This is me.
Corey Ann O'Day.
I am a twenty-something college graduate with a stubborn determination to impact this world for good. Often that ends up looking more like sitting on the couch watching Gilmore Girls. But one of these days...
I was born in a small town in the northern middle of Michigan. I like to describe it as a "hamlet" because I think that sounds a lot more charming than "meth capital of the Midwest." What can I say, it gets boring up there. But I grew up on a lovely small lake south of the meth labs and led a frog-filled, amphetamine free childhood. Our goal was usually to be swimming by my birthday, May 25. Brrr.
Things I Love.
I love Autumn. Apples and pumpkins and harvest moons and Charlie Brown cartoons. I can't recall a time when I did not go mad for Autumn. I have blustery memories of one October night as a youngster, on my swing-set, kicking up leaves and making up a song about wind and witches.
I love photography. Shadows, reflections, depth of field. I go crazy for a well-adjusted aperture. I have taken one photography class but hope to take more. If I don't take pictures of everything, I'm certain I will forget it. Some day I will have a camera that is worthy of my love. Some day. Soon.
Speaking of love... I am in love with a city.
I have lived in Chicago since September of 2010 and we keep growing more attached to each other.
More than the buildings that make up the skyline, it is the people that make this city. I love walking down Chicago Avenue and hearing at least three different languages before I have gone a mile. I love being greeted by the older woman at the bus stop with a friendly, "Good morning." I love that the people on my block sit on their front steps and smile at their neighbors.
And I just can't get enough of the view out my bedroom window.
Things I Write.
I have an obsessive need to write about nature. Seasons, wind, birds, things I've planted. What nature is saying to me and about me and about my world. I am a child of Annie Dillard. At least, I strive to be.
I also need to write about people. To remember that I love them and I need them. No matter what my lifetime of employment in customer service has taught me.
To recognize how we are all the same and all so vastly unique.
To recognize how we are all the same and all so vastly unique.
I need to write about equality, community, literacy, love. Because I think they are important.
I will write about food because I love to eat but have no desire to cook. And I feel like I should. I like to bake things. I guess that's a start.
I may attempt a crafty-what-not here and there, but generally I don't have the patience and dexterity, or the budget for art supplies. I'd rather soak up the presence of good friends and good coffee, because that's what I'm making my life all about these days.
