#blue ridge community college

[cinader]

Today on WPVM Radio

Featuring an archival interview with Nora Okja Keller about her book Comfort Woman, interviews by Tony Robles, and poetry from at the Manilatown Heritage Foundation in San Francisco, talk about the craft and business of writing a short story, and a spoken

Archive Interview with Nora Okja Keller and Manilatown Poets 3-5 PST: WPVMfm.org or 103.7 fm in Asheville, NC Please join host, Martha Cinader, for the Listen & Be Heard Radio Show on WPVM. We will feature an archival interview from 1997 with Nora Okja Keller about her book Comfort Woman, and Keller reads from the book. Also, interviews by Tony Robles, and poetry from at the Manilatown Heritage…

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Trudy Ring at The Advocate:

Sweet Briar College in Virginia has barred transgender people from enrolling, based on administrators’ understanding of the founder’s will — from 1900. The private liberal arts college was founded by Indiana Fletcher Williams in honor of her deceased daughter, Daisy. Williams’s will stipulated that Sweet Briar would “be a place of ‘girls and young women,’” college officials told the Associated Press. Sweet Briar, located on the former Williams plantation in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, “has never had an admissions policy specifically for transgender students but has evaluated and admitted trans applicants on a case-by-case basis,” Inside Higher Ed reports. “The new policy holds that an applicant must confirm ‘that her sex assigned at birth is female and that she consistently lives and identifies as a woman.’” Sweet Briar President Mary Pope Hutson and the college’s board chair spelled out the new policy in a letter to the campus community in August. The phrase “girls and young women,” they wrote, “must be interpreted as it was understood at the time the Will was written.” “The board cannot change the words or the interpretation of the will,” Hutson told Inside Higher Ed. “I think that’s important.” The will is from 1900, and the college was established in 1901. It began admitting students in 1906. The Virginia legislature codified the will, and therefore the college must follow it. “And based on existing state case law, Sweet Briar leaders are required to consider how Williams viewed women and to honor that intent — even if current social norms do not reflect the founder’s perspective,” according to Inside Higher Ed.

The college has deviated from the will in one major way, however. The will mandated that Sweet Briar would admit whites only. In 1964, Sweet Briar sought the state’s permission to integrate, and that led to a long legal battle. The college admitted its first Black students in 1966 under a temporary court order, and a court struck down the whites-only policy for good in 1967.

What a disgraceful move by Sweet Briar College to ban trans women from campus.

[angelsdean]

Hot take: between Sam and Dean, Sam is the one more at risk of being Republican.

(Maybe he had been at Stanford but, please, the whole Secession War episode. How people are forgetting their two very different reactions at Confederacy?)

hot take: this isn't a hot take dsjfkdsfk. idk if i'd go as far as say republican. but sam def leans toward some brand of conservative liberal. people use stanford to back up the fact that he's a little liberal college boy but imo stanford is what gave him some of these whacky conservative ideas. he drank a bit of the ivy league rich kid kool-aid to fit in at stanford imo. s1 sam and his judgement and opinions toward dean abt how he makes money is not a cute look. esp since he grew up dirt poor alongside dean !! he teases dean abt wanting to use a free bbq to scope out leads for their case in 1x08 and like yea, sibling teasing, but there's def judgement in his tone re: the free food part. like dude !! you were food insecure throughout your whole childhood !! but dean of course bore the brunt of that trauma, made sure sam didn't realize how bad it was. so, to be fair to sam, i think some of these conservative judgements and beliefs stem from sam just being a bit oblivious, ignorant, and unaware.

HOWEVER, yea he's had some questionable things to say on other topics, like you said his attitude re: the civil war and reducing it to a fight between brothers or some shit and trying to be respectful toward the confederate soldier ???? meanwhile dean was like very vocally FUCK THAT. we won. etc etc. also sam in folsom prison blues when dean was like "innocent people are in danger" re: the ghost and sam was like "we're in a prison i wouldn't call these people innocent" like..........this guy was gonna be a lawyer! (yea tax law, but still, you know what i mean). not everyone in prison is guilty !! and even still, they're not ghost bait.

anyways yea, dean (esp in the early seasons) represents the acab fuck authority working class Othered communities living on the fringes of society while sam is coming out of being very much Part of Society and cosplaying as Upper Class and operating with a very ridged view of morality, right and wrong, little room for shades of grey, which is what most of reality consists of (this is the guy who suddenly wanted to become catholic after zero religious upbringing ! like my dude. what) and he's slowly trying to untangle himself from those beliefs that he absorbed during his pretending-to-be-a-normal-guy years. but yea if i had to choose a brother to end up republican it would Not be dean !!!!!!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

KEN BURNS' COMMENCEMENT SPEECH AT BRANDEIS

TCINLA

MAY 29, 2024

Something worthwhile to read and consider at this fraught time.

I am deeply honored and privileged that you have asked me here to say a few words at such a momentous occasion that you might find what I have to say worthy of your attention on so important a day in all of your lives. Thank you for this honor.

Listen, I am in the business of history. It is not always a happy subject on college campuses these days, particularly when forces seem determined to eliminate or water down difficult parts of our past, particularly when the subject may seem to sum an anachronistic and irrelevant pursuit, and particularly with the ferocious urgency this moment seems to exert on us. It is my job, however, to remind people of the power our past also exerts, to help us better understand what's going on now with compelling story, memory, and anecdote. It is my job to try to discern patterns and themes from history to enable us to interpret our dizzying and sometimes dismaying present.

For nearly 50 years now, I have diligently practiced and rigorously tried to maintain a conscious neutrality in my work, avoiding advocacy if I could, trying to speak to all of my fellow citizens. Over those many decades I've come to understand a significant fact, that we are not condemned to repeat, as the saying goes, what we don't remember. That is a beautiful, even poetic phrase, but not true. Nor are there cycles of history as the academic community periodically promotes. The Old Testament, Ecclesiastes to be specific, got it right, I think. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. What those lines suggest is that human nature never changes or almost never changes. We continually superimpose that complex and contradictory human nature over the seemingly random chaos of events, all of our inherent strengths and weaknesses, our greed and generosity, our puritanism and our prurience, our virtue, and our venality parade before our eyes, generation after generation after generation. This often gives us the impression that history repeats itself. It does not. "No event has ever happened twice, it just rhymes," Mark Twain is supposed to have said. I have spent all of my professional life on the lookout for those rhymes, drawn inexorably to that power of history. I am interested in listening to the many varied voices of a true, honest, complicated past that is unafraid of controversy and tragedy, but equally drawn to those stories and moments that suggest an abiding faith in the human spirit, and particularly the unique role this remarkable and sometimes also dysfunctional republic seems to play in the positive progress of mankind.

During the course of my work, I have become acquainted with hundreds if not thousands of those voices. They have inspired, haunted, and followed me over the years. Some of them may be helpful to you as you try to imagine and make sense of the trajectory of your lives today.

Listen, listen. In January of 1838, shortly before his 29th birthday, a tall, thin lawyer prone to bouts of debilitating depression addressed the young men's lyceum in Springfield, Illinois. "At what point shall we expect the approach of danger?" He asked his audience, "Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant to step the earth and crush us at a blow?" Then he answered his own question. "Never. All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time or die by suicide." It is a stunning, remarkable statement, one that has animated my own understanding of the American experience since I first read it more than 40 years ago. That young man was of course Abraham Lincoln, and he would go on to preside over the closest this country has ever come to near national suicide, our civil war, and yet embedded in his extraordinary, disturbing, and prescient words is also a fundamental optimism that implicitly acknowledges the geographical forcefield two mighty oceans east and west and two relatively benign neighbors north and south have provided for us since the British burned the White House in the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key.

Lincoln's words that day suggest what is so great and so good about the people who happen to inhabit this lucky and exquisite country of ours. That's the world you now inherit: our work ethic and our restlessness, our innovation and our improvisation, our communities and our institutions of higher learning, our suspicion of power. The fact that we seem resolutely dedicated to parsing the meaning between individual and collective freedom; What I want versus what we need. That we are all so dedicated to understanding what Thomas Jefferson really meant when he wrote that mysterious phrase, "The pursuit of happiness". Hint, it happens right here in the lifelong learning and perpetual improvement this university is committed to.

But the isolation of those two oceans has also helped to incubate habits and patterns less beneficial to us: our devotion to money and guns and conspiracies, our certainty about everything, our stubborn insistence on our own exceptionalism blinding us to that which needs repair, especially with regard to race and ethnicity. Our preoccupation with always making the other wrong at an individual as well as a global level. I am reminded of what the journalist I.F. Stone once said to a young acolyte who was profoundly disappointed in his mentor's admiration for Thomas Jefferson. "It's because history is tragedy," Stone admonished him, "Not melodrama." It's the perfect response. In melodrama all villains are perfectly villainous and all heroes are perfectly virtuous, but life is not like that. You know that in your guts and nor is our history like that. The novelist, Richard Powers recently wrote that, "The best arguments in the world," — and ladies and gentlemen, that's all we do is argue — "the best arguments in the world," he said, "Won't change a single person's point of view. The only thing that can do that is a good story." I've been struggling for most of my life to do that, to try to tell good, complex, sometimes contradictory stories, appreciating nuance and subtlety and undertow, sharing the confusion and consternation of unreconciled opposites.

But it's clear as individuals and as a nation we are dialectically preoccupied. Everything is either right or wrong, red state or blue state, young or old, gay or straight, rich or poor, Palestinian or Israeli, my way or the highway. Everywhere we are trapped by these old, tired, binary reactions, assumptions, and certainties. For filmmakers and faculty, students and citizens, that preoccupation is imprisoning. Still, we know and we hear and we express only arguments, and by so doing, we forget the inconvenient complexities of history and of human nature. That, for example, three great religions, their believers, all children of Abraham, each professing at the heart of their teaching, a respect for all human life, each with a central connection to and legitimate claim to the same holy ground, violate their own dictates of conduct and make this perpetually contested land a shameful graveyard. God does not distinguish between the dead. "Could you?"

[Audience applauding]

"Could you?" A very wise person I know with years of experience with the Middle East recently challenged me, "Could you hold the idea that there could be two wrongs and two rights?"

Listen, listen. In a filmed interview I conducted with the writer James Baldwin, more than 40 years ago, he said, "No one was ever born who agreed to be a slave, who accepted it. That is, slavery is a condition imposed from without. Of course, the moment I say that," Baldwin continued, "I realize that multitudes and multitudes of people for various reasons of their own enslave themselves every hour of every day to this or that doctrine, this or that delusion of safety, this or that lie. Anti-Semites, for example," he went on, "are slaves to a delusion. People who hate Negroes are slaves. People who love money are slaves. We are living in a universe really of willing slaves, which makes the concept of liberty and the concept of freedom so dangerous," he finished. Baldwin is making a profoundly psychological and even spiritual statement, not just a political or racial or social one. He knew, just as Lincoln knew, that the enemy is often us. We continue to shackle ourselves with chains we mistakenly think is freedom.

Another voice, Mercy Otis Warren, a philosopher and historian during our revolution put it this way, "The study of the human character at once opens a beautiful and a deformed picture of the soul. We there find a noble principle implanted in the nature of people, but when the checks of conscience are thrown aside, humanity is obscured." I have had the privilege for nearly half a century of making films about the US, but I have also made films about us. That is to say the two letter, lowercase, plural pronoun. All of the intimacy of "us" and also "we" and "our" and all of the majesty, complexity, contradiction, and even controversy of the US. And if I have learned anything over those years, it's that there's only us. There is no them. And whenever someone suggests to you, whomever it may be in your life that there's a them, run away. Othering is the simplistic binary way to make and identify enemies, but it is also the surest way to your own self imprisonment, which brings me to a moment I've dreaded and forces me to suspend my longstanding attempt at neutrality.

There is no real choice this November. There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route. When, as Mercy Otis Warren would say, "The checks of conscience are thrown aside and a deformed picture of the soul is revealed." The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems. When in fact with him, you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction, "a bigger delusion", James Baldwin would say, the author and finisher of our national existence, our national suicide as Mr. Lincoln prophesies. Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer.

[Audience applauding]

Listen, listen. 33 years ago, the world lost a towering literary figure. The novelist and storyteller, not arguer, Isaac Bashevis Singer. For decades he wrote about God and myth and punishment, fate and sexuality, family and history. He wrote in Yiddish a marvelously expressive language, sad and happy all at the same time. Sometimes maddeningly all knowing, yet resigned to God's seemingly capricious will. It is also a language without a country, a dying language in a world more interested in the extermination or isolation of its long suffering speakers. Singer, writing in the pages of the Jewish Daily Forward help to keep Yiddish alive. Now our own wonderfully mongrel American language is punctuated with dozens of Yiddish words and phrases, parables and wise sayings, and so many of those words are perfect onomatopoeias of disgust and despair, hubris and humor. If you've ever met a schmuck, you know what I'm talking about. [audience laughs] Toward the end of his long and prolific life, Singer expressed wonder at why so many of his books written in this obscure and some said useless language would be so widely translated, something like 56 countries all around the world. "Why," he would wonder with his characteristic playfulness, "Why would the Japanese care about his simple stories of life in the shtetls of Eastern Europe 1,000 years ago?" "Unless," Singer paused, twinkle in his eye, "Unless the story spoke of the kinship of the soul." I think what Singer was talking about was that indefinable something that connects all of us together, that which we all share as part of organic life on this planet, the kinship of the soul. I love that.

Okay, let me speak directly to the graduating class. Watch out, here comes the advice. Listen. Be curious, not cool. Insecurity makes liars of us all. Remember, none of us get out of here alive. The inevitable vicissitudes of life, no matter how well gated our communities, will visit us all. Grief is a part of life, and if you explore its painful precincts, it will make you stronger. Do good things, help others. Leadership is humility and generosity squared. Remember the opposite of faith is not doubt. Doubt is central to faith. The opposite of faith is certainty. The kinship of the soul begins with your own at times withering self-examination. Try to change that unchangeable human nature of Ecclesiastes, but start with you. "Nothing so needs reforming," Mark Twain once chided us, "As other people's habits." [audience laughs]

Don't confuse success with excellence. Do not descend too deeply into specialism. Educate all of your parts, you will be healthier. Do not get stuck in one place. "Travel is fatal to prejudice," Twain also said. Be in nature, which is always perfect and where nothing is binary. Its sheer majesty may remind you of your own atomic insignificance, as one observer put it, but in the inscrutable and paradoxical ways of wild places, you will feel larger, inspirited, just as the egotist in our midst is diminished by his or her self regard.

At some point, make babies, one of the greatest things that will happen to you, I mean it, one of the greatest things that will happen to you is that you will have to worry, I mean really worry, about someone other than yourself. It is liberating and exhilarating, I promise. Ask your parents.

[Audience laughs]

Choose honor over hypocrisy, virtue over vulgarity, discipline over dissipation, character over cleverness, sacrifice over self-indulgence. Do not lose your enthusiasm, in its Greek etymology the word enthusiasm means simply, "god in us". Serve your country. Insist that we fight the right wars. Denounce oppression everywhere.

[Audience applauding]

Convince your government, as Lincoln understood that the real threat always and still comes from within this favored land. Insist that we support science and the arts, especially the arts.

[Audience cheering]

They have nothing to do with the actual defense of our country; They just make our country worth defending.

[Audience applauding]

Remember what Louis Brandeis said, "The most important political office is that of the private citizen." Vote. You indelibly... [audience applauding] Please, vote. You indelibly underscore your citizenship, and most important, our kinship with each other when you do. Good luck and godspeed.

[Audience applauding]

[bluenews]

3RD - 9TH JUNE 2024.

THE HEADLINES

SPLIT HAPPENS — BLUE LANES TEMPORARY CLOSURE

Summer party season kicked off with a bang with the birthday part of Thunder Road owner, CJ Welford. Unfortunately, reports from staff and partygoers alike have suggested alleged property damage, including multiple dents in the lanes and ceilings, and an estimated five pairs of bowling shoes missing from the venue. It is unknown what penalties Welford will be facing, and if his reputation is in the gutter, or if he will be spared by his charm. Owner of Blue Lanes has stated that that the bowling alley, popular with families and college students alike, will be remained close until 'mid-June' as they fix and replace all broken and missing.

A SATIS-FACTORY DEAL — POTENTIAL BUYERS AT OLD WEAVER RIDGE WAREHOUSE

Weaver Ridge is a time capsule for industry past, the home of many warehouses abandoned over time. Despite the growing crime rate reported in the neighborhood, it is reported that investors are keen to bring the town's former industrial hub back to its former glory, and are looking into striking a deal with the town council in the purchase of one of the larger vacant factories.

WEEKLY FORECAST

Despite the rising temperatures to bring us into the hot summer nights, this week will be cloudy with that bright sun just poking through, with light rain expected early Tuesday.

Monday — 87°F / 67°F — sunny with clouds

Tuesday — 83°F / 68°F — light showers early AM

Wednesday — 83°F / 64°F — sunny with clouds

Thursday — 82°F / 60°F — sunny with clouds

Friday — 79°F / 59°F — sunny with clouds

Saturday — 82°F / 63°F — sunny with clouds

Sunday — 81°F / 61°F — sunny with clouds

TOWN HAPPENINGS

Happy PRIDE Month Blue Harbor! Kickstarting the festivities, the following establishments have these following deals and activities on offer:

20% off medium coffees at Caffélicious

10% off for loyalty members at Carnal Knowledge (18+ only!)

LGBTQ+ Awarness — month long seminars and workshops held at Bright Sparks in association with Blue Harbor University

Taste the Rainbow at Chilled Creamery! 100% of the funds for the limited edition flavor will be going towards fundraising for Bright Sparks.

COMMUNITY BOARD

The following open starters could use a litle love!

Imogen Ashbury @ CJ's Baller Birthday!

Kate Nava @ her private boat dock!

[acquired-stardust]

Game Spotlight #1: R4 Ridge Racer Type 4 (Playstation, 1998)

Acquired Stardust’s first game spotlight is here! Follow Ash through experiencing 1998′s R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 for the very first time this year. Definitely worth your time to seek out and play, whether it be on original hardware, emulation or the recent port to the Playstation 5 via PS Plus’ classics catalogue.

Often hailed as ‘the greatest year in gaming’, 1998 was a pretty special time in pop culture as a whole. Massively influential programming block Toonami, responsible for introducing and popularizing anime to a mainstream audience outside of the college campuses where it originally gained traction, added both Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z to its lineup. Pro wrestling was in the midst of a legendary boom period as the Monday Night Wars raged and the famous ‘83 weeks’ came to an end. Seinfeld‘s finale drew an incredible 76 million viewers, famously seeing people gather in a large crowd to watch the hour-plus-long episode on a big screen in Manhattan’s Times Square. 

Indeed, 1998 also featured an incredible slate of games across the world, whether they be new debuts (such as Sega’s Burning Rangers or Acquire’s Tenchu: Stealth Assassins both dropping on the same day in February) or games released in previous years receiving a translation before coming to other countries officially for the first time (such as in the case of Pokemon Red and Blue). This is before getting into other medium paradigm shifts like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid. The arcade scene was still thriving as well, with the previous year’s Tekken 3 still leading the scene in money earned and seeing the release of such classics as Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Dance Dance Revolution. All of these games could easily receive spotlights of their own (and just you wait, I can guarantee you several will), but today we’re talking about Namco’s R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 that dropped on December 3rd, 1998 in Japan.

There’s something so romantic and enrapturing to me about the idea of self-expression and how that can transcend language and culture barriers to create a sort of universal language and culture of its own. Gaming is one of those things that allows people the world over to connect with, such as with fighting games for example often drawing large international crowds for in-person tournaments that see people who otherwise often do not share languages or cultures expressing themselves through character picks and playstyles, in many cases forging lifelong connections and rivalries with people for whom they’ve found a new way to communicate and express themselves through. It’s in this same sort of spirit that I find myself very attracted to racing games, a fusion of man and machine itself filtered through a machine. Faceless competitors vying for first place with tires screeching and motors whirring, each with particular strategies and styles and levels of ability. The idea of racing games is very attractive to me, but ones that manage to hold my interest for very long are very few and far between. Ridge Racer Type 4 has managed to capture and hold that interest for way longer than I’d anticipated upon trying it for the first time through absolutely oozing style and atmosphere in a way media as a whole can often only dream of doing.

Starting off with what has my vote for easily one of the top ten prerendered cutscenes of all time, the opening of this game alone is an absolute bomb of aesthetics the likes of which I’ve rarely seen before. Composer Kouta Takahashi teams with vocalist Kimara Lovelace (herself having several top 10 hits over the years) to deliver the incredible Urban Fragments theme song that plays over a slick, well directed scene in what ends up being a recurring strength of the game: an incredible soundtrack meeting incredible low-poly visuals creating a top notch experience, and that’s to say nothing of the gameplay which is a wonderful mixture of arcade-style action and simulation, which is to say the game can feel a bit like bumper cars when crashing but otherwise nails a very satisfying blend of physics, acceleration and traction that makes it feel just enough like you’re actually behind the wheel of the cars. Visual design of the tracks are varied between speedways Japanese style mountainside races with the levels themselves providing plenty of challenge and opportunity that mixes well with car handling and a surprisingly intuitive drift mechanic, providing a wonderful feeling of actually getting better and more consistent as you put more time into the game. Brake light trails dance behind cars beautifully as planes fly overhead and helicopters film the action while satisfying control meets an outstanding soundtrack inspired by various popular genres of the time (such as house music, drum n bass and acid jazz) to create what is an experience far more engrossing than I ever expected it to be. 

Speaking of ‘engrossing’, did I mention there’s a story mode in this game? That’s right, there’s actually a story mode in this game bundled into the Grand Prix. Presented in the style of a linear visual novel with dialogue that slightly changes depending on race placements, Grand Prix allows the player to pick one of four teams, all of which are named in reference to earlier Namco releases. Grand Prix sees the player a new recruit to either the French, Italian, American or Japanese teams and interacting with their team captain as they progress through a series of eight races of steadily progressing difficulty divided into three tiers that must be finished in progressively better minimum position as you advance through the three tiers of races. These stories are all interconnected to a surprising degree with each character the player interacts with having some sort of connection to the character featured on another team, and the story punches above its weight in terms of emotional content as well, several times managing to be oddly sad and touching, certainly the last thing one would expect going into a racing game.

In a year commonly hailed as ‘the greatest year in gaming’ full of genre and medium defining classics, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4  absolutely belongs in the conversation of the best games of that year. I’d argue it could easily be deserving of a spot on a list of best games on the Playstation as a whole, and wouldn’t bat an eye at someone saying it has a spot on their list of all time favorites. Heck, it might’ve even landed a spot on my own list of all time favorites. It’s one of the strongest combinations of attributes you can find anywhere in the medium, packed into a racing game of all things, which typically do not attract the sorts of acclaim particularly in retrospect as things like Final Fantasy VII or Metal Gear Solid, but I promise that if you give this game a try you’ll come away wowed and wonder how you ever missed it regardless of whether or not you have any prior interest in racing games or the genres of music featured in the game. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 presents an incredible world through the marriage of its sound, visuals and gameplay that is absolutely attention stealing and will stick in your mind long after you put your controller down. Definitely be prepared to add a few of these songs to your usual rotation.

A gem hidden among the stones, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is undoubtedly stardust.

--Ash

[brightbeautifulthings]

Begin Again by Emma Lord

"'My life may have just flashed before my eyes,' I say after we're in the clear. 'Was it pretty?' asks Shay. 'Honestly, there was a lot of scrolling through Instagram.'"

Year Read: 2022

Rating: 4/5

About: Andie Rose is always the girl with a plan to fix things, and right now her goal is to repair her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, Connor. His semester at Blue Ridge State while Andie stayed at their hometown community college strained their relationship almost to the point of breaking, but Andie has a surprise: she's transferring to Blue Ridge second semester after pulling up her grades. The one problem? Connor transferred to her community college to be closer to her. With all her plans wrecked, Andie is determined to make the best of it and get her boyfriend back to Blue Ridge, but in the meantime, she discovers her own place there. I received a free ARC from Wednesday Books. Trigger warnings: parent death, cheating, mild underage alcohol use, mouth-watering descriptions of bagels and cream cheese flavors with no recipes included.

Thoughts: After my lukewarm feelings about You Have a Match, I wasn't sure I wanted to give Lord's writing another try, but this showed up in my mail. I couldn't very well abandon it, and I'm glad I gave her books a second go. Begin Again is much more my speed. It could probably be classified as New Adult, given all the characters are college-aged, and it's an excellent book for that sort of atmosphere. We're right there with Andie as she adjusts to her first semester, from dorm living and work study to the intellectual demand of her classes and finding her place in the campus activities. It's a little Extra like most fiction (I was never that involved with campus, and certainly not in my first semester), but overall it paints a fun picture of American colleges.

I stand by what I said in my previous review that Lord's writing is a bit dense, especially for the genre, but in this case I really enjoyed being immersed in Andie's perspective and all the different aspects of her life. I was expecting her long-distance issues with her boyfriend to play more of a role (contemporary romance, after all), but what the story is really about is Andie finding her place on campus and figuring out who she is, which is one of the things college is ultimately about. Her friendships with her roommate, Shay (a lesbian Bookstagrammer with an undeclared major), her RA Milo (a caffeine-addicted sophomore who doesn't believe in love), and her tutor Valeria (a bisexual math major who writes romance in her spare time) all play a large role in the novel, and I came to love them and their interactions. Connor is a bland love interest at best, but it's cool since he's hardly ever on the page.

In addition to Andie's friends, her family relationships also get a lot of attention. She was raised by her adorable grandmas, and her relationship with her dad has been strained since her mom died. I laughed and cried in the same chapter when Andie finally got a heart to heart with him, and I found that whole arc really moving. There's also a strong thread in Andie's relationship with her mom, who may be gone but is everywhere in the book and on the Blue Ridge campus, her own alma mater, as Andie figures out how to live up to her mother's legacy and create one of her own. There's a lot of excellent character development for her overall, and I very much enjoyed being along for the ride.

[lonestvrr]

hi everyone ! i'm veronica ( she / they , 23 , pst ) & a revolution veteran , if you will. i wanna start off with a little fun fact or disclaimer ? , that like oliver & his fc cody , i'm also native american ( but mixed , too ! ) , so i'm taking my own experiences with that & all of the complexities that come with being half white / white passing to this group & with oliver . also , another fun fact about me is that i play six different instruments ! maybe not super well , but i still do & i would love to learn more . ♡

。・ * ☆  ꒰ cody christian.   twenty five.   cis man.   he / him. ꒱        hold your f*** horses !   oliver newell   has just been spotted walking into revolution headquarters. they are best known for being the   singer, mandolin, fiddle & guitar   in   blue ridge rebels   and have been signed with the label for   three years.   they share a lot of interesting things about life in the music industry on their social media, so make sure you don’t forget to follow them at @  olivernewell.  fans know them for being   outspoken  but i swear they’ve got a   loyal   side as well. maybe that explains why they’re always associated with   the rumble of an old truck’s even older engine starting up, the thrill of a friday night football game and being a shoulder to cry on .   stan twitter even voted them most likely to   go to a fan’s prom as their date.   we’ll see how they live up to that reputation.

you know the boys taylor sings about on her debut album and fearless? that's oliver . not literally , but he's the boy girls think of when they hear those songs . for better or for worse .

☆ oliver james newell , known country boy & man of many talents , was born in maine around 25 years ago . he's a proud member of indigenous tribes of the area , though many people don't know that about him at first glance . although he never shies away from this part of him or talking about it .

☆ when he was thirteen , his family moved to tennessee . at fourteen , to georgia . they moved again when he was sixteen , but this time to austin , texas . it was in austin, at some point, in time where oliver first started to take music more seriously.

☆ growing up , he'd played folk music with his family in maine . he'd learned how to sing and play guitar at an early age , probably around 9 . in georgia , he'd had a small group with some school friends -- but they weren't very good . in tennessee , however , is where he'd first picked up the fiddle in another small band .

☆ although it wasn't until texas that oliver actually started to get good at any of these. during his time there, he'd also expanded past music. oliver was on the football team, having played briefly the year before in georgia, although this time, as the quarterback.

☆ college football scouts were always coming to games and his coaches would insist they were only for him . scholarships and college opportunities poured his way in his senior year , but that wasn't his passion . his little country folk band that played on weekends in his garage or at small local venues with crowds of tens of people just trying to enjoy their meal or their beer was his real passion . besides , school was never really the easiest for him , music was . he figured he'd be unhappy at tradtional college and especially having to play football all four years .

☆ so , he followed his gut and ignored the scholarships . he attended community college for two years and received certification and an associates degree in music. his band began to gain traction during this time , and somehow scored a record deal at revolution records .

。・ * ☆ tldr !

☆ moved around a lot ☆ proud indigenous american but also proud country boy ☆ used to play football , but his passion is music ☆ probably a massive swiftie , tbh .

。・ * ☆ quick stats !

traits : outspoken , opinionated , reserved , loyal , humble , creative , determined , talented , self assured , distant , reticent , gregarious , understanding , patient , reckless , shy , quick learner but a little airhead-ed at times . will let you vent to him at anytime and anyplace . will hold the door open for fifty people at a time , if you'll let him . will drive you around and offer to carpool . hopeless romantic & a gentleman . age + sign : twenty five + tbd height + build : 5'10 , tbd orientation + gender : bisexual , cis man ( he / him ) . likes : tbd . dislikes : tbd .

。・ * ☆ wanted connections !

☆ fellow band members !! pls whether they've both been there the entire time with oliver or if they're more recent additions is up to you !! <33 ☆ family / childhood friends oliver moved around a lot , so potentially this could work for something there ? ☆ a staff bestie pls ☆ touring band members ? he can't play everything by himself on stage , probably . but he'd probably try . ☆ anything & everything ... gimme gimme gimme <33

。・ * ☆ spotify & mock blog !

[mercerislandbooks]

Book Notes: Begin Again

I’m a fan of romance any time of year, but I don’t want to let February go by without highlighting a favorite (or two, stay tuned for next week!). Emma Lord is on my must-read list since I devoured her PNW-set YA You Have a Match, and I was thrilled to see she had a new book, Begin Again, coming out at the end of January.

When Andie Rose shows up at Blue Ridge State as a second semester transfer (after failing to get in the first time around), she’s hoping to surprise her high school boyfriend, Connor, and finally get her life plan on track. She’s not expecting to discover that Connor has his own surprise for her: he’s transferred to Little Fells Community College to be with her. She and Connor decide to make the best of it at their respective schools for a semester. Through her warm-hearted “fix-it” nature and liberal dispersal of snack cakes, Andie soon builds a community for herself in her new home, from her book-loving roommate Shay, to her sleep-deprived RA Milo, to her math-whiz-queer-fantasy-writing tutor Valeria. When Andie inadvertently stumbles upon the underground radio station founded by the mother who died when she was young, she wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps. But new places and new things have a way of upending even the most perfect of plans, and Andie begins to see that the life she had planned for herself — and the way that she hoped to live up to her mother’s legacy — might be hiding a pain she hasn’t been willing to face. Not to mention a long-distance relationship with an increasingly distracted Connor and some confusing feels for her handsomely rumpled caffeine-addicted RA.

Begin Again is a cozy blanket of a book and Andie is the kind of friend anyone would love to have. She’s someone with the empathetic energy to genuinely want to help other people improve their lives with measurable steps and the requisite stubbornness to see it through. She’s also self-aware enough to see how she’s protected herself from processing her grief over her mom. I loved the journey she goes on in this book, discovering capabilities, learning to let her friends help her, and prioritizing herself over her need to “fix” things for other people. Emma Lord has once again created a cast of characters to fall in love with and I just wish I could spend even more time with them. For anyone wanting a nostalgic escape, Begin Again is a delightful read!

— Lori

[mydarlinginej]

read my full review of begin again by emma lord here.

As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.

But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.

But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.

Filled with a friend group that feels like family, an empowering journey of finding your own way, and a Just Kiss Already! romance, Begin Again is an unforgettable novel of love and starting again.

my review:

As per usual, I’m always excited for a new Emma Lord book! While this wasn’t quite the story I was expecting, I still really enjoyed it. Heartfelt and profound, Begin Again shows us all the ways that a new day can be a new beginning.

Andie Rose has everything figured out: she’s just transferred to Blue Ridge State, where her parents attended, to major in psychology and plans to surprise her boyfriend. Her plans go awry almost immediately when she finds out that he transferred to her previous college and her first day of class goes horribly. All of her ideas to help her new roommate Shay figure out her major don’t work, and her R.A. Milo keeps pointing out flaws in her ironclad plans. Over time, however, she has to realize that life doesn’t always go the way you expect it to, but sometimes that works out for the better.

I really liked the characters! Andie is a fixer, which ultimately stems from her desire to fit into people’s lives. She’s always scared of people leaving her, so she thinks that people will like her more if she can help them in any way. I like that she gradually realizes that she can’t help everyone though; at some point, she has to put herself first. Milo tells her this often, and in turn, she helps him with some family issues that he refuses to face.

read my full review here.

[alicevgcna]

5 Must-Know Tips for CNA Training in VA: Your Guide to Success

Title: 5 Must-Know Tips for‍ CNA Training in VA: Your Guide to‍ Success

Meta Title: A comprehensive guide to CNA⁣ training in VA: 5 essential tips for success

Meta Description: Are you considering becoming a Certified Nursing‍ Assistant (CNA)⁣ in Virginia? Here are 5 must-know tips to help you succeed in your CNA ‍training and kickstart your healthcare career.

Introduction: Becoming⁢ a Certified Nursing ‌Assistant (CNA) is a rewarding career path that allows you to make a difference in the lives of patients every‌ day. If⁤ you’re considering CNA⁤ training in Virginia, it’s essential to be ‌well-prepared and equipped with the⁣ knowledge‍ and ⁤skills needed to⁣ succeed in this field. ​In ⁤this article, we’ll discuss the top ​5 tips for CNA training ⁢in VA to guide ‌you towards a ‍successful career in healthcare.

1. Find ⁤a reputable CNA training program: The first⁤ step to becoming a CNA in Virginia is to⁢ enroll in a state-approved CNA training program. Look for reputable institutions that offer comprehensive training, including classroom instruction and hands-on clinical experience. Some popular CNA training ⁤programs in VA include:

– Northern⁢ Virginia Community College (NOVA) – Richmond Technical Center – Blue Ridge Community ⁣College

2. Understand the​ CNA certification requirements in Virginia: Before ⁤enrolling in a CNA training program, familiarize yourself with the certification requirements in Virginia. To become a CNA in VA, you must complete a state-approved training program,⁢ pass the Nurse Aide Competency Evaluation (NACE) exam, and​ undergo a​ criminal background check. Make sure you meet all‍ the eligibility criteria before starting your CNA training.

3. Take advantage of hands-on clinical experience: Hands-on clinical experience is ⁣an essential part of CNA training, as it allows you to apply the‌ knowledge ‍and ⁢skills you’ve learned in⁤ a real-world healthcare setting. Make the most of your clinical⁢ rotations by actively participating in patient care activities, observing experienced ​CNAs, and asking ⁤questions to⁢ deepen‌ your ⁢understanding of the role.

4. Stay organized‍ and manage⁤ your time effectively: CNA training can be demanding, with a mix of classroom⁣ lectures,⁢ skills ⁤labs, and clinical rotations. To succeed in your training, stay organized, create a study schedule, and manage your time effectively.‌ Prioritize your⁣ tasks, set ⁢realistic goals, and seek‍ support from instructors or classmates if you’re struggling ​with any‍ aspect of your ⁤training.

5. Practice self-care and prioritize your ​well-being: Working ⁣as⁤ a CNA ⁣can be emotionally and physically demanding, so it’s essential to prioritize your well-being and practice‌ self-care during your training. Take breaks when ​needed, eat healthily, get ‍enough sleep, and engage in activities that help you relax and unwind. Remember that‍ taking care of yourself is crucial to providing quality care to ⁤others.

Conclusion: Becoming a CNA⁤ in Virginia is a fulfilling⁤ journey that requires ​dedication, hard work, and‍ a ‍passion for helping others. By following these 5 must-know tips for CNA training in VA, you can‌ set yourself‌ up for success and⁢ embark on a rewarding ​career in healthcare. Remember​ to ⁣stay focused, stay motivated, and⁣ never stop learning ⁤and growing as a healthcare professional. Good luck on your CNA training journey!

https://cnaclassesonline.net/5-must-know-tips-for-cna-training-in-va-your-guide-to-success/

[charisjcarmichaelbraun]

The Body Politic: Long Island Biennial 2024

In 2024—a year of global elections, as some 60 countries representing half of the world’s populations hold regional and national leadership votes—The Heckscher Museum of Art invited Long Island artists to submit work which engages with contemporary social, cultural, or political issues. The Museum received 762 artwork submissions from 313 artists, and the result, The Body Politic: Long Island Biennial 2024 features exceptional art from contemporary artists in a compelling museum-wide exhibition that features 79 works of art accepted from 60 artists. 

The jurors for the 2024 Long Island Biennial were Ian Alteveer, Beal Family Chair of the Department of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Patricia Cronin, sculptor, Artistic Director of the LGBTQ+ VR Museum and Distinguished Professor of Art, Brooklyn College; and Grace Hong, Assistant Director, Galerie Lelong & Co.

The artists chosen represent the breadth of communities across Suffolk and Nassau counties and the exhibition encompasses a remarkable variety of media with styles spanning abstraction to hyperrealism. “We remain committed to sharing inspiring and thought-provoking new art with our visitors.” said Heather Arnet, Executive Director & CEO. The 8th edition of the Long Island Biennial “will resonate with the entire community given the diversity in artists and the universality of the important themes in their work.”

Long Island Biennial  2024 Exhibiting Artists

Edward Acosta, Commack Kelynn Zena Alder, Saint James Herold Alexis, Medford Andrea Baatz, Bohemia Monica Banks, East Hampton Dasha Bazanova, Greenvale Karl Bourke, Huntington Station Nancy Bueti-Randall, Stony Brook Charis J. Carmichael Braun, Northport Fernando Carpaneda, Freeport Hwa Young Caruso, East Meadow Jennifer Lewis, Seaford John Cino, Patchogue Angela Classi, Manhasset Teresa Cromwell, West Sayville Madeline Daversa, S. Jamesport Riccarda de Eccher, Oyster Bay Cove Ruth Douzinas, Lloyd Harbor Sally B. Edelstein, Huntington Kailee S. Finn, Valley Stream Julie Flores, Great Neck Jeremy Grand, Bellport Justin Greenwald, Bay Shore Robert V. Guido, Halesite Glen Hansen, South Jamesport RJT Haynes, East Hampton Jeffrey Herschenhous, Merrick Lori Horowitz, Dix Hills Anna Jurinich, Wading River Joan Kim Suzuki, Jericho Jane Kirkwood, Riverhead Karen L. Kirshner, East Meadow Sheryl Ruth Kolitsopoulos, Port Washington Jenny Patten La Monica, Massapequa Park Emily Rose Larsen, Ridge Neil Leinwohl, Rockville Centre Barbara Ludwig, Port Jefferson Station Alisa M. Shea, Northport Manuel Alejandro Macarrulla, Carle Place Lili Nickolina Maglione, Cold Spring Harbor Paul Mele, Island Park Julia Jane Moore, Poquott Kenny Ng, Huntington Jessica Penagos, Seaford Gail Postal, Montauk Melissa Pressler, Southold James E. Rice, Floral Park Lauren Ruiz, Bellport Blue Ruthen, Plainview Nathaniel Schindler, Rocky Point Laura Siegelman, Plainview Susan Kozodoy Silkowitz, Lynbrook Lauren Skelly Bailey, Hicksville Maria Spector, Babylon Lisa Stanko, Ronkonkoma Adam L. Straus, Riverhead Ezra Thompson, Port Jefferson Station Pinky Urmaza, Huntington Mark W. Van Wagner, East Patchogue Christian Wilbur, Huntington

[cnacertificationprogram]

Open Your Future: Top CNA Programs in VA Revealed!

Unlock ⁣Your Future: Top CNA ⁣Programs in ⁤VA ⁢Revealed!

Are you considering a career as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in Virginia? ⁣If so, you’re in luck! ‌Virginia is home ⁤to several top-notch CNA programs that can help you kickstart⁢ your⁤ healthcare career. With⁤ the demand for CNAs on⁢ the rise, now ​is the ​perfect time to pursue this rewarding profession. In ⁣this ​article, we will reveal the top⁣ CNA⁢ programs in VA to⁣ help you ‌unlock‌ your⁣ future in the healthcare⁣ industry.

Why Choose a CNA ⁤Program‌ in VA?

Before⁣ we delve into the top CNA programs ⁤in​ Virginia, let’s explore ⁣why ⁤pursuing a​ CNA certification in this state is a fantastic choice:

1.‍ Job Opportunities: ‌Virginia boasts a ​strong healthcare industry, ‌providing ‍ample job opportunities for ⁢CNAs in various​ healthcare⁣ settings ​such as hospitals, nursing⁤ homes, and‍ home health agencies. 2. Competitive ⁣Salaries: CNAs in Virginia earn competitive salaries, with the average annual pay exceeding the​ national average. 3. ‍Career⁢ Advancement:⁤ Becoming a CNA can serve ⁤as a stepping stone to a⁢ rewarding and fulfilling career in nursing or other healthcare professions. 4. ‍Job Stability:‍ Healthcare ⁤is an essential industry, offering⁢ job stability and security for CNAs.

Top CNA Programs in⁣ VA

Without further ado, here are some‌ of the top CNA programs‍ in Virginia that can help you achieve your career goals:

1. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA):⁢ NOVA offers a comprehensive CNA program⁣ that covers essential nursing skills ⁣and ‍prepares students for the state certification ⁣exam. The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on clinical experience to ensure‍ students are well-equipped for their future career.

2. ⁣Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC): PVCC’s​ CNA ​program is highly regarded for ⁤its rigorous curriculum and experienced ‍instructors. Students ⁢receive ​personalized attention and guidance⁣ throughout the ⁤program, setting them up for success in ‌their CNA careers.

3. J. Sargeant Reynolds Community​ College: With state-of-the-art ⁢facilities and ​dedicated faculty, J. Sargeant Reynolds ‍Community College‍ provides an exceptional CNA program that prepares​ students for the demands⁣ of the ⁣healthcare field. Graduates of the ⁢program are highly sought after‍ by employers in the region.

4. Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC): SVCC offers⁢ a hands-on CNA program that focuses on practical ⁤skills and‍ real-world⁢ experience. Students benefit from small‌ class sizes and individualized instruction, ensuring ⁤they are well-prepared to enter the workforce​ upon completion of the⁤ program.

5. ⁣Blue ⁤Ridge Community College (BRCC):‍ BRCC’s‌ CNA‍ program emphasizes the importance of compassionate care and ‌effective⁣ communication ⁣in nursing. Students learn essential⁣ skills ⁤such as vital signs monitoring, personal care assistance, and infection control, setting them up for success in their CNA careers.

Benefits of ⁣Pursuing ‌a ‍CNA Program in ⁣VA

By ⁢enrolling in a top ⁢CNA ‍program ​in Virginia,⁢ you ⁤can ⁤enjoy ‍the ​following benefits:

– Hands-on training: Gain valuable hands-on experience through⁤ clinical rotations and practical skills⁣ labs. – Experienced faculty: Learn from experienced instructors who are dedicated ​to helping you succeed in your CNA career. – Networking opportunities: Build connections ⁢with healthcare professionals and potential employers during ⁣your CNA program. – Job placement assistance: Some ‍CNA programs in VA offer job placement assistance to‌ help you secure employment after graduation.

Unlock ‌Your Future ⁣with a Top CNA‌ Program ⁢in VA

Taking the first step toward a rewarding career⁣ as a⁣ Certified Nursing Assistant in Virginia ‌is a significant decision ⁣that can open up a ⁣world ‌of opportunities. By enrolling in a top CNA program in VA, you ⁣can acquire the knowledge, skills, and experience needed‌ to succeed in the healthcare industry. ⁤Whether you choose Northern Virginia Community ​College, Piedmont Virginia Community College, ⁢J. ⁤Sargeant ‌Reynolds Community College, Southside Virginia Community‍ College, or Blue Ridge ⁤Community College, ‍you can rest assured ‌that you​ are on ⁢the‍ right path to achieving‌ your career ⁣goals.

If ‍you’re ready to unlock your⁣ future as ‌a ⁢CNA in Virginia,​ explore ⁣the top‍ CNA programs ⁤mentioned above ⁢and take ⁣the first step toward a fulfilling and rewarding‌ healthcare career.⁣ With‌ dedication, hard⁤ work, and the right education, ⁢you​ can embark on ⁢a journey that will ⁤shape your‍ future ⁣for ‍the better. Good luck on⁤ your path to becoming a ​Certified Nursing Assistant ⁣in Virginia!

https://cnacertificationprogram.net/open-your-future-top-cna-programs-in-va-revealed/

[alyssalikestoreadbooks]

Begin Again - Emma Lord

"As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.

But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.

But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones."

Read Date - June 2024

Length - 352 pages

Genre - Romance, College, Young Adult

Rating - 8/10

Stars -  ★★★★☆

Notes - The relationship between Andie and her grandmothers is very adorable! The shock that both Andie and her boyfriend changed colleges to meet each other is believable, and i believe, inspired by legally blonde. It’s very cute and i like how it’s played out. I like how Andie is trying to relive her dead mothers past to try to bring her back to life in a way. The comparison of being 12 years old again is a good ways to show off how anxiety induced the character is, and how it draws them back to the state they used to be in as a child. I love how Andie gets to know Milo, and I think it’s obvious that a love triangle is being set up between Connor and Milo. The set up between Andie’s father being absent from her life is done well, and isn’t too heavy handed. It could play out either way. I like the ribbon collecting, and all the other team spirit sessions, like the game of werewolf. It reminds me of being apart of a cast of musical theatre and getting to know the crew. Andie’s connection she feels with her mom at the school is also really cool. I love the reveal that Milo is the Knight like her mother was, and i think it’s so cutely done. It was such a simple but sweet interaction between Milo, Shay, and Andie. I think the Fix It dynamic Andie has is very smart and i like how that’s played out, as well. She herself is a broken person, and she wants to fix other people because of it. The conversation between Shay and Andie about her mom is really sweet, and I like the way they go about it. The drama between Andie and her father is so captivating and i literally can’t get enough of it, i just WANT to know more so badly. I think the way weather is described is SO beautiful, and very vivid in it’s imagery. The painting scene is very sweet and gives Andie more context as to who she is as a person, and how she wants to grow further. I like how it’s very slowly revealed that Connor is using Andie, because she’s such a giver that she (and we) don’t even notice it happening. It’s subtle and very good. The big relationship blow out between Val and Shay was unexpected, and I didn’t see it coming at all. I wonder if other people did, or if i just missed the signs. This being one of the few things Andie can’t fix is beyond interesting. The snow thunder scene was so adorable and i love how close Milo and Andie are able to get, compared to Connor and Andie. i LOVE that the sign off for the show is “begin again”, and it’s just such a nice way to include the book title without making it annoying or cliche. It’s perfect. The kayak scene with the ice water was unexpected, but i really should’ve seen it coming. I mean, it’s freezing and theyre on kayaks. Hello? It was a great scene in my opinion. Andie trying (and succeeding) to figure out Shay’s major was really cool, and the process she had to take to finally get there in the end was magnificent writing. I loved every piece of it. The reveal that Connor was cheating with Val was so insane, and it was played out so well. I’m happy that Andie didn’t take it out on Val, and understood that she was a victim in this as well. Her connecting with Milo more because of this is really cool to me, because it’s one of the few moments where Andie is able to open up about her mom without the fear of judgement, and she’s just allowed to cry. It’s sweet, honestly. The break up with connor and the reveal that the mic was hot? OH MY GOD!! THE DRAMA!!! i love DRAMA!!! jaw literally on the floor, looking for an imaginary camera to catch my response. What the FUCK!!!! Milo leaving is so sad, and so is the entire interaction between them in chapter 28. Andie finally talking to her dad about her mom was heartbreaking and very poignant, I can’t even begin to put into words how it hurts and aches in a way that’s unfathomable. It’s so accurately portraying grief, and I think its perfect. The ending is insane to me. The way it takes Andie so long to listen to the podcast, and when she finally does, everyone is supporting her, and it motivates her to talk to Milo. That, and him saying he believes in love. And the kiss is so sweet! I haven’t read a slow burn this slow before and it’s SO worth every interaction. I like they’re adorable together, and they deserve each other. The epilogue with Andie’s dad is very sweet and wholesome, and shows how much they’ve all grown over the novel. The gift giving of the compass was really smart, and i just generally LOVED this novel, which is obvious by how much i’ve written in this review. i didn’t want to miss anything because it was all so perfect. 

[claireinnc]

February Trips 2

Virginia

Another state and another long weekend away. Our trip this weekend was to visit a friend of Richard's from the Valleys of Wales - a school friend who had come over to the US and fell in love and set up home here. They had made contact over FB and before we knew it, we were on our way up to stay with them.

I had the Friday off work so we headed off early so that we could make a stop at Lexington on the way up. This was a lovely small town, with some quaint shops, a large military college and the home of Stonewall Jackson, a confederate general. We enjoyed a walk around, before heading on up to the Fowler's home.

There home was conveniently situated in a gated community on lake Louise. Although we couldn't make that out when we arrived as it was dark. We were greeted by Michelle and shortly after Mark made an appearance, with another guy- also from the valleys. We headed out to a restaurant which seemed an eternity away and enjoyed an evening together.

Once back, I headed to bed, but left Richard up with Mark...reminiscing about life growing up in Wales.

We spent the Saturday exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway - Rockfish gap in the Shenandoah Valley area and a short coffee stop in Gordonsville - a small one street town, but perfectly situated for an early morning break.

Gordonsville

In the evening we sat and chatted around their table enjoying the view of their lake and eating pizza. There were lots of rugby stories, laughter and memories shared.

The following day, we made a fairly early start to head over to Fredericksburg to meet up with Kayleigh from Coventry. It was about an hour away, but as it was Sunday mornng, the drive was fairly quiet. We met for brunch and it was great to meet up and discuss our experiences of teaching in the US. It was too short really, but better than not meeting up!

Colonial Williamsburg

After another 90 minutes, we arrived in Williamsburg. D Roosevelt apparently stated that this main street below, was ' the most historic avenue in all America'. In fact, this is the largest living history museum in the world. It was here that the idea of independence and revolution took shape. To take a walk along the main street is definitely a walk in the past.

The buildings are beautiful and it's easy to imagine the local people of the day living here and building community. We enjoyed a wander around and found a coffee shop at the end of the town. Once again, it was a place we could have stayed longer, but evening drew in and we headed back to our impromptu booked hotel for an extra night.

The stars and stripes hadn't quite arrived. The union Jack is still in place!

[k12academics]

We specifically focus on helping boys reach their potential through personalized, structured, innovative learning practices in a college-preparatory, all-boarding community.