Life is Good

I want to dedicate this journal to the lovely sketcher-of-dreams for her 18th birthday. Here's a sample of her work:

So I've had a lot happen since my last journal. I guess I should fill you guys in!

OCCUPY WALL STREET
As you may know, I took two trips to wall street in October and November. Well in short, it was spectacular. I slept out in the open air with my sleeping bag (the second trip I learned the value of having a few layers of cardboard between oneself and the concrete). Both times I went with other students at Johnson. We formed a group named Johnson to Wall street that managed to raise $1000 in three weeks, allowing eight of us to rent a van and go down. It was very amazing, and hard to describe.
Here's a www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOxEd… to a you-tube video taken the first time I was down there that gives a good idea of what it was like. And you can catch a glimpse of yours truly at 15:28.
It changed a lot by my second trip, the tents took up so much more space so it was tricky to get from point a to point b without twisting an ankle. People also were much more territorial as the cold set in. It was a more tense atmosphere, but the core essence of the movement was still alive and strong. I took fewer digital pictures that time around, and got more involved, going on marches, serving people food, and participating in general assembly.

BASEMENT MEDICINE
I've been taking a news writing class where I am a reporter for the campus newspaper (Basement Medicine) for my photojournalism major. Next semester I am going to be on staff, as the photo editor. I was pretty excited about that just by itself, but a few days ago my professor asked me to be the editor of the whole paper starting next year. I am kind of scared.  I mean, I'm only a freshman. I don't want to screw up. But I can't say that I'm not excited.

THE FUTURE
I've started saving up for a dslr, something in the $1000 -$2000 range. It will take several months with the job I have now, but hopefully I'll be able to get something good. I feel I've grown out of the camera I have now.

I also plan to go down to wall street for a third time, for the last week or two of my winter break in january. I'm a bit aprehensive, mostly of the weather, but I want to keep up the support. And I have a cousin living in Manhattan that might be able to let me stay over for a night or two if it gets dangerous.




Well that's a bit of my life. Happy Holidays to all, and a Happy New Year!
~ Mariah