plantingtreesandthoughts

[plantingtreesandthoughts]

For The Love of Sentences

Gatwood, O. (2019). Life of the party: Poems. Dial Press Trade Paperback.

One of the best parts about reading is coming across sentences that tickle your brain or put a feeling into words that you could never quite find. I often underline these sentences in books that I read or screenshot lyrics on my phone that I think are really neat. Poet, Olivia Gatwood, is phenomenal at putting tricky topics into perfect words. In the book “Life of the Party,” I found her poem “Here Is What You Need to Know,” to be very touching. The first thing I like that she did in this poem is describe death as a responsibility. Gatwood said “Liam drowned the summer before in the same lake, and it was the first time I was handed the responsibility of death like a heavy and wailing newborn.” Not only is this description profound, but I think even if you had never experienced grief, it would allow you to grasp an idea of it and sympathize. 

Further on in the poem Gatwood wrote “But the reason I tell you about Liam’s body, discovered by a fisherman, dear reader, is to help you understand the fabric of the air the first time I returned to the site of his grave. I want to note that it was not intended to be that, a revisiting, a memorial, but that the pollution of death is thick and unforgiving.” And here, perhaps even better than before, she describes what loss is like. I specifically like the phrases “fabric of the air” and “pollution of death is thick and unforgiving.” These are heavy phrases, put in simple words, yet giving a fantastic description about what it’s like to be “handed the responsibility of death” and not know what to do with it. It’s really scary, and so these sentences really stick with me. 

There are many more examples in this poem, and I know I’ve already gone over the limit, but an honorable mention would be when Gatwood said “I want you to understand why this story remains loud in the legend of my life, and somehow, the nature of his going makes it so.” I really like the alliteration in “loud in the legend of my life,” it rolls off the tongue. 

[plantingtreesandthoughts]

A story I read in the New York Times this week and why

Students Lost One-Third of a School Year to Pandemic, Study Finds

By Emily Baumgaertner

Jan. 30, 2023

A story I read last week in the New York Times was the story of students losing one-third of a school year due to the pandemic. As a sociology minor, the impacts of the pandemic on society are something I find great interest in. There are so many adverse effects of the pandemic that we are all still dealing with and may not even realize, one of the more prominent effects being on education. After schools closed in 2020, not everyone had options to continue schooling online, and it was found that many students in developing countries or low-income households have been educationally stunted by one-third of a school year due to this event. I liked how Baumgaertner quoted Thomas Kane who described it perfectly saying “learning loss will be the longest-lasting and most inequitable legacy of the pandemic.” Aside from the struggle of finding access to the internet at home, many students also struggled when in-person classes resumed due to poor social skills, another facet that needs to be completely relearned for many students. It is important to continue looking at the case of the Pandemic and what it did to us because we can’t afford to overlook something that has had such negative impacts, even if we want to.

8 Places Across the U.S.That Illuminate Black History

By Shayla Martin

Feb. 5, 2023

Another New York Times article I read within the last week was the story of African American historical landmarks across the United States. In a time where multiple education boards across the country are working to ban critical race theory, it is important to take time to educate yourself and read articles like these. It’s also black history month, which makes this article all the more relevant. Martin talks about how a lot of the sites no longer exist or have fallen into disrepair, and how it’s important to take care of what’s left in order to emphasize the importance of this history. “When these African American sites no longer exist, we run the risk of losing a full understanding of American history as a whole” (Martin, 2023). From museums to churches to parks, Martin explains the significance of taking care of these sites and what it means to visit them. She makes it easy for readers to gain more information on each landmark by linking the website, which was a nice touch. 

[plantingtreesandthoughts]

Stephen Graves: Cross-Country Truck Driving

A reflection of the New York Times article on truck driver shortages

Upon graduating college, I’ve had the plan of taking a month to do a cross-country roadtrip with my sister, and making our way out west on Route 66. The ideals of “van-life” have become increasingly popular on the internet, and nobody knows it better than truck drivers. To be in a new city every hour, and new state almost every day would be a curious life. 

The article “The Real Reason America Doesn’t Have Enough Truck Drivers,” by Peter S. Goodman follows truck driver, Stephen Graves, on the lonely and stressful job of driving for a living. It’s not an easy job, and not every employee is going to receive the same benefits. Some of the jobs suck, and it’s tolling in many ways which makes it a hard sell. Hearing about Graves’s experiences on the road was touching. You could imagine how lonely it gets, but can also sense the peace in having so much time to yourself– there’s something almost tranquil about it.

Reading this article reminded me of the song “Drivin’ My Life Away,” by Eddie Rabbitt. Specifically the lyrics:

Hey, waitress, pour me another cup of coffee,

Pop it down, jack me up, shoot me out, flyin' down the highway,

Lookin' for the mornin'

It reminds me of how Graves makes a point to learn the names of those pouring his coffee, and to notice the people he’s passing by. Even though the article was about truck driver shortages and the struggle of this job, what I got from it was what I already knew I love about road trips; the intersection of different lives that may never cross again.

[plantingtreesandthoughts]

Lia Coryell: The Paralympic Archer

A reflection of the New York Times article on Lia Coryell

This is a classic feel-good story. Not only is it inspiring, but it also sends an important message to not give up. These kinds of stories are important to tell. In the song “Most People Are Good,” Luke Bryan sings “I believe if you just go by the nightly news, your faith in all mankind would be the first thing you lose.” I think this is the perfect way to describe why we need to read stories like this. The world is bleak if you let it be, and it is far too easy to get caught up in negative news stories. 

The description of what she was wearing allows us to get to know Lia Coryell before she is even introduced to us, and I imagine it was the same for Mueller when he saw her. She seems invincible, but she would never stray from being humble. Not only does the first paragraph give you an idea of who she is, but it humanizes her as well. All too often people get lost in stories and forget that they are reading about real people with flesh and bone, as well as brain and heart just like you and I. 

To further emphasize why this story is as good as it is, the author doesn’t keep the story to one person. We hear about other athletes or people with disabilities who found their own inspiration through Coryell, and now are able to inspire others. We read this story and feel so inspired because we are getting more than just her story, we are hearing accounts of how she has changed lives.