I grew up feeling more or less ugly. Like many girls, I stood in front of the mirror obsessing over all of my imperfections, wishing everything were different. I wanted to be taller, thinner and have whiter teeth. But most of all, I wanted to become something that was incredibly impossible — a pretty little white girl. I dreamed of milky white skin, pale blue eyes and platinum blonde or brunette hair. I wanted a name like Mary-Kate Olsen, Britney… Read more

Before I arrived in Istanbul, I had never done any sort of multimedia work. I am a photographer plain and simple. The idea of shooting video has never appealed to me. But as a journalist, being able to write, photograph, and produce multimedia pieces could make me more marketable, so I knew I wanted to try to learn. The second assignment in my study abroad program was to shoot and produce a multimedia piece. The idea of putting together a… Read more

It’s 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 3, and the alarm on Tom’s watch is blaring. I wake up and bring just enough of myself out of my zero-degree sleeping bag to eat cereal with powdered milk, a meal prepared the night before to save time. “What am I doing?” I think as I realize the scope of today’s endeavor, along with that of the expedition before and after today. That was the morning of the 22nd day in the Waddington Range… Read more

Since its inception, America has had its fair share of criminals — and people who fight them. But before there even was a Supreme Court to combat crime, one group did: we, the people. In 1760, citizens in North Carolina took up arms against corrupt officials, marking the first known instance ofvigilantism in America’s history. Branded as vigilantes, citizens who skip due process and punish criminals in the name of justice are seen as heroes by their peers, but many… Read more

A new bill passed by Gov. Jerry Brown permits girls ages 12 to 18 to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine without parental consent. The vaccine is administered in three shots over the course of six months and wards against certain strains of HPV and cervical cancer. While the idea at the heart of the law is admirable, its execution is lacking. There are benefits to girls gaining access to medical care and making more decisions about their own health… Read more

A recent Daily News article showed the day in a life, or better yet, a spur of a moment in the life, of two grand theft auto suspects and the LAPD Bait Car Unit. The two suspects both had criminal records for theft, and one was on probation. They also not only were arrested for suspicion of grand theft auto, but also on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine pipes. It’s no surprise which party had the better day in the article…. Read more

One of the most valuable lessons I learned while in Istanbul about being a journalist was that I have to be flexible.  Journalism isn’t something I can plan and doesn’t always cooperate. My first assignment in Istanbul taught me that. My first assignment was to profile a person. I decided, long before I got to Istanbul, that I wanted to do my profile on a street child. It didn’t take much research for me to realize that I had picked… Read more