What’s in a Name
But, during the Advent season, I remember why I like my name.
Libby Stille (’13) lives in St. Paul and works in the marketing department of a children’s publishing company in downtown Minneapolis. She recommends that everyone visit the Twin Cities, but only between June and October, unless you enjoy subzero windchills and slipping on ice.
Shoes
The day she truly implanted herself in my mind as the worst choir teacher ever was the day I watched the home video of one of our concerts. I was in seventh grade.
Crazy
The 825 bus was supposed to be safe, full of silent commuters taking it to their jobs in fancy skyscrapers downtown. It wasn’t the 10, where you could expect crazy and a half all day long.
Apes, Beasts, and Beluga Whales
We all knew what we were. Sarah and I preferred to be beluga whales. It sounded more elegant than the other options. My brother was an ape, clearly.
I Wanted To Be a Doctor
One day, about two-thirds of the way through the school year, I woke up and realized that I had absolutely no idea what was going on in chemistry class.
Recommendations from Narnia
I’ve adopted an excellent form of escapism. I’ve been reading a lot, and I’m going to tell you about a few of my recent favorites.
Namaste…Maybe
A few poses after my micro-revelation, the yoga instructor said something similar. “We need to be comfortable in the uncomfortable, in yoga and in life.”
Playing the Piano
I have dabbled in piano, even learning two songs by memory just to have a few to play in case I’m zapped back to the nineteenth century and have to play piano in the equivalent of a Jane Austen novel.
Favorite and Least Favorite
I’ll play favorite vs. least favorite, a completely subjective game and thus the dolt cousin of favorite vs. best. Today’s topic: Christmas carols.
A Brief History of Boy Bands
What marks a boy band most, though, is the lack of future success. Yeah, Justin Timberlake and Mark Wahlberg have made names for themselves, but they are the exceptions that prove the rule.
The Bachelor Farmer
After leaving college, I lost my faith in food. Now, food is what I ingest alone, usually, when I’m hungry, bored, or tired from working fifty hours a week.
A Lost Art?
So that’s why I want to write more letters. In fact, I think everyone should, at the very least so that Norton Anthologies will continue to publish authors’ handwritten correspondence well into the future.
An Open Letter to Grade School Educators
So teachers, don’t expect that your kids will tell you in fifteen years how you teaching them to carry the one deeply affected their lives.
Love It or Hate It
First of all, opinions of cities should not be based on luck or the weather, I admit. I should really give some of them a second chance. Second, I see the shades of gray in places I’ve stayed for a few weeks or more. In these cities, I know not only the good and the bad, but also the mediocre.
