Why does time crawl or fly ? Is it always because we are bored or having fun ? As we age, we feel that time zips by . This past winter feels like a blur now tha t the sun warms my back. But isn’t this just how I process the past? I perceive la st winter as quick , but while I was in i t, time crawled in its petty pace as snow sealed me indoors. Time flies when we age due to the power of suggestion. The “now” is likely perceived equally by young and old . That older folks find it swift has more

April is Counseling Awareness Month, and as a counselor/educator, I’d like to focus on the healing counselors bring to clients. When facing challenges that aren’t easily solved or traumatic experiences that negatively affect thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, counselors provide us a space, both literal and metaphorical, to make sense of our experiences, validate our truths, and figure out our new normal. Over time, storytelling traditions have evolved from “oral histories” into “digital

Once upon a time, I knew exactly where I was going in life. My dream since third grade was to become a teacher. And I’m happy and proud to say that it came true. After I earned my master’s degree in Special Education from NIU, I began to teach second and third grade in Skokie, Illinois. I loved teaching – and while I wasn’t able to become a principal or superintendent like my Type A self had planned, I was able instead to leverage my skills and education into advocacy and awareness for food

During chores, I turn the radio to NPR, because I’m fascinated with current events. My attention is so fixed I almost worship the whole drama. But what good does that do? I’m aggravated or saddened by events I can’t change. Years ago, Krista Tippett introduced Gordon Hempton , one of the first acoustical ecologists. I stopped picking my stall, and listened. “Silence, as Gordon Hempton experiences and seeks to preserve it, is not a vacuum defined by emptiness. It’s not an absence of sound, but an

Hyperpartisanship, thy name is immigration. Republicans stress security and citizenship. They charge Democrats with endangering the culture in a callous attempt to harvest votes. Democrats stress diversity and offer a haven for refugees. They charge Republicans with cultural closedmindedness. Republicans are crabbed nationalists at best, racists at worst. This is not debate. It is demonization. Partisans stand on opposite sides of the Grand Canyon, mindlessly hurling imprecations at each other.

I slid into the booth at the Country Kitchen and ordered French toast. Because that’s what she would have done. And, oh yes, the sausage links. We both thought the sausage at the “Kitchen” was special. I looked across the table and raised my cup of coffee, sort of like a toast. She wasn’t there, but I whispered, “Miss ya Mom.” And then I ate. And chewed on memory after memory. Her hair always looked nice because our stop there came right after her weekly visit to the hair lady. On the way home,

Four weeks ago, I had the opportunity to fly to Australia, the land down under -- it’s a bucket list thing. I was a little hesitant, money being one of my considerations. Before I go further, you should know this about me: I am easily distracted, a little disorganized (a result of being easily distracted) so traveling 9100 miles alone was daunting. Australia was with me all day. As I was getting ready for bed, brushing teeth, pulling down the covers and sitting on the bed, it hit me – fear. What

Hitchcock. Romero. Carpenter. Craven. Del Torro. And now, Peele. The horror genre is a brilliant genre of film, but often the most dismissed. The thing about horror is that many people get caught up in the blood and gore, and some films can take that over the top in extreme ways. But the mark of great horror is the ability to play with metaphors that encourage viewers to reflect more deeply about t h e h uman condition and the state of the times. For example, Romero’s original zombie vehicle,

Hanna Wolf is one of Breja Fink's A.P. Language and Composition students at Beloit Memorial High School. They studied WNIJ's Perspectives, then wrote and recorded their own last semester. Throughout my life, whenever I picked up a book or watched a movie with even an ounce of woe, my mother would say, “Hanna, this is so gruesome. Try something happier.”  And to this day, I still cannot understand why she says that. I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, and I can honestly say

Supposedly, people who run for prolonged periods of time experience a “runner’s high,” a state of euphoria from the intense connection between the mind and the body while in motion. Unfortunately, I have never experienced this feeling, but rather a feeling like I’ve hit the ground after running into a wall. Just my luck, I experience the “wall” in running, but never the “high.” I guess you could say I’m an experienced runner; I run every day, in the bitter cold and extreme hot. This past winter