Hello Ladies

Hey folks! My name is Melissa Rechin and I'm currently starting my second year at Fred. When I first started as a freshman, I was pretty much all over the board with what I wanted to do both with my life in the future and what degree I should get to put me there. I started off as an English major knowing that my love of writing and literature is something that I wanted to keep during my career in future years. But, after switching things around so that I could study almost everything I enjoy, I am now pursuing a journalism degree with both english and photography minors. Just like how writing has been a love and passion of mine, I have been enjoying photography since my pre teen years. Up until recently, I only considered photography a hobby or interest and not something I should pursue professionally.  With a push from family and friends, I decided to put photography into the mix and let me tell ya, I couldn't be more happy. There's just something so satisfying about studying and pursuing the things that you love.  So, all in all, I'm essentially just your average teenage photographer, writer, thrifter, dreamer, shoe obsessed, optimistic Buffalonian just enjoying the ride.

Let me just say how excited I am for this class. Reading and comparing different literature to not only each other, but also to society at the time or different cultures is something that I truly enjoy doing. Not to mention the fact that we are focusing solely on women and the struggles and hardships they faced, and still face, as writers simply for their sex. I have a favorite quote said by Betty White, "Why do people say 'Grow some balls'? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding."  I think that this quote supports what the introduction of the anthology was saying about women's roles in a completely dominant male profession.   Although women have greatly achieved their rights and a higer role in society, still in almost everything said and done today there is a male dominance. Such as in our phrases like "grow a pair" or the use of the "he" pronoun more extensively than the "she" pronoun, society today, especially in the professional world, are still led by more men. I'm very interested to dive into this anthology and witness the strength of these women defying and uprooting the world they've been following.