Writing Samples
Here are three samples of some writing I've done. I am featuring an Article/Professional Blog, Funny Narrative and a Sample Craft Blog.
...The teacher gives the kids several options but each little hand reaches for the exact same thing: character-themed fruit snacks.
A normal but still unhealthy choice. You’re only slightly disappointed in them, but who can blame them. They’re kids, right? And I’m sure they taste delicious.
But, is it the artificial fruit flavors that really sold the kids on their choice of fruit snacks? Recent research at the University of Illinois shows that it is probably not.
According to the research, it’s neither the flavor, nutritional value, or picking “what their parents would choose” that influences the children’s snack choices (Nelson, Ahn). Majority of preschool-aged children look for their favorite character, on the box or the food itself, as the deciding factor to what they will eat.
Read full article here.
Article/Professional Blog
Narrative
...I had to wait for other birthday presents and early Christmas presents to come through before I had the ultimate manger scene. Not daring to set up an incomplete outdoor scene, I set up Jesus, Mary and Joseph up in my bedroom.
Every night, I lit them up like a night light, tucked baby Jesus in with a doll blanket and even read the trio books. I cared for them very much.
Then, as my birthday passed and Christmas approached, piece by piece my nativity scene grew. Soon, the trio in my bedroom had a lamb and two sheep friends, then a camel. It was all coming together.
I remember leaving one day with my grandparents and coming home to find my dad standing next to a real wooden manger he had built in my front yard. “This is it!” I thought. “The final piece to my manger puzzle!”
Read full story here.
These last two weeks I have been in one of my favorite places: the YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado. The YMCA property is 860 acres of pure beauty that borders Rocky Mountain National Park and is part of the adorable main street town of Estes Park, CO. My mom has been going to the Y every summer for the last 36 years after my grandma heard about it at our local Y in Crystal Lake. Lucky for us, she continued her summer tradition with my brother and I and it has been a staple in our summer ever since birth.
I never know how to describe the Y because it is a mix of a camp, a resort, and a conference center. In a nutshell, it is a giant piece of property with 9 lodges and 250 individual cabins...In the center of the Y's campus is its main buildings (the Administration Building, known simply as "the Admin," two auditoriums, a church, a library, conference areas, dining halls for staff and guests, a pool, a programs building, a cafe, etc.) Sort of like a college campus...minus the school and everything looks like a log cabin. But, my favorite building of all time is the Mootz Family Art and Design Center. Or as we call it, the Craft Barn.
A crafters paradise is the best way to describe it: tye-dye, silk painting, basket weaving, jewelry making, wood burning, glass fusion, ceramics (the kind to fire and just regular figurines to paint), mosaics, leather, and magic t-shirts (like tye-dye, but with bleach). It is overwhelming, but there is never a moment when I don't have an idea. I have made everything in the Craft Barn except for a magic t-shirt. I plan to feature each one on here as inspiration for anyone who reads this!
Read full article here.