One summer Sunday afternoon my friends and I decided to travel to New York City. We stumbled across the Strand, a well known bookstore in the city, and went to take a look around. After browsing the shelves for a while, I spotted Drew Barrymore's Find It in Everything, a collection of photographs in which hearts appear randomly from a heart shaped hole in someone's shirt to a straw wrapper that just happened to be folded into a shape of a heart on the sidewalk. After taking this book home with me, I sat down and analyzed each photograph. I was in awe of that if a person just stops for a minute and looks around, she will notice things that she would have missed if she had just glanced around.

My avatar is a photograph I took on my iPhone this April.  On that particular day, my boyfriend and I decided to take my dog, Muggles, for a walk.  We walked into the woods and under oak branches dripping from the morning's bout of rain.  Muggles, who hates walking on damp ground, cautiously stepped through the dew-drenched grass.  My boyfriend and I watched and laughed at the pitiful expression on the pudgy pooch's mug as he snuffed around.  We casually discussed what we should have for dinner, and once we had decided, I tugged Muggles' leash so that he would begin walking home with us.  He didn't budge.  Annoyed, I turned to him but softened when I saw what he was so intently focused on; a single yellow daffodil, which had sprung up from the muddy earth much earlier than usual.

My favorite drink is jasmine green tea. For me, it's calming, soothing, and satisfying. I love green tea on its own, but I think the jasmine adds such a beautiful, floral dimension to the drink. It's so fragrant. I had some very lovely cups of green tea when I visited China when I was 13. During my trip, I learned that Chinese people drink hot tea and hot water even during the summer heat rather than cold water because hot drinks are believed to be better for circulation and digestion. This summer, my foster family--who adopted me and took care of me for a year before my mother adopted me and brought me home--sent me a bag of green tea, lücha. I haven't opened it yet. It's still on my kitchen counter at home in New Hampshire.

I chose a photograph of a penguin swimming underwater as my acount image because it best suits my personality. My favorite animal in the world is a penguin, and I like to think of myself as a penguin. Just like a penguin, my favorite thing to do is swim! I have been swimming on a team since I was four years old. Being underwater is where I feel at home. It is a safe and peaceful place for me. Penguins are also known for being very playful and I see them as also being very positive. When I try new things I always try to stay positive and confident just like I imagine a penguin would. You can never look at a penguin and be upset. That is why I keep many penguins in my bedroom and dorm room. It only makes sense for it to also be my profile image on here!

This summer, I worked as a nanny for two little girls - one 16 months old, one almost four - and would use reading to keep them occupied. A dedicated employee of the children's section my local library, and a lover of literature myself, I brought new books every day I looked after them. The older of the two took a particular liking to one of my favorite children's books, Dallas Clayton's Lily the Unicorn. After about a month of reading the picture book aloud to the little girl, I realized something incredibly important about myself and my own philosophies. Lily spends the entirety of the book attempting to cheer up a rather pessimistic Roger the penguin. She introduces wacky things for them to do, lovely gifts to give, and adventures to embark on.

Hi everyone, 

This was an article that a facebook friend of mine shared and that I mentioned I had read when we broke into small groups to talk about Lemonade. I told my group members that I would post it to share when I got the chance. 

http://thehigherlearning.com/2016/02/19/dear-black-america-please-stop-giving-beyonce-a-pass-on-formation/

bell hook opens her essay on Beyonce by saying, “Lemonade is my favorite drink…" and quickly (rather breathlessly!) moves from that experience, via lemonade stands, to a critique of capitalism.

Try out this exercise, okay? What is your favorite drink? What might it tell us about you/your view of the world?

PORTRAITS OF DISABILITY AND DIFFERENCE

Writing Seminar 118a                                                                          Prof. Kristin Lindgren

Fall 2016                                                                                             Stokes 118IA             

T-Th 2:30-4                                                                                        klindgre@haverford.edu

Gest 103                                                                                             610-220-3670

COURSE DESCRIPTION              

I’ve had a Serendip account for about 9 or 10 years.
A few years ago, when the “avatar” option emerged
on the site, I selected this picture of myself:



It suited me quite well for a long while: I liked my smiling, welcoming face, the face that went with my user name (which is my real name). I liked being out, claiming, as myself, what I said on-line.