The noise surrounding all of us these days is technicolor and, often, terrifying. We’re bombarded with offers to improve our lives through consumption, we’re told the sky is falling by both major political parties, and we’re offered escape through mindless entertainment (mostly) made for children. Look up the top grossing films of the last 20Continue reading “A Seat at the Table”
Author Archives: Shannon Carriger
A Summer Word or Two
It’s amazing how much my world shifts when I walk out of the building in which I work knowing I don’t have to be back there for 75 days. My shoulders lower. My breathing slows. My brain calms the farm down. I love teaching. The moment when a student realizes they have the tools toContinue reading “A Summer Word or Two”
Something Feels Familiar
Five years ago today I left my classroom for Spring Break. We’d had to put our sweet dog Zelda down a few days earlier, the pandemic was just starting to be real for most of the country, and we entered a lockdown of our own choosing after learning Michael may have been exposed at hisContinue reading “Something Feels Familiar”
A Different Dress
Today I taught an essay I love: “The Braindead Megaphone” by George Saunders. There are many excellent elements in it—discussions of the media, the amplification of the loudest voice even when that voice is uninformed and ridiculous, how news outlets prioritize entertainment over information because they need to make money. But the point that cameContinue reading “A Different Dress”
Winter Storms & Slowing Down
I haven’t been sleeping well. A little congestion, a little existential dread—you know the drill. I woke this morning feeling like I could crawl back into bed for another seven hours, but that havoc on my back is a bad choice. It’s winter storm season in Kansas. The house is silent as the world goesContinue reading “Winter Storms & Slowing Down”
2024 Wrap Up
To say this year felt like a dumpster fire may be an insult to dumpsters and is certainly not kind to fires. There were some brilliant moments including going back to Vegas, singing at the River Festival with the Draper Family Band, and some family health triumphs, and I became an Adjunct Assistant Professor forContinue reading “2024 Wrap Up”
From Here
It’s hard to know exactly where to go from here. Where to go when the majority of those who could be bothered to vote chose an imbecilic power monger over the most qualified candidate in history. Where to go as a woman that will feel safe after a decision like this. Where to go onlineContinue reading “From Here”
The Age Your Body Feels
Nine years ago, just after a divorce for the right reasons after I’d married for the wrong ones, I found myself in a gym. Often. Hours I didn’t want to spend at home were spent in a strip mall that housed a women’s only fitness center. The most visited nearby businesses? A bowling alley/bar andContinue reading “The Age Your Body Feels”
At Eighty
Several years ago I attended a writing program with a woman who said an older friend gave her this meaningful advice: “who you are at 50 is who you’ll be at 80.” I’ve thought about that idea for years but it hasn’t settled into any kind of action until now. If I want to beContinue reading “At Eighty”
Revisionist History
The brutal cold of the last week has given me ample time to complete projects around the house. Three snow days called within the first seven meeting days of the semester should have been a gift of deep cleaning, touching up paint, and all the other little domestic duties I slough off during busier days.Continue reading “Revisionist History”
Shannon Carriger 