Author: mybrightcorner82

I’m always looking for something new and exciting whether it be a new place to travel, book to read, friend to learn about or anything in between. Like any other millennial/gen Z person, I have a deep connection (addiction) with social media and the internet in general. My love of theatre knows no bounds. My adoration of my partner's cats also knows no bounds. I am in the middle of a life changing adventure: I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and five years cancer free as of April 2022!

Hometown Treasures

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Sometimes, going home is hard. You’re leaving friends, jobs, and a place that you just got settled into. But if there’s anything good about going home? It’s that you know that place like the back of your hand and all of the little secrets that your hometown holds. The local coffee shop with the best pastries, the clothing store that always has all of its prices at 70% off, a bead shop with the friendliest owners. For me, it’s a bookstore.

I love books. I love bookstores. I love them so much that I could spend an eternity in one and it still wouldn’t be enough time. I love the atmosphere, the book smell and getting to read new stories I’ve never knew existed. My favorite bookstore is a little gem in Baraboo, WI called the Village Booksmith. If I could, I would gladly give them all of my money. It’s unfortunate that I do have bills to pay so I guess I won’t be giving them ALL of my money.

The Village Booksmith is a bookstore in Baraboo, WI that sells new, old and rare books for a great price. A popular book that typically sells for $20-$25 could sell as low as $5 at the Village Booksmith. Plus, they have a great variety of books to offer: history, science fiction, gardening, architecture, biographies, foreign language, books for kids, etc. They have any book you could possibly imagine. I even saw some old Vietnam military manuals once. And if they don’t have a specific book you’re looking for? They will help you locate in online and get it shipped right to your door. They’re book wizards I swear.

THEY EVEN HAVE A WHOLE THEATRE SECTION.

For you non- Thespians, let me explain a thing or two about finding a theatre section that sells theatre texts for reasonable prices. To find a bookstore that has a theatre section that has more than Shakespeare in it and contains more than a shelf of dusty Ibsen scripts is like finding a unicorn in your backyard. In other words, it’s nearly impossible.

But the Village Booksmith has done it! They have created a unicorn in their store for the theatre nerds. Their theatre section is a whole 8-shelf bookshelf filled with books on every genre of the theatre: scripts, theatre history, costume design, directing, makeup design, scene design, prop design, sound design, acting, stage management. And scripts. Lots and lots of scripts! Needless to say, it’s my favorite spot in the whole store. The last time I was there, I purchased about 10 theatre books that would normally run for $400-$450 for about $80. It was such a good deal I almost felt bad. Almost.

So if you’re in the Baraboo, WI area, be sure to drop by the Village Booksmith. You’re sure to find a treasure or two in there. I know that when I’m back in my hometown, the Village Booksmith will be the first place to visit (even before my parents)!

 

Until Next Time,

Dana Qualy

A Meal for Miracles

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I’ve been wanting to do a charity event that raises money for the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Marshfield, WI since receiving a clean bill of health back in February. Hope Lodge is a program that houses cancer patients and their caregivers for free while they are undergoing treatment. I had the opportunity to stay there a few times while I was going through my treatment and it was an amazing experience.

Yes, they provide a nice room, free dinners (donated by local restaurants or community groups), a workout center and so much more. However, it wasn’t the facilities that made it a good experience. It was the people, volunteers, staff and guests alike. They were so friendly and personable. It didn’t make the chemo treatments easier, but it made them more bearable.

Hope Lodge has great facilities and fantastic staff and volunteers. They truly care about the guests that come to stay at Hope Lodge. They are a non- profit organization, meaning that they receive all of their funding through donations. This means that if they want to continue to run, they need the support of their community. If you’d like to learn more, you can read more about Hope Lodge and its mission statement here.

This is where my desire to fundraise for them derived. The staff and volunteer team can’t do what they do without help and since I experienced their generosity first hand, the absolute least I could do was get the word out and do some fundraising myself. 

I had no idea where I was going to fundraise or when, but I knew that I was going to do it. When I attended Women Who Cook at the Forage in Eau Claire, WI, I got to talking with the owner of the facilities and she offered to let me use her place on my birthday! Then, with the help of my sister and one of my best friends, A Meal for Miracles was created.

A Meal for Miracles was a fundraising event my sister (Layne), her boyfriend (Brent) and I put on in the Eau Claire area. It consisted of a four course dinner (which was DELICIOUS) with wine pairings and an evening of conversation and laughter. Layne and Brent are fantastic chefs with years of culinary experience and education under their belts. We figured, “Hey! Why not use that to our advantage!” So we spent a few months preparing, advertising and working on this project. It was exhausting but so worth it.

And people came to the event! To put forth so much work for the sake of an organization you care about and to have your friends, family and strangers alike support them? There’s no better feeling in the world. I continue to be astounded by people and their open hearts. I am hoping that one day we will be able to do an event like A Meal for Miracles again soon.

If you are able to do so, please consider donating to Hope Lodge or sharing the Hope Lodge main page with friends and family. Hope Lodge is a great facility and deserves all the love and support.

 

 

Until Next Time,

Dana Qualy

Wanna be a College Blogger?

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College kids are weird. I can vouch for this because I’m a college kid and I’m super weird. Mind you, they’re incredible and can do incredible things, but they are SO WEIRD. Why? It’s the first time they’re on their own and get to do whatever they want: watch TV all day, drink until their livers hate them, stay up for 76 hours straight, and other random stuff. I’ve seen college kids build entire companies and I’ve also seen college kids break into the football field at two in the morning so they could have a light saber battle the week before finals. It varies.

College students also become a lot more vocal once they set foot on campus. For the first 18 years of their lives, they only know their town’s opinions and interpretations of the outside world. College is the start of cultural expansion for many and are no longer shielded from media content and activist programs. It’s the first time they really begin to formulate opinions and have an open dialogue with other curious minds.

They share opinions in tons of different ways. As a weird college student, I have found my favorite method of sharing opinions is face to face. When that option isn’t available, my second favorite option is through my blog, and I’m not alone in that respect. The blogging sphere is continuously increasing and filling with more student bloggers every day. As a college blogger for the last few months, I’ve learned a lot. I have a small, semi-regular audience and my blogger voice is developing (well, I hope so. What do you think?). I’ve made lots of mistakes along the way as well: irregular posts, too large of a website, etc. Tons of people are gaining an interest in the blogging world. If starting a blog is something you’re interested in doing, here are five tips to help you out:

 

Figure out how serious you are about blogging.

I definitely recommend doing a mini trial run. Start by typing a couple of posts and if you like what you’re doing, then go ahead and put in the work to make a website. If you don’t, then nothing is lost! If you’re not having fun, don’t do it! There’s no point torturing yourself. Go do something you enjoy (like reading My Bright Corner).

 

If you’re serious, invest in a domain

So you do like writing articles? Perfect! Welcome to the community! If you’d like to keep your articles all in one place and have a fully functioning website, you should invest in a domain and find a content management system. There are lots of different options but my personal favorite is WordPress.

 

Plan Ahead

Let’s be real: you’re a busy college student. You have stuff to do. Be realistic about how often you’ll be able to post and make sure you incorporate writing time into your weekly schedule. If you don’t, you won’t write and you’ll website will fizzle out.

I am the world’s biggest procrastinator. I have set a goal for myself to write three blog posts a month and if I don’t set a goal date, I will wait until the end of month to post anything. By planning ahead, I can stay on track for writing my blog posts and not feel stressed out later.

 

Rough Drafts are a Beautiful Thing

If I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again: I LOVE ROUGH DRAFTS. A blog post isn’t a last minute paper for that gen. Ed. class you barely attend. This is your work that you enjoy doing in your free time. You should want to try to make it look as nice as you can and a rough draft or two can help with that.

 

Create a Blog that Works for YOU and KEEP GOING.

The most popular types of blogs may not be what you want to write about. Don’t feel pressured to create a blog with popular content because that’s what everyone else is doing. Create a blog with content that you love and you like writing about.

Also, you may feel a lot of anxiety when you go to share your work for a variety of reasons: fear of negative response, that it’s not your best, etc. If it’s out of your control, don’t stress. You’re a new blogger and you’re learning. The most important thing is that you’re happy doing what you’re doing. Whether one person reads it or a million, a blog that makes YOU, the writer, happy is what should be at the top of your priority list.

 

So welcome new bloggers! Happy typing!

 

Until Next Time,
Dana