by Kayla Reid It’s safe to say that no two cases are precisely the same; however, similarities can usually be found if examined close enough.  Despite the sexual misconduct allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, he was recently confirmed to the … Continue reading →

by Amber Medeiros It was a hot and humid day out in Fairfax, Virginia as Amber Medeiros sat at her desk. Her fingers were flying away at her keyboard, her other hand rested on the mouse, moving it back and … Continue reading →

by Emelia Weatherly Ryder A young girl in platform boots takes a deep breath, tousles her big hair, and smears some dark purple glitter on her eyelids. She nods to the boy on the other side of the stage; his high … Continue reading →

by Tatum Wallis In 1937, Samuel Caldwell was the first person to be arrested for possession of marijuana in the United States. Since then, there have been approximately 26 million marijuana-related arrests across the U.S. In 2012, Colorado pioneered the … Continue reading →

by Raissa A. Rwagasore When I say that I’m from Rwanda, for those who know it, the first thing that comes to their mind is Hotel Rwanda. It’s a movie that tells a story about a man, his family, and how he … Continue reading →

by Emily Wrenn It was a hot and sunny afternoon in August. First year students at a small, liberal arts college, called Sweet Briar College, were running around campus trying to get to their various orientation week activities. Emily Wrenn, … Continue reading →

by Nisha Tarver Alison Davis–a senior and assistant coach of field hockey–twirled her freshly blue hair between her fingers as she spoke: “Why did I come to a school that almost closed down literally a semester before I came, you … Continue reading →

by Darian Anderson Liberty Ridge is a nursing center that reeks of urine, the smell of necrosis on a portly shaped woman’s coccyx, and freshly made feces. There are women and men who range from a mere 90 pounds to … Continue reading →

by Lauren Jones “Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your ghost host.” I know the entire Haunted Mansion ride dialogue and the song like the back of my hand. To people who are not immersed … Continue reading →

by Reesa Artz November 6, 2018. A day that will change the face of politics. Why? It’s the 2018 Midterms. This is a historic election as young adults across the nation have shown up to the polls in record numbers. Increased … Continue reading →

by Haley Campbell As a 78-year-old photojournalism professor shares his previous and current careers in a recent interview, his eyes twinkle remembering his past. Medford Taylor has been taking photographs for almost 40 years. Taylor says, “A lot can happen between … Continue reading →

by Shaivai Finch When you first pull onto the Sweet Briar College campus, you’re met with a beautiful scene of trees and open space. As you pull in further, you are met with a few deer here and there. The … Continue reading →

by Britt Larson-Jackson It is a small city that has large significance. People of all different shapes and sizes, from various ethnic groups, in different colors and from different cultures, swarm its streets, scurrying to complete their tasks before the day … Continue reading →

by Lucy Wasserstein Two players, a man labeled “1” and a woman labeled “2,” stand in a room, separated from a third player, the interrogator, by a wall. A teleprinter allows communication between the two rooms. The interrogator does not … Continue reading →

by Jennifer Markey As the month of September starts to come to a close, it seems as if there is more than just the season that’s changing. With the cooler weather whipping in, students begin to bring out their jackets, … Continue reading →

by Abigail Koppisch In 2007, contemporary novel writer Jay Asher published his first novel entitled 13 Reasons Why, which is a New York Times and international best-selling young adult novel. The novel had become such a hit that Universal Studios purchased … Continue reading →

by Anketse Zewdu Think for a moment and ask yourself one thing: Have you ever lied to your parents and kept it a secret for many years? Well, my friends and I have been doing just that. We’ve been hiding … Continue reading →

by Sara Story Thanksgiving, now a national holiday in the United States, was celebrated independently by individual colonies and states for over two centuries, after the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Natives shared a harvest feast in 1621. It wasn’t until … Continue reading →

by Charlotte Hadley Wellington is horse. To  most people, Wellington, Florida, means nothing. It is just another town in Florida; most people have no idea where to find it on a map. But if you ask any competitive equestrian they … Continue reading →

by Ingrid Stacia PPG Paint Arena, home of the the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the first of the seven games in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final against the Nashville Predators. The Stacia family sits in the last row of the highest … Continue reading →

by Annika Kuleba A simple, white two-tiered box sits under a plot of trees on a cool spring day. Someone in a white, long suit stands near it with tools. You become curious, so you go to investigate. At first you … Continue reading →

by Lauren Brooks Sweet Briar College is a beautiful, small campus in Amherst, Virginia. It is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains on 3,250 acres of pastoral fields and woods. When the students arrived in August, everyone … Continue reading →

by Hannah Epstein Imagine: you close your eyes, take a deep breath, pause for a moment, and then continue to walk. You’re walking on memories, memories from people you know and people you don’t. You see the buildings where hundreds … Continue reading →

by Lily Henson One spring afternoon when I was in sixth grade, I was sitting in my mother’s Honda Civic in the parking lot of Green Planet Grocery. She was loading brown paper bags filled with kale and organic rice … Continue reading →

by Catharine Williams In the fall of 2015, I started my freshman year of high school. My World Cultures I class was the honors variant of the typical world history course that every freshman was designated to take. The school … Continue reading →

by Maggie Ellis The soft hum of Sweet Briar’s first-year honey bees fills the quiet space left when the short rain showers move past campus. Most bees have stayed close to the hives, able to return quickly if the weather … Continue reading →

by Kambray Williams On April 8th, 2012 my twelve-year-old self never thought it would be the last time I saw my father. I was vaguely asleep in the room next to my parents as I overheard my father, Dick, speaking to my … Continue reading →

by Helen McCall This past week kicked off the new Ballroom and Swing Dance class at Sweet Briar College. For dance partners, Sweet Briar, a small women’s liberal arts college in rural central Virginia, is partnering with Hampden-Sydney College, an … Continue reading →

by Hannah Denson As a high school student involved in the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (AOHT) class, students learned about the process of event planning, principles of finance, and how the ecosystem is involved in running a business. As our … Continue reading →

by Rachel Davis On October 4th, 2016, I went out to the garden. During the spring and summer, the garden in the back of our Ohio home was my happy place; surrounded on two sides by corn fields, the abundant … Continue reading →

by Shollette Rawls Remember Twilight? Yeah, well, here are two shows that are much worse than that as far as vampires go. These blood-sucking creatures who show no remorse except only to the ones they love. Such hypocrites these characters are. One … Continue reading →

by Sarah Straczek “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill. With each day that passes, I am reminded by life itself of how blessed we all are in this … Continue reading →

by Sarah Schindler October 20th, 2018. Sarah Schindler watches her acquaintance, Ashley Landen, tattoo another person. She was using a professional tattoo gun this time, after practicing for years with sewing needles, cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, and ink. The tattoo was … Continue reading →

by Shay Young-Mitchell On a Cold Night on September 22, while tap clubs were going door to door tapping members, there was a new excitement in the first years’ residence hall. Dogs were running down the hall chasing each other, … Continue reading →

by Terra Grygotis This is an account of all of the horses who have touched my life, and little stories behind all of them. Some horses are mentioned multiple times, as their impacts on my life were just so large. To … Continue reading →

by Grace Carter On the beautiful campus of Sweet Briar College in Amherst, dogs run through the 3300 acres that stretch across central Virginia. There are an abnormal number of dogs living on the campus, more than one might expect to … Continue reading →

by Zoe Steenwyk When Vic Lindsay and his wife caught wind of a university being built from scratch in Abu Dhabi (a primary city in the United Arab Emirates), they were more than intrigued.  Within a few months they packed up … Continue reading →

by Sarah Kilby When I was almost nine months old, I was adopted from China by my mother, and when I was five, my family and I went back to China to get my sister, Emma. The process of adopting … Continue reading →

by Grace Sizemore “Payback is a bitch” was written on his truck windows in pink lipstick. The lettering stood out compared to the dark tint. He walked out to see us finishing the rage enforced words. I walked down the … Continue reading →

by Olivia Kolenda On a humid Friday night late in June, I came home to find my mother sitting outside on the deck, which was surrounded by colorful flowers she had planted, keeping my father company, as he grilled dinner. … Continue reading →

by Maggie Fraley Coming from a middle to lower classed family, in a small town in North Eastern Pa, wealth and diversity are not things I was exposed to daily. By the time I had reached my Junior year in high … Continue reading →

by Emily Raine A black screen covers the screen of a video game console. Then, a gleam of light and a soft, gentle, female voice urging someone to wake up fills the space of the once black, empty screen. The … Continue reading →

by Kelsey Mullikin On September 24, 2000, Kevin Hines survived the 746 ft jump into the Pacific ocean off the 1.7 mile suspension Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. After living with diagnosed bipolar disorder for two years, the divorce … Continue reading →

by Siena Annable Warm, yellow lights shine upon the deep-red and glittering gold costumed dancers as they tiptoe their way onto the center of the stage. A symphony orchestra begins to play Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and fluttering ballerinas, dance gracefully … Continue reading →

by Natalie Czarra The mental image that comes to mind when the words “tarot cards” are said is universal: a woman in Bohemian clothing with rings on every finger and jangling jewelry hanging from her wrists, neck, and ears, a … Continue reading →

by Isabella Frost Beth Knappenberger an older woman that stands around 5 feet 6 inches with brown hair shoulder length hair and an abled body that still works out every single day, arrived at her job late May of 2017 … Continue reading →

by Genna Dalrymple 1930, the year the South African film introduces the main character “Peter Philip Kenneth-Keith,” “Peekay,” or “PK” alongside his English mother, African nanny and her son, PK’s best-friend, Tonderai. All is well until their cattle farm meets … Continue reading →

by Nichole Frazier Seven million a year dead. Nine in ten people affected. The future is dim. It sounds like the news’s anchor line to an oncoming plague. The catch? It is already here. It is in the air you breathe. … Continue reading →

by Jacquelyn Vari This past summer, as Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, VA began the weeks of preparation for new and returning students, another species was on its way to be welcomed by the campus community. Italian honey bees … Continue reading →

by Danielle Dawson On a warm afternoon in late April 2018, a high school senior and her mom drove to Sweet Briar College, a small women’s college in rural Virginia, for a tour. Danielle had lived in Virginia her entire … Continue reading →

by Beth Kidd The teenage generation of this time is constantly undergoing many traumatic experiences at this point of their lives. Some of them listen to music to help cope with the pain that today’s society brings. One musician that … Continue reading →

by Gabrielle Wade Until the age of seven, the only knowledge I had of my great  grandmother was a lone, seemingly disregarded portrait hanging on a dark section of wall at the end of my Nanny’s hallway. I remember staring … Continue reading →

by Macy K. Spence If Instagram was a library, her feed would without a doubt be a page-turner within it. She will quite literally charm your socks off with her wonderful way with words, and the manner in which she marries … Continue reading →

by Sydney Campbell I was swimming out to just beyond the crashing waves with my boogie board strapped to my wrist. Like a surfer, I combatted the waves by pushing the nose of my board under the water so I … Continue reading →

by Iris Williams In early 2010, I decided to pick up Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thiefafter seeing the movie with my sister. I had actually started it before seeing the movie and then put it down again. The second time … Continue reading →

by Pauli Born Sitting in class, I pondered what my next topic would be, knowing that this had to be a banger because my previous works had bombed. As I observed my classmates, I noticed their excitement. Some girls immediately … Continue reading →

by Isabel Viner On an evening in early September, at Sweet Briar College, a women’s college in rural Virginia, an outdoor event known as Quad Rocks was well underway. Quad Rocks is a fun way for all students, especially first … Continue reading →

by Emma Hines In a quiet hall on the fourth floor of Meta Glass, a residence hall for first years at Sweet Briar College, an alarm went off at four a.m. The alarm wasn’t the result of a careless swipe … Continue reading →

by Rose Murphy Spring break of my senior year of high school, my parents and I took a trip to Ireland, which had been a dream of mine since I found out about my distant Irish heritage as a young … Continue reading →

by Katelyn Lewis “What new show could I possibly watch that is worth my time?” I thought to myself a few weeks ago. It was a brisk and chilly October evening, which made me want to watch something spooky. I … Continue reading →

by Maggie Groetsch On November 20, Rachel Stigall sat in front of her open binder working on her latest math packet at her college’s nearby cafe named The Library. “Of course I’m working on math when I have an American Government … Continue reading →

by Caroline Czarra A current first-year at Sweet Briar College observed one morning that the upperclasswomen did not seem to like the first years very much. She was sitting at a table in Prothro Dining Room with two upperclasswomen when they … Continue reading →

by Caroline Waters It was a dreary humid Thursday in July at the Kentucky Horse Park when Kelley Farmer and her horse “Unexpected” were cantering around a 3’3” hunter course. The rain fell down as the claps arose following her … Continue reading →

by Elizabeth Martin The early weeks for most first-year college students are tough. Students are away from home, some for the first time, and surrounded by strange new people. College tries their best during orientation to get the students to bond … Continue reading →

by Abby Cahill As the air cools and becomes crisp enough to sting as it swirls through one’s open lungs, and the deciduous trees begin to release their paint-swatch fragment leaves into the chilly breeze, autumn makes her arrival known. Amidst … Continue reading →

by Bryanna Ortega “Oh shit,” thought Melanie Ramos as she stared down at the two little pink lines.  In July of 1998, Ortega got the news that no 18-year-old ever wants to get: that she was pregnant. She had just finished … Continue reading →

by Haley Miller According to the Huffington post, Walt Disney, the creator of our beloved childhood, was once a newspaper editor. That was his beginning career. he was told he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. Julia child is … Continue reading →

by Abigail Koppisch In 2007, contemporary novel writer, Jay Asher, published his first novel entitled, 13 Reasons Why, which is a New York Times and International best selling young-adult fiction novel. The novel had become such a hit that Universal Studios … Continue reading →

This blog contains articles written by students in various sections of The Mindful Writer, one of the classes in the Leadership Core program at Sweet Briar College. The Mindful Writer is a workshop-based writing course that helps students become confident and effective readers and … Continue reading →