My favorite story: I got to go get my tarot cards read, which was really interesting to me. I love that sort of thing, and as silly as it sounds I actually do believe in it. I got to write it in a fun, first-person style, too. My cards told me to pick a direction and to stick with it. I still haven’t been able to do that, but I’m trying.

Story that got the most reader response:

This is a tie, I received letters to the editor about the Vera Bradley story, as well as a story about puppy breeding. While they were definitely not positive, they still hang in my room. It shows me that while people may not always agree with what I am writing, at least they are reading it.

Most interesting interview:

My most interesting interview was with a couple from the wedding story I wrote. Their names were Laura and Craig, and they were like a breath of fresh air. To hear someone talk about love and life in the way that they did, it gave me a little hope that love is still present in a world that is riddled with corruption and war.

Best quote:

I wrote a story on a pagan society on campus. I thought it was really interesting that there were student pagans on campus. One of the women was able to poke fun at the stereotypes surrounding pagan religions.

Her name was Sharon Cabana, and she said, “The best advice I could give people is not to believe everything you see on TV. We are not Satan worshippers. We don’t even believe in him. And we don’t fly (although that would be totally cool), boil children, or turn people to frogs.

The best source of information is just talking to one of us. Most of us don’t bite, really!” It just showed that you never really know about something unless you take the time to learn about it.

Coolest features story you saw in the DI this semester:

I really liked Colleen’s story about the Illini On Target, an RSO on campus. It was witty, interesting and flowed really well. You felt like you were in her shoes, and it almost made me want to go shooting … almost.

Number of classes missed to do stories:

I missed a few, most of them in Philosophy 380. Who knew everyone I’d need to interview had free time from 2:30 to 3:50 on Tuesday and Thursday?