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 My favorite course this semester is undoubtedly Graphic Novels, taught by my brilliant and wonderful advisor Kate. I took this class because over the past two years, I’d become very interested in rhetorical study of comics (I did my entire senior seminar about depictions of clinical depression autobiographical web comics). I wanted to read books I hadn’t read, like Ghost World and Watchmen and revisit old favorites, like Maus, Blankets, and Fun Home. I also wanted to take another class with Kate before I graduated.
We kicked off the semester by reading autobiographical graphic novels, which included the aforementioned Maus, Blankets, and Fun Home as well as Persepolis and comics by Lynda Barry. During this time, I wrote a paper on the creation of queerness in Fun Home, drawing on sources about queer theory and semiotics to articulate my ideas.
Then we moved on to fiction, reading Watchmen, volume 2 of The Sandman, Duncan the Wonder Dog, and Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. I’m currently writing a paper about the effects created by different typefaces and lettering choices in Jimmy Corrigan. I think it’s going to be really interesting!
Most recently, we did a unit on manga. I hadn’t read any manga before and I haven’t watched a lot of anime, so this was very new territory for me. Everyone read Clover, about a magical girl who has to be transported to an unknown location for reasons that are not immediately clear. I wasn’t a big fan of this one. For our next class meeting, we divided into four groups that each read one of four other manga books. I read the first two volumes of Ranma 1/2, a lighthearted series about a boy, Ranma, who changes into a girl whenever he comes into contact with cold water. The characters are constantly getting into physical fights, but it’s quite comedic — this book was much more my speed than Clover was.
We’ll be rounding out the semester by looking at how comics are adapted into other mediums and how other mediums are adapted into comics. We’ll watch the movie adaptation of Ghost World once we’ve read it and we’ll read a comics adaptation of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.
Graphic Novels has been incredibly fun. Using graphic novels to reexamine concepts I’d explored in other classes and learn about things I hadn’t yet encountered in my education has been very interesting and rewarding. If I didn’t already feel this before, I certainly feel now that I will be a comics reader for life.
Learn more about the Graphic Novels course.
A few weeks ago, my family came to visit me here at McDaniel for my little sister’s spring break from California. My mum had seen the campus before, and had once been on an official tour when I was a prospective student, but for my dad and my sister, it was the first time seeing McDaniel. My sister had never been to the East Coast before or to Washington, D.C., so it was exciting for her to experience the Right Coast.
 My ten-year-old sister taking a photo of me as I take a photo of her. They came on a Thursday and I immediately led them on a whirlwind tour. My sister, who’s ten years old, was extremely impressed by the variety of options available for lunch at Glar, though my family might have found it weird that we call the perfectly respectable Englar Dining Hall by the nickname Glar!
My introductions of them to my friends on campus basically consisted of “Hey, guys, this is ___ who I know through ____. Hey, ___, this is my family!” While it’s common for people in the Maryland area to have their family pick them up for a break or stop by on a weekend, I see mine very rarely and I was eager to have them experience as much of my life as they possibly could while they were here.
I took them to meet my English major adviser and they chatted for a while. My parents have obviously been influential in shaping me as a human being throughout the years, and my adviser has become so influential in my academic life that it was marvellous to have them speaking.
They got to meet a good number of my friends, the head of the English department, and various other people I saw around campus. I think by the time I got them to my dorm room, they were exhausted! I was extremely excited to have them there, although it was weird having my two lives–my San Franciscan life and my Westminstrian life–meeting.
Since I don’t have Friday classes, they took me to Washington, D.C. for two nights and we explored the city together. It was disappointing to have to say goodbye after such a short time, but I was so proud to be able to introduce them to many people and to be able to show off McDaniel.
College can be a stressful time, and as we get closer to the end of the semester, people are starting to stress out. We are realizing how much work we actually have, and that means we are all struggling to find ways to relax. Some people work out; others chill with friends. I listen to hip-hop music.
Rap music is the perfect music for dancing in your mirror. I love being able to get down in my room. I take dance breaks while I am studying and play the music loudly in my headphones. Without hip-hop, I would not have been able to write most of my early morning papers nor study for my tests. Music is my release and my way to focus.
I am so glad that I have music in my life because college would be difficult without it!
Today, I went to my friend’s senior recital, and it was great! The first half of the performance was her playing the flute and the piano which she did amazingly! However, the second half was what really blew me away. It was all pieces she had composed.
The first piece was an ode to different composers that she found inspirational, and anyone who knew anything about music was in awe. She had an interesting and complex mix of both jazz and classical music including Moonlight Sonata which is one of my personal favorites. Her final piece which was performed by a string quartet had everyone in tears at the end.
All in all, she did a wonderful job, and I will miss her so much! I get to go to another recital tomorrow as well! Here’s to beautiful endings and bright futures!
 My friend performing in her senior recital!
Tonight I had one of the best experiences of my life at the McDaniel College Drag Show sponsored by the Allies group on campus. I had never been to a drag show before, and I would not have gone if my friend had not invited me, but I am so glad that I went! It was great because all of the money you spent in tips to the drag queens and on admission went to the Trevor Project which works for suicide prevention among LGBTQ teens.
I loved watching the Drag Queens dance! They were so amazing! I sat in the second row so I go to see all the action as they danced on the people in front of me. My friend was very popular with the Drag Queens…oh the pictures. All in all, we had some good clean fun for a cause, and I now can truly appreciate the art of drag queens. I cannot wait to go to my next one!
 Drag Show Selfie!
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