Guest Writer: Erin Smith Shop local. Small Business Saturday. Support the Makers.  The whole idea of “bloom where you are planted” has always been important to me. Advocating for and supporting people who are brave enough to make their dreams come true is something I try to do as often as I have the opportunity.  I also believe this mentality should not stop with business owners. Supporting local and growing musicians is just as important as supporting brave entrepreneurs. Listen … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: McKenzie Marsh Conan O’Brien, Mitt Romney, Emma Watson, Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Thurgood Marshall, Steven Spielberg, James Franco, Empress Michiko of Japan and Ben Shapiro. What do all of these names have in common? That’s right, they were all English majors. All students, regardless of major and intended career path, need to know how to write and how to write well. Any field of study could be better augmented with an English or writing minor as a strategic … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Elijah Neal Mackenzie Fair once told me that “grief is like walking through peanut butter.” I really connect with the truth behind her comment. Not only is grief sticky, it is tough. Grief is not creamy peanut butter; it is extra crunchy. Grief is a long process of wading through pain and loss.  I lost my best friend Tim Haurez last year. He was the most encouraging person in my life. He affirmed me, and he was sincere when he did it. I miss him a lot. Pain struck me … [Read more...]

We have been encouraged to be relational from a very young age, but people have vastly different experiences. Getting married at recess in kindergarten might have been the peak of your entire elementary school career, or you may think that people still have cooties. Either way, the prospect of relationships are somewhat ingrained in our minds and have had some sort of impact throughout our lives.   In a world that values being independent and unique, society adversely encourages the constant, … [Read more...]

In years' past, a high school diploma was all that one needed to ensure they were qualified for work that would sustain them for years to come. Maybe it didn't qualify a person for a lucrative career in a field with job mobility, but it paid the bills. Then it was the bachelor's degree. Now, in many fields, a master's degree is needed for even some entry-level positions. No wonder so many college students face depression. Some students, such as future nurses or accounting majors, are … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Lane Webb I have seen the rise and fall of many fads throughout the years. These fads range from being both good and bad, however, the worst of these fads is the rise in popularity of Minions.  Minions have risen from the deepest chasm in Hell to plague humanity. The origin for this evil idolatry stems from the movie “Despicable Me.”  The lighthearted comedic relief that the Minions presented quickly became the true love for many because of their simplistic design, … [Read more...]

On Nov. 6, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the U.S. Senate seats will be up for grabs. In a democratic republic, where leaders are elected to make decisions on our behalf, it is incredibly important for those leaders to be held accountable to the electorate. The only way to hold them accountable is to vote them out if they represent us poorly and vote them back in if they represent us fairly. This is the most effective way that we the people can ensure that … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Alexis Martinez Out of the 7.4 billion people on the third planet from the sun, you are only one. What makes your life more valuable than any other?  Humans are slowly killing the Earth.  The United States uses around 500 million straws daily, which equals 14 billion every month, or 168 billion every year. That’s around 4.4 billion pounds of straws that could end up in the oceans, and that’s just from the United States.  Non-biodegradable plastics that are casually … [Read more...]

The Department of Justice reports that an American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds and that an overwhelming majority of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Additionally, one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. A report out of the National Victim Center and Medical University of South Carolina states that one out of three women who are raped contemplate suicide, and 13 percent of women who are raped attempt … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Elijah Neal “Welcome back / Your dreams were your ticket out / Welcome back / to that same old place that you laughed about,” John Sebastian writes in his number one 1987 Blues Rock Hit, “Welcome Back.”  It is a great road trip song for the eight-hour journey back to Georgia. It creates a nostalgic longing for my family, my friends and the well-kept roads of The South. I just want to be welcomed back to the place I know best.  When I was a freshman, I wanted to go home a … [Read more...]