Hi there! My name is Gladys Lemesurier, I’m an English Literature major at the University of Idaho, and I have a deep love of nature and everything in it. I’m so excited to be writing for the blog this semester!
Growing up as an introvert meant I always had a book glued to my hands. I loved any book that would take me on a magical adventure full of fairies, elves, spaceships, princesses, or anything else to fuel my vivid imagination. But back when little primary school me was devouring books at the speed of light, things were different. The novels I read featured boys who found magic books or were given pens that turned into swords right before setting out on a magical, sometimes dangerous, quest. Sometimes they were accompanied by a faithful companion. Sometimes the trio even included a girl with a few funny one-liners. A lot has changed since then.
Hello! My name is Kiera Carney and I am just another person on this Earth trying to grasp the meaning of this complex existence! Nice to meet you.
I’ve been constantly writing for longer than I can remember. To me, the most therapeutic thing you can do is write your words down in order to correctly process what thoughts are racing a mile a minute in your brain. Now that I have devoted my life to getting a degree in journalism and making it into a profession, I’ve come to understand the power that written word has on our society. I am passionate about exploiting the misunderstood identity this world has forced on women. I hope that I can play a part in creating a safe community of educated individuals and encourage women to embrace themselves in a way that truly defines them, not what others want them to be. This is what makes me so excited to be writing for the Women’s Center Blog this Fall!
Hi! My name is Samantha Krier, and I am very excited to start writing for the Women’s Center Blog here at the University of Idaho. I am a Finance major and I am in my last semester here. I am sad to leave but I’m excited to see where my next adventure is. I chose to study Finance because I wanted to learn about the economy and about how money moved through the system. Back home, I never really had access to that kind of information and it was never really a priority. I wanted to be able to learn about it and share this information with people who want to invest but don’t necessarily think they would be able to. Many people ask me why I chose to pair this major with my minor in Professional Writing. I have loved to write since I was young, and it has always been one of my strongest subjects in school. I have always wanted to be able to share my writing with others in a professional way, and I love that I have gotten this opportunity. Feminism has always been a huge passion of mine, and it will likely be my primary topic.
I started to look into feminism towards the end of high school. This is when I started to think about the experiences I’ve had as a woman and how they might be different than the experiences a man may have had. At that point, I was just starting to join the fight and have my own independent thoughts about it. As I have continued on with my education, and especially since coming to Moscow, I have expanded my understanding of feminism. I have since made an effort to be as inclusive as possible thanks to the amazing and diverse community within Moscow. I will always strive to expand my understanding of the world around me and the people who make it up.
Hello, everyone! This week we are sharing a little bit more about ourselves. My family is originally from Houston, Texas. We moved to Nampa, Idaho in order for my dad to find work when I was a baby. I am the youngest of three girls, and my sisters have blessed me with my niece and two nephews so far. People close to me know that I value my faith, my family, and having a small circle of loyal friends.
As you know, I am a student at University of Idaho, currently studying Advertising and Journalism. At first, I started out as a biology major. I planned on becoming a physical therapist, but school and life lead me down a completely different degree path. The most important thing about college (in my opinion) is the self -discovery, and I, for one, have learned so much about myself in the past few years at UI. I thought being a physical therapist was going to be the right field of study, but I quickly learned that was not what I am meant to do.
L. M. Montgomery once wrote in her book Anne of Green Gables “There’s such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I’m such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn’t be half so interesting” (Montgomery). .
Jerimiah (my brother) on the left, Ariel (my sister) in the front, Jason (my stepfather) and Regina (my mother). On the far right is me. Taken at the Boise Train Depot in February of 2017
My name is Hailley Smart and I believe this to be the case with me; there are a lot of different Hailleys in me, a lot of different facets of my personality, a lot of different faces I show. Yet all these little pieces and small parts were forged out of my past and combine to create who I am, but who is that?
Hello, everyone! I’m very excited to share with you all a little bit about myself. While most of my memories are from growing up in Boise, Idaho, my life did not start there. I was born in Lianyungang – a “small” Chinese town of roughly three million people. Only after about a year did I immigrate to Idaho through adoption where I became the youngest of five children.
Although I have a deep love for my rapidly growing hometown of Boise, Idaho, I always dreamt of going elsewhere for college. Applying to schools on both the east and west coasts, I was so incredibly nervous and excited for what the future might bring. After swearing to myself I wouldn’t stay in Idaho for college, I quickly realized the financial costs of studying out-of-state were impractical.
The author in Moscow, Idaho after a trip to the local Saturday market.
A photo of Remington Jensen, the top PGA prospect of the 21st century
By Remington Jensen
To whom it may concern,
Hello, I am junior Journalism student at the University of Idaho with a minor focus in Creative Writing. The opportunity to write for the Women’s Center as a blogger was offered by a previous mentor, Lauren Westerfeld, who now teaches writing at Washington State University. I’m a column writer for the Arts and Culture section at the Argonaut in Moscow who decided to pursue a career possibility like this writing internship because I have been a strong advocate for women’s rights and equality for a significant portion of my life. I also want to provide an apt minded male’s perspective to issues like non-binary gender disproportionality and inequality in a changing era that alludes towards an overdue female renaissance.
Aside from being a passionate writer in the non-fiction and poetic fields, my life revolves around my music intake. Bands like Radiohead or lyricists like Phil Elverum — lead creator from the Microphones, Mount Eerie — have prompted me to take writing into the commonly overlooked coincidental reality I am in by promoting me to focus on similes, metaphors and abstract sarcastic prose writing that — I hope — has rarely been attempted before. Although music is my central focus, I enjoy authors like Chuck Klosterman and Kurt Vonnegut and enjoy the films of David Lynch and Terry Gilliam. I DJ at the Moscow-based radio station KUOI on a weekly basis and I am a non-fiction previewer/reader for the University of Idaho founded Fugue Journal.
In addition to the experience this internship will provide me, I hope to come out of it a more culturally aware and observant person. I wish to promote the lives of my fellow XXs and remind my XY brethren that respecting women in 2018 is an underrated quality to have. I want to change thinking processes, adjust the scope of masculinity and fixate more on the power of inclusion of all kinds rather than the exclusion that is so vehemently loved by extreme thinkers such the alt-right. I wish for enjoyable peace, a decrease in global disruption and a place of mind devoid of bias that avidly encourages forward and critical thinking.
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” – Stephen King
Me with feminist comedian Fred Armisen (SNL, Portlandia).
By Rosemary Anderson
I’ve lived in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho my entire life. I was born in the big blue hospital in the middle of town and spent a lot of time in the big blue Coeur d’Alene Lake. Although I’m not much of an outdoor-sports person, the lake is a big piece of me. Throughout my time growing up, it’s the only thing that has remained constant. No matter where my life takes me, I know I can always return to Coeur d’Alene Lake. It will always be there to greet me.
Hi all! My name is Alexandria Arritt. I am an incoming Sophomore at University of Idaho studying English with an emphasis in Professional Writing, and I am minoring in Public Relations. I absolutely love writing! I am currently reading two different books, and I have a long list that I am working on as well. One of my favorites is Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing. The craft of writing is certainly something special, and I believe literature affects us in a variety of ways. I write on my own blog, lovelyliterature.net, reviewing novels and attempting to begin a conversation about literature. I am interested in eventually attending law school and studying criminal law. I love staying busy. I am what many people would call a ‘true extrovert’. I love socializing and discussing ideas with a variety of people. I think it’s very important to reach across the aisle and speak with those who may not share the same views. I was stuck in my bubble for a long time because it made me angry to have people talk to me in a way that I felt was unfair, but I have now dedicated my conversations to those around me to more thoughtful and insightful. I am always learning, and I am willing to alter my opinions to become more correct.
A note about a note I wrote in the empty Saturday/Sunday space in my planner: “Now I take notes all the time, but I couldn’t say why exactly, except that maybe after you become conscious of how you see the world — not from outside yourself, telescopically, but from painfully within — the intent will always be to analyze it.” Several months ago, after discovering a deep and unexpected love for creative nonfiction, I found this essay by Lucy Morris, and started obsessively collecting notes. I’ve always written things down—usually on receipts or mostly surrendered them to lost-ness in pockets or messy desks almost immediately after setting my pen down. I’ve become somewhat more dedicated in my note-taking these days, or at least I’m trying to be; I’ve made an effort to write down everything (a note I found from a tipsy and warm past self, quoting my best friend: “I finished my wine and simultaneously farted. It just happened.”) and tuck it into my journal for safekeeping. These weird saved moments don’t usually go anywhere, but I can’t help but want to keep them. Continue reading “The Give and Take of Writing and Womanhood: An Introduction”→
By Alexandria Arritt
uiwomenscenter.wordpress.com 