charlieardengee
Opinions & Reviews
6 things that bring us joy despite tough times
I pitched this story idea and offered fellow staffers to join in if they had an idea for a column they could write. It was the summer of 2020, and I had noticed that a lot of the content on our website, and of course all over the internet, was pretty depressing. Obviously, we have to report on the realities of our world, but I wanted to help balance out the bad news with some good.
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Each of the six co-writers wrote one column about something that brought them joy during those tough few months, mine being "The joy of meaningless projects". I also did all the art for this series.
“Pony” delivers unexpected messages about mental health and starting over
In my first review of any kind, I wrote about Rex Orange County's album "Pony". It still remains one of my favorite albums to this day. I do think I portrayed the strengths of the album fairly well here, especially its emphasis on positive messages about mental health. If I wrote it today, I would definitely change my lede and tone to make them more engaging. My voice definitely shone through effectively in this piece, but sophomore-year-me's voice is a lot different than my voice today!
Orion Sun’s first two albums are well worth a listen
Orion Sun was an artist who, especially at the time of publishing, deserves a lot more recognition than she gets. Her music is a perfect outlet for teenagers, highlighting common themes of growing up. I decided to write this side-by-side comparison article of her first two albums in the hopes of getting the word out about her to my peers. I feel as if this article shows a lot of growth in my voice and writing style in comparison to my "Pony" review. There is a lot more nuance and identification of unique highlights of the albums. I also think my writing style has improved to be more professional and less childish, yet still engaging because of the interesting points I make.
Stop the spotlight
Art by Athena Wu
I'm most proud of this opinion piece. I feel like it shows and solidifies my growth as an opinion writer. My voice is vibrant and clear throughout the entire passage. I phrase my ideas so clearly that it was difficult to choose a pull quote because there are so many powerful ones. This article is about artist exploitation in the digital age, a topic that I, as an artist and fan of artists, am very passionate about. Since being written for our print issue, it has only become increasingly relevant as artists have begun to go on tours again and are objectified on stage. Despite this, I feel as if it is an issue not talked about enough in mainstream media, and love not only the writing style but the story idea itself.