An Immigrant’s Progress

Trees are funny things. They are held in place by tiny, hidden roots and they come into incredible power through millions of branches, big and small. It is sometimes hard to see where one root or bough starts and the spider webs of vessels and twigs stop. The more I unearth my history, the more [...]

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How To Tell If A Book Is A Good Book

Alright, I do believe that all books are good books. If somebody puts time and effort into writing it, if somebody finds pleasure and comfort in reading it- it’s a good book. There may be problematic elements, plot holes, weak writing, but at the root of it, all books are good books. However, there are [...]

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Posted in Accio Books, Action, Connect, Empowerment, Literacy, Philosophical Musings, Stories | Tagged , ,

This Book Will Change Your Life

I think almost all of us have a story about books, about how they changed or shaped our lives. I have more than a few of my own, from hiding from recess in elementary school because I wanted to read Choose Your Own Adventure books, to walking around high school with my nose stuck in [...]

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Questions of Age: When Can You Talk to Children About Serious Issues?

When is it too soon to talk to children about serious issues? Last week, my boss posed an interesting thought: when is his son the appropriate age to go to the Holocaust Museum here in DC? As a Potter fan, this question perplexed me; I was incredibly young when I read about the themes of [...]

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Posted in Action, Connect, Empowerment, Harry Potter Alliance News, Human Rights, Literacy, Philosophical Musings, Stories | Tagged

The Story’s the Thing: Emily’s Favorite Ted Talks

Ted. The name of a Marky Mark movie, a president, a rockin’ DC restaurant, a pro baseball player, and (ironically) my boyfriend. While all of these people and things are notable in their own right, I want to recommend another Ted, one where listening, watching, believing, and understanding stories have become an internet phenomenon. If [...]

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What It Feels Like For A Girl (AKA The Blog I’ve Been Waiting To Write)

The list of commemorative months is long and- I’ll admit it- kind of amusing. There is, of course, National Novel Writing Month (November), which I’m sure most of you have heard of- but did you know that in the US, July is considered ‘National Hotdog Month’? And according to Wikipedia, September also celebrates a seemingly [...]

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Protect the Voting Rights Act

We live in a post-racial society. American voting laws are fair and non-discriminatory. Everybody is considered equal in the eyes of the law. Right? Wrong. This past Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States heard the oral arguments in the Shelby County v Holder case, which challenges the constitutionality of the preclearance requirements of [...]

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Ravenclaw Thoughts, Ted Talks

Education is incredibly precious. When my grandfather came home from WWII, he was adamant on going to college. He used his GI Bill, got his books, and excitedly went to all of his classes. Soon into the semester, my grandpa realized it wasn’t easy to transition from surviving war to surviving class- he was already [...]

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Show Us the Report: A College Chapter Story

  Oh, know the perils, read the signs, The warning history shows, For our Hogwarts is in danger From external, deadly foes And we must unite inside her Or we’ll crumble from within -The Sorting Hat, Order of the Phoenix   The past two weeks, my college’s HPA chapter has been tabling for signatures for [...]

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Have Some Chocolate!

Today is a day that celebrates love in all of its forms.  And whether you buy all the candy, stuffed animals, cards, and flowers you can buy or believe that Valentine’s Day is overly commercial, you have to at least admit that today is a day all about love.  Love between friends, love between relatives, [...]

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