Arielle Newton: http://ariellenewton.tumblr.com/
Consistently inconsistent, the individual posts of freshman Arielle Newton’s blog fit loosely together to create an organized mess of the sarcastic yet charmingly heartfelt inner workings of her brain.“It’s mainly for myself. If I like a picture or quote or need to just write something to get it out of my system I’ll just post it. It’s like my diary, but on the internet and public,” Newton said.
Titled Orchideous in homage to the flower spell in Harry Potter, Arielle’s blog is regularly updated with everything from Bob Marley music reviews and letters to her future spouse to pictures of kittens, crafts and Harry Potter puns.
“Blogging started as a way to communicate with people that I was considering being in a bank heist with, but it morphed into an arena where I could share my passion for haikus and pictures of cats,” Newton said. “It’s just a bunch of stuff that makes me laugh or that I think is really cool, and I love being able to see other people’s hearts in their blogs.”
Sarah Heirendt: http://sarahmayheirendt.blogspot.com/
With a passion for writing and journaling since the age of 12, sophomore Sarah Heriendt created an account on Blogspot. com as a venue to display all of her original songs, poems and other writings.
“I love stories, bedtime stories, fake stories, real stories . . . anything! [Jerry Camery-] Hoggatt was one of my favorite teachers just for the stories he told!” Heirendt said.
Along with a zeal for writing, Heirendt’s love of life and adventure has brought her to Greece where she is currently studying abroad, which, in turn, has inspired her to write and update her blog even more. Rather than a jumble of journaling, photographs, music and favorite quotes, Heirendt’s blog is almost completely dedicated to her literary creations and documented thoughts.
“I wanted to keep it consistent when I studied abroad in Cyprus to let friends and family know what I am experiencing and hear what I see and feel because it’s all so amazing,” Heirendt said. “My inspiration [for writing] comes from the people I meet mostly; these relationships that connect us and teach us, make us into someone fuller and beautiful so that one day we can contribute back to humanity–that is really where it all comes from.”
Christian Kaysen: http://kaysenphoto.com/blog/
Before starting Kaysen Photography, senior Christian Kaysen created his first blog as a way to do something with his artwork.
“It felt to me at the time like I was able to showcase what I was doing, or shooting weekly/daily, to the world. It soon became somewhat of an addiction and then, once my business took off, it became a way for me to advertise,” Kaysen said.
Not only an outlet for his photography, Kaysen’s blog is filled with sporadic “life updates” and iTunes playlists featuring a variety of artists, including John Mayer, Noah and The Whale and mewithoutYou. While the albums Kaysen posts are generally what he has been listening to that week, his purpose for posting them does not end there.
“I haven’t widely defined what my purpose is for those posts, it’s in the works. However, I would encourage people to take the albums I post, listen to the album all the way through, rather than just a few favorite songs, and reflect on it from a cultural perspective. I highly doubt that will happen the way I envision it, but it’s a hope,” Kaysen said.
More than a simple pastime, Kaysen thinks of his blog as a tool that, through visual images and interaction, helps to keep him connected with friends and followers.
“If you think about it, what you see on my blog is what I have seen at a point in time. It allows people to see where I have been and what I’ve experienced visually,” Kaysen said. “I could go out and shoot with a newly engaged couple, create an afternoon filled with excitement, and an atmosphere allowing them to enjoy simply being with one another in a blissful location; one jokes, the other reacts, both laugh and click . . . the moment is captured forever. That is the purpose of my blog. To document life.”
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