I'm a cashier at a grocery store. Most of the time, when customers come through my line, the routine is the same. I will smile and ask them how they're doing, they'll reply and direct the question back...

Although I've been known to bop my head to the occasional rap song over the years, I would hardly call myself a fan. I'm a laid-back beat, poetic lyrics kind of girl, and having angry slurs spit at me...

(1 out of 5 stars) With no well-established fan base to consider, first-time authors sometimes try too hard to relate to their readers and draw them in. Because I like to give people the benefit of...

During the first semester of my freshman year, I had a Good Books course with Rebecca Johns, a traveling professor at the time. I was timid and still adjusting to college life, and her snarky sense of...

Although the beginning of the school year means a return to the rigors of classes, homework and all-night study sessions, many students are at least grateful for a reprieve from the "as long as you're...

Although the beginning of the school year means a return to the rigors of classes, homework and all-night study sessions, many students are at least grateful for a reprieve from the "as long as you're...

No matter where you are, there's always a hopeless town closeby. Full of lazy hicks with missing teeth and farm property that stretches past the horizon. These are the places you drive past quickly on...

When I was a junior in high school, my friend Sam gave me my first mix tape. It was an actual cassette tape full of lyrics and voices I had never heard before, and it ensured that I wasn't totally clueless...

It's been a decade since the human race lived its most anticipated and feared nightmare -- global nuclear war. Most of the planet has been destroyed, and although a significant number of people survived...

Very rarely do I listen to book clubs that tell me what I should be reading. Every time Oprah proclaims that something is worth reading, it flies off the shelves, and I think I avoid her choices for that...

Everybody's generation is known for making some kind of significant contribution to society. Our immigrant ancestors are remembered for their brave treks to this country; grandparents built entire barns...

With so many bands infiltrating the music scene these days, it's difficult to find one that stands out. A band that can sidestep the current emo/punk trend with an original sound is usually a winner on...