Why Writing Well Is Important
t is often more challenging to put words on a page than to speak them out loud. I get it. Writing takes effort. Writing takes time. However, the more you write, the easier it becomes. I promise.
Guest Author
17 posts
Articles written by guest authors for The Kayseean.
What Should You Read?
Instead of telling people what they should read, it’s tempting for me to say, “Read whatever you want to read,” and leave it at that. While that is what I think you should read, I also have some practical suggestions based on things that I’ve enjoyed over the past few years.
The Habit of Reading
For almost a decade, I didn’t read for fun. Or rather, I didn’t finish many books. Yes, I, a librarian and former English major spent most of the decade between college and the early part of my career in a reading slump. The irony of starting my career in librarianship in a decade-long reading slump is not lost on me, although I am obligated by professional duty to point out that not all librarians are readers, nor do we spend most of our working hours reading books. In fact, the infrequency with which I handle books in my day-to-day work might shock those among you who associate libraries primarily with books.
Putin’s Goals for Ukraine: The Conflict Explained
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February and continues, is at its heart an effort to recreate the glory of the Soviet Union, which formally collapsed in 1991 after decades of over-spending on its military and the sheer failure of Marxist ideology. Within a decade, Russia would default on its debt—it was so cash-strapped that it was unable to pay state employees, fail to keep NATO from kicking Serbians (a Russian ally) out of Kosovo, watch former allies join NATO, lose a war in Chechnya, and become a bastion of corruption. Putin, a former KGB (Soviet intelligence) officer, resented the shame heaped upon Russia, and in a 1999 speech to the Duma he spoke of “strengthening the vertical chain” of power domestically, and go on to say “Russia has been a great power for centuries, and remains so. It has always has and still has legitimate zones of interest…we should not drop our guard in this respect, neither should we allow our opinion to be ignored.”
Mental Health Effects of Living Through a Pandemic
This is the point in the semester when we often see a rise in stress, anxiety, and depression. The newness of being back at school has worn off and tests and projects have begun. For this semester, not only are we dealing with normal semester stress, we are experiencing anxiety at an extremely high rate due to navigating life during a pandemic…
Perspective: Hindsight Is 1920
Americans take interest in their history during times of great desperation. Commentators have noted that the 2020 race eerily resembles that of a century before, the 1920 contest pitting Democrat James Cox against Republican Warren G. Harding. Being a stolid Midwesterner, Cox has all but been forgotten. No such luck for Harding, who regularly vies with Andrew Johnson for “worst president” in most historical polls. Consoling the anxieties of the American populace, his brilliant campaign in 1920 resulted in landslide victory. Harding only lacked for substance as actual president.
Perspective: America Needs a Statesman at the Helm
In 1787 Ben Franklin would say about the presidents who would follow George Washington, “the first man put at the helm will be a good one. Nobody knows what sort may come afterwards. The executive will always be increasing here, as elsewhere, til it ends in monarchy.” When the Constitution was being debated, the Federalists believed that checks and balances—the separation of powers between branches of government, the ability of Congress to override a veto and to impeach, and others—would prevent the United States from returning to monarchy. James Madison, in Federalist number 10, said that the separation of powers would be a check in the event that “enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.”
7 Tips For Handling Stress
This is the point in the semester when we often see a rise in stress, anxiety, and depression. The newness of being back at school has worn off and tests and projects have begun. For this semester, not only are we dealing with normal semester stress, we are experiencing anxiety at an extremely high rate due to navigating life during a pandemic…
Never Stop Learning
“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” Leonardo da Vinci is revered as one of the most influential figures in human history, and, other than the whole unparalleled genius thing, he was an autodidact—someone who is self-taught—whose contributions to arts and sciences have helped usher our species into a golden age. Though trained in the arts by the guild system, his myriad of other skills was largely self-taught…
Covid-19 and “Prayers That Are Made Out of Grass”
At first, to be honest, I relished the abrupt and absolute vanishing of all the entries on my calendar after the Covid-19 pandemic hit. No more soccer games on Saturdays. No more church on Wednesday nights. No more showing up in person to teach, or driving my kids to and from school. No more anything outside of the home. The shelter in place order fed my shadow introvert tendencies. I relished wearing yoga pants every day, sleeping in, and the extra time with my family…