Olympics

So I have this obsession with the Olympics. The feeling of excellence, the inspiring performances, the bite-your-nails close finishes. Just seeing so many young people, the best of the best in all of the world, gathered together, gets me teary-eyed. And maybe it's silly, but I love that Utah got the olympics ten years ago and that everywhere you go there are reminders of it. Even though I wasn't even around at the time I've felt so much... state pride? as the commemoration events were going on. Maybe it's just Mormon pride. MoPride. Ha ha. But really, it wasn't just the Salt Lake City olympics; it felt more like the Mormon Olympics. MoLympics. OK, I'll stop with the portmanteaus. Anyway... I've really, really wanted a little piece of it, so:

There it is. Thump your chest or something. And now, you must listen to this, because it'll get you all ready to run a marathon or jump over something very tall. Or not, maybe that's just me again. But you gotta love the MoTab.

Women in my family

Here's our statistic of the day: women still earn less than men for equal work at every education level in the U.S. And a recent report from the census bureau shows that while receiving advanced degrees pays off for women, it's still not as financially beneficial as it is for men. Men's overall median monthly earnings are $3,750, while women come in at $2,917. 

So next time you think (or hear): "oh, those feminists need to get over it now, women's rights are so nineteenth century"... that's flat-out not true. This number is important because so many people honest-to-goodness think the income gap is a thing of the past. It's not.

And now: the first woman - or rather women - I'd like to introduce you to are my aunts. You've already heard about them plenty, so I won't elaborate, but they've taught me a lot about being faithful. Faithful to God, faithful to your responsibilities, faithful to friends, faithful to famiglia.

They were a source of inspiration to me growing up, and I know they've been a role model for many other people; they've touched so many lives as music teachers, as participants in their community and family, as teachers and leaders in the church.

So please, check out the interview I did with them over this summer. It's a good read, and you'll see a little bit of what I mean. They're pretty cool :)

How about you? What have women in your family given or taught you? Do share, I'd love to hear your stories!

Read the interview here

International Women's Day

Coming up soon: March 8th is the day, and I'd like to celebrate by telling stories about women who inspire me or taught me something special. Check back later today for the first story :)

And contribute! Who is your female role model?

A note: sometimes, International Women's Day can turn into saying nice things about the women in your life. That's sweet, and it's important as well, but it's important to remember that the original goal of this day was to fight for women's rights. Women still suffer from inequality and abuse. I'll be sharing facts and figures along with the uplifting stories, because that's the point: see the positive and generate hope, but also work towards progress.

Oh hey

So... I won a national journalism award. Check it out.

Crazy!

Also, that's probably why I've been MIA this whole semester. Internship's going well, radio's going well, and I have zero free time, ever. I'm exhausted and honestly a little bit burnt out right now. But I really want to go to San Francisco to compete in the final round of this journalism competition, so I'm going to rest a little and then kick myself into action. 

Opinions

I fear my big mouth will get me in serious trouble some day. Sometimes I wonder if I'm really cut out to be a journalist, because it's so hard to report both sides when one of them is obviously dumb as rocks...

You know?

But it has to be done anyway.