s what I’m trying to do with my blog.
Most enjoyable? I love sharing a bit of myself and my art with other people and letting them see what inspires
Most challenging? Consistency. My blog is important to me, but I have other things in my life that are just as, and if not more, important. And so it’s hard to find balance and allot enough time to sit down and actually finish a post. I have at least five or six unfinished posts in my “drafts” right now!
Advice? Do you. Draw inspiration from everything around you and then take your own spin on that and make it your own. Stay true to yourself when you speak your mind, but always think about saying and portraying things in a respectful way. It’s great to have opinions and share them, but don’t be ignorant – do your research! But most of all, have fun with it and be yourself in the realest way.
Lauren Laskowski
Senior, International Relations and Journalism Certificate
Only a Mirror Reflection, onlyamirroreflection.blogspot.com
My blog is titled “Only a Mirror Reflection.” When thinking about a title for my blog, I was inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:12 which states, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (NIV). My blog is an attempt to try and understand what I can know, in part, this side of heaven through my photography. I also use this blog to think about the truths that I will fully know someday when I reach heaven.
When did you start? In 2013.
Why did you start? I started my blog as part of a photography assignment during my sophomore year at Wheaton. I have continued to bog over the next few semesters, because I have loved having a place to post my photography as I blog and try to make sense of my pictures.
Most enjoyable? I love to think. Posting my photography is a way that I can try to make sense of some of the feelings and thoughts that I have about the world around me as I see them through the lens of my camera.
Most challenging? For me, the most challenging part of keeping my blog is having enough motivation to keep posting on my blog, even when I’m busy.
Advice? If you’re thinking about starting a blog, try it out. Don’t be hesitant or scared to start. You don’t even have to make your blog public right when you begin. Just start blogging to see if the act of blogging rejuvenates your soul or helps you understand life better. If you find that keeping a blog aids you in these areas, blogging might be the perfect thing for you!
Abby Bowman
Sophomore, Spanish and Anthropology
Alternate Echoes, abbybowman120.wordpress.com
The blog is about anything and everything. From my summer travels abroad in London, to my internship in India, running a marathon, to my thoughts on good books and good food, to life as a Wheatie, I’d say anything is fair game. I mainly discuss little parts of ordinary life that stick out, grab my attention, and demand me to think.
When did you start? November 2013.
Why did you start? I’m an extreme introvert by nature, and so writing has always been one form of communication that serves me better than talking. Originally, I started to blog because it allowed me a way to process my thoughts amidst all of the busyness and chaos around me. But now I blog to learn. When I take time to think about life as it is, and not what I think it should be so that other people will be impressed, and then I write about it, I find I end up gaining perspective about myself, my surroundings, and most often and most importantly, my faith.
Most enjoyable? I’ve most enjoyed two things about the blog. First, in writing, publishing, and then re-reading my own blog, I have loved seeing how the Lord has been working in me over the past year. The tone of my blog has changed significantly even in a year, but it has proved to me just how brilliant the Lord is as a storyteller and author of my life. I also have greatly enjoyed how much power the blog has to bring people together. I’ve met some cool people who stumbled across the blog and appreciated what I had to say and have given me ideas for future posts. It’s neat to think that my thoughts could impact someone else too, even if in only a miniscule way such as making them laugh.
Most challenging? The most challenging aspect of my blog is the honesty required. Sometimes, it’s difficult to actually write completely vulnerably when other people are going to be reading my words, but I never fail to regret taking the leap of faith required to share some of my story with others who, I have found, aren’t so different from me. Oh, and coming up with blog post titles.
Advice? Don’t blog to impress…blog to be you!
LucyRose Till
Sophomore, Secondary Education and English
Looking for Light, lucyslifecz.blogspot.com
My blog is autobiographical. I write about the things that are going on in my life and the things that are going on in my mind. I often post my drawings and cartoons illustrating the events of my life.
When did you start? I started my blog in 2008. There are some embarrassing things on there posted by fourteen-year-old Lucy Rose.
Why did you start? Initially I was inspired by a friend and I just thought it would be fun. It was. Later on I discovered that it was also a way to keep the people from my two faraway worlds (I am an MK from the Czech Republic) abreast of the things that were happening in my life. It is a tiny way of keeping in touch.
Most enjoyable? Being able to put whatever I want to on there. No one can stop the internet! But I also have an embarrassing obsession with checking my stats. “Only one more person has read my blog since I checked ten minutes ago?”
Most challenging? Time. I have way more ideas for posts than time in which to post them. College takes up way more time that I thought it would.
Advice? Give yourself some easy challenges to complete. This summer I challenged myself to post drawings of the things I was thankful for each day for three days. It helped me be regular about posting and a series can engage readers because they come to anticipate the next installment.
Isaac Butler
Senior, English Writing Major
Carry The Words, carrythewords.wordpress.com
My blog follows a project that I’m doing for my English Writing Senior Seminar. I’m studying labels and how they affect interactions between people.
When did you start? Early September.
Why did you start? I wanted a space to write down and share my feelings about what happened each day with each word I was wearing.
Most enjoyable? Being able to see the number of hits to my blog rising as people start reading along. It was very affirming.
Most challenging? Finding the time to sit down and write. I managed, but some nights I would literally pass out in bed right as I posted the latest blog entry. One night I fell asleep with my laptop still in my bed with me.
Advice? Find something you’re passionate about, and then just start writing. And use WordPress, it’s super easy.
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