Author: melissaburgess

33. Buffalonian. Loves hockey, writing, traveling & more.
Posted in Technology, Uncategorized

Project 365… Once More

Posted on by melissaburgess

If anyone’s been following my blog for a few years, you may remember back in 2013-2014 when I first took on Project 365. I’ve decided to do it again this year and started in the middle of June.

For those who don’t know, the premise is simple: take one photo each day for a year. I’ve chosen to once again catalog my attempts at this project through Instagram, since I like it as a public forum and I think it’s a good way to keep myself on track.

Some days are easier than others. Some days, simply put, are crazy busy, not necessarily with anything interesting, and I nearly forget to take a photo. Other days are busy in a different way and leave me with photo after photo to choose from.

Either way, it’s another endeavor I’ve chosen to pick up – and I think it’ll be especially great with my big trip to New England coming up in under two weeks!

If you’re interested, check out my Instagram for this project here.

Posted in Books, Reviews

Female Protagonists in YA Fiction

Posted on by melissaburgess

Okay, so I just picked up a new YA novel – “Getting Over Garrett Delaney” by Abby McDonald. I’m only in the first chapter, and already, I’ve rolled my eyes so far that I’m shocked they’re not stuck in the back of my head, permanently.

From the first two pages, I can already see it: this book is about a girl who’s madly, hopelessly in love with a dude she can’t have. The descriptions make that much very clear. Blah, blah, blah. (Let me guess, they get together in the end, right? I’m not sure yet.)

It’s a try-too-hard piece and painful to read, and I’m only a few pages in.

“We’re supposed to be together! I knew the day we met that it was fate!” “Everything except the only thing I ever really wanted us to be. In love.” Honey, you’re friends. And apparently you’ve been friends for two years. Stop whining and either ask him out or get over it.

Continue reading “Female Protagonists in YA Fiction” →

Posted in Books, Reviews, Uncategorized

Book Review: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Posted on by melissaburgess

991197Do you ever read a book that, in the beginning, you thought you weren’t that into, but then all of a sudden, you hit a moment and you absolutely can’t put it down?

That’s what happened to me when I picked up Marjane Satrapi’s “The Complete Persepolis.”

My initial reasoning behind picking up the book – from my local library, of course – was that it is the June reading for Emma Watson’s “Our Shared Shelf” feminist book club. I haven’t read every month’s book, but decided to give this one a try.

For those who don’t know, Persepolis is the story of Marjane’s childhood and growth into adulthood during the Islamic Revolution. The story touches on life both pre- and post-revolution, from the eyes of an adolescent growing into an adult.

Continue reading “Book Review: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi” →

Posted in A Better You, Uncategorized

Education Is The Remedy

Posted on by melissaburgess

public-interest-public-awareness-ads-45-1I’ll admit: for much of the past 25+ years that I’ve been on this planet, I haven’t always been the most conscious or passionate about social or political issues. And a large part of that was sheer lack of awareness, or lack of education.

It’s really only been lately that I’ve been diving more into the social & political world and becoming more energetic about and fueled about some of these related issues, from the issue of equal pay to the uproars about Planned Parenthood funding, from talk about issues involved non-cis-het people (a phrase which I had absolutely no idea what it was about a few years ago!) to feminism, racism, sexism, and the like.

I never spoke about these issues, even if some of them were in the back of my mind. But lately, all that’s changed, and a huge part of it is due to education on my part. I’ve become more educated about these issues, and with proper education, it’s helped open my eyes and make me more concerned about some of these things.

And a lot of the time, I do see people pop up on my Twitter feed or Facebook feed who have completely different viewpoints from myself. Some of them are clearly very religious-based and those people are absolutely entitled to their opinions, so long as they are not causing physical harm to others. But few things frustrate me more than seeing some of these viewpoints that are based in absolute bigotry, in false facts or just in sheer disrespect for other human beings.

Continue reading “Education Is The Remedy” →