Kevin Johnson needs to ban me from Starbucks. Judging by his picture that pops up on Google Search, the CEO looks way too nice to do that, but oh well—I probably deserve it. Starbucks is a popular study spot at American University. This summer I got in the habit of studying at coffee shops—as all…
Author: MDULMAN
“Breathe in Deeply”
When I arrived at the office, Jack told me to breathe in deeply. I took a deep breath loud enough for him to hear the air flowing through my nostrils. “Ok,” he said. “You’re good.” That was how my boss checked to see if I was sick. Jack arrived to work 45 minutes late. Well,…
Personal Journalism
16 years ago this Monday, the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed after terrorists hijacked and crashed airplanes into them. That day, 2,977 people lost their lives. One of the victims was Bill Biggart, a journalist for the Associated Press who was capturing the event on camera. He was taking photos up until…
An Uncomplicated Guide to Snoring Roommates
All roommates have a fear: that their roommate will have that horrific quality, that mortifying condition. It goes by many names: the death rattle, the midnight muffler, the suffocating storm, but most people know it by its usual gerund: snoring. No matter how much people love their roommate, they may find snoring the relationship killer,…
Waffles and Dead Presidents
For my first article assignment, I traveled to Ford’s Theatre, the historic location where John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. I originally had planned to write about the theatre as a modern tourist attraction. However, the notes I took while touring the site bored me, and if the story notes bored me, I knew the…
Kill Two Birds with One Journal
Procrastination is the bane of my existence, and while no magic bullet can solve it, a bullet journal might. My sophomore year at Rollins, my English grammar professor Dr. Forsythe taught my classmates and me the therapeutic effects of visual art. Instead of outlining an essay for him in writing, he asked us to draw…
The History of DC Journalism
The most powerful story people can tell is their own. Today, professor of journalism Iris Krasnow gave our class its first assignment, and it amounted to this: visit an unfamiliar location in Washington, DC, and write about people who are familiar with it. Prof. Krasnow claimed she assigned this work only so that she could see how we write, but her assignment also…
WSP First Last Day of Class
Have I mentioned I love my journalism professor? On Monday, Prof. Klein helped me secure an internship with the Washington Bureau of the Ohio-based newspaper the Columbus Dispatch. This means I will have the chance to report on Capitol Hill and meet political figures from around the country. Any journalist would kill for this kind…
Washington Semester Program Orientation
I arrived in DC Wednesday, August 23, at 6 p.m. I made best friends with my Lyft driver, Daniel, got his number, and talked with him about his newly proposed-to fiancee. We’re probably going to see the US’s largest drum circle Sunday evening, but before that, I have to make time for my roommate. His…