Your Vote and Money Don’t Matter

Your vote doesn’t really matter. If that thought has ever passed through your mind then you’ve experienced voter apathy, and I don’t blame you. It can be hard to feel like your one vote matters, especially when your candidate loses. You may have been told that in all reality your vote actually does not matter in comparison to your money, but is that really the … Continue reading Your Vote and Money Don’t Matter

Quit Major-Shaming Me

You want to major in that?” “But what can you actually do with that?” “You know you’re gonna be poor, right?” If you’ve heard any of the following phrases from family, friends, extended relatives, or little old church ladies, you are victim of major-shaming. No, not major shaming (though it can feel that way after three hours of smiling and gritting your teeth through a … Continue reading Quit Major-Shaming Me

Reading-in-Common and the Value of Book Clubs

Every year at Gustavus, as most of the people reading this probably already know, a “Reading-in-Common” book is selected and assigned as summer reading to every incoming first-year student. There are a number of things I love about this tradition. I love the way it gives everyone a very obvious conversation-starter, at least if you’re a huge nerd like me. I love the way it … Continue reading Reading-in-Common and the Value of Book Clubs

How God Works and His Plan for You

Have you ever heard the saying “God has a plan for you?” Lately, I have been hearing it in conversations about people going through struggles. When something bad happens we sometimes find comfort in saying whatever happened is part of God’s plan, as sort of a cop-out. Believing God was somehow in charge of causing bad things to happen apparently makes things okay, makes the … Continue reading How God Works and His Plan for You

The Fight That Didn’t Save Boxing

Many fans were upset with the way the big fight went. Most people expected a slugfest that would bring out the barbarian in us all. What most viewers don’t understand is, that is simply not how Floyd “Money” Mayweather fights. If you were expecting to see a Mike Tyson type of “I’m going to punch you into next week” then you were deeply disappointed. But … Continue reading The Fight That Didn’t Save Boxing

The Importance of Proper Grammar

One of the jokes I am constantly faced with as an English major is the most annoying phrase “grammar Nazi.” This annoys me first and foremost because people who use this phrase are accidently comparing people in the world who strive for clarity in written communication and who, at times, may hold too tightly to proper grammatical structure with the kinds of people who commit … Continue reading The Importance of Proper Grammar