Jake Ray, sophomore political science and international relations major,  has an outdoor, limited equipment solo hobby he likes to do. Ray is a bird watcher. 

Ray likes to relax by going out with a pair of binoculars and finding birds in their natural habitat. A few years ago, he started “birding,” as he calls it, and finds it to be an excellent way to procrastinate homework. 

He invites anyone curious about nature to explore bird watching. All it requires is for you to step outside and look around. One of Jake’s favorite spots to bird-watch is Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary, just one and a half miles from campus. However, he advises looking up the hours of operation first to avoid a lengthy conversation with the police. Yes, you read that right. Once, Jake had the police called on him while birding because he entered the nature sanctuary too early. After the police realized what had happened, they laughed and let him continue with his hobby.

That was not the only exciting story Jake has concerning bird watching. Another time, in Springfield, MO, he had an interesting sighting. Not a bird, but instead an older man using nature’s port-a-potty in the woods. While he occasionally runs into other bird watchers, he rarely finds a sighting such as that. 

Regardless of the peculiar sighting now and again, he thinks birding is a great hobby that keeps you moving, outside and relaxed. 

Recently, I created my own digital journal template which has revolutionized my life. I’ve spent way too much money on planners, blank journals and bullet journals that were all supposed to help me collect my thoughts and be a better me. None of them worked. I found myself never using them and only sometimes remembering or wanting to write in them. I still had hopes of at least pretending to have my life together. At the beginning of Jewell’s spring semester, I decided to create my own template to follow. 

When drafting this idea, I was realistic about what I would actually be willing to do. On my iPad, I used the note-taking app Notability to create my template. I started out by drawing some squares, used my best handwriting for the titles of each box and finally had a planner I could actually use. I kept things simple, attainable and neat. 

I’ve learned that I only wanted to plan day by day, since my phone has all of my future plans. Then I tried to brainstorm how to make a to-do list less intimidating. I settled on a “Top Three” box with three things I knew I had to get done each day, then everything left on my to-do list was just extra. I had managed to keep the planner part of this project simple, but I knew that keeping track of my moods and giving myself a reason to reflect was vital too.

I decided to add two more boxes to improve my mental health –  a simple mood tracker with different levels of happiness or sadness. I would circle how I felt each day and possibly write a simple phrase to explain how I had felt throughout the day. Then I made a large box for affirmations, wanting to give myself space for self-love and there’s no better place than the same page I would mark off my daily triumphs. 

So far, I have used it almost every day. It helps keep my thoughts in one place, was cheaper than buying a new planner I wouldn’t use and every day I copy the template from the last day to start my next. It isn’t perfect and I don’t doodle on every page. My journal is messy like me, but it has gotten me through just fine and that’s all I need.

Planning and journaling is an individual activity –  there is no one way to do things and the more specific you are with your needs, the more practical things will be. Try to think of the things you’d be willing to do and just give it a shot. You can always try something different the next day – that’s the beauty of DIY journals. Good luck!

Georgia Hatfield, a sophomore elementary education major, loves Christmas and celebrates all season by wearing Christmas sweaters. Most people have one or two Christmas sweaters, as ugly Christmas sweater parties and themes are common during the holidays. Hatfield enjoys collecting and searching for the perfect sweater to add to her growing collection. Her collection has expanded over the years: she has accumulated over three large tubs numbering over 35 festive sweaters. Hatfield also has other Christmas accessories in her collection including headbands, leggings, necklaces and hats. 

During the Christmas season and even after Christmas, Hatfield is on the hunt for more sweaters for her collection. She gets sweaters from a variety of places including Dillards, Kohls, Cracker Barrel and Walmart, among other stores. Hatfield enjoys a good ugly Christmas sweater but dislikes how boring some are due to the product’s commercialization. She enjoys lights and other embellishments but dislikes when lights are low quality or make cleaning difficult. Among her collection, Hatfield’s favorite sweater is her mom’s vintage black turtleneck with reindeer. According to Hatfield’s philosophy, the best Christmas sweater has lots of personality and a hint of cuteness. “If I could see my grandma wearing it, I usually buy it,” said Hatfield.

Hatfield started her collection as a freshman in high school after her mother began embellishing Christmas sweaters for sweater parties. She jokingly told her mom, “I should wear a Christmas sweater every day.” Hatfield’s mom usually makes her a sweater a year and she even went as a Christmas tree for Halloween one year. Black Friday marks the official day for wearing a Christmas sweater each day. Hatfield begins with the more simple Christmas sweaters and gradually moves to her crazier sweaters as Christmas approaches. 

Hatfield says the best part about wearing a different Christmas sweater every day is seeing the reactions that people have to her fun sweaters. “People enjoy sweaters, and some have told me it’s their favorite part of the day seeing what sweater I wear,” said Hatfield. Her large collection of sweaters fascinates many and she says the most burdensome part is when people constantly ask to borrow her sweaters for Christmas parties. She often gets gifted new Christmas sweaters and even Christmas sweater ornaments or accessories. Make sure to check out Georgia Hatfield’s Christmas sweater collection as she wears a different festive sweater every day on the Hill!

Taylor Swift released another rerecording on Nov. 12, making “Red (Taylor’s Version)” the sixth album of hers she now owns herself. Like with “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” the album features rerecordings of the record’s original songs alongside six tracks from the vault. She presents her original songs nearly identical to the “Red” album from 2012, but her voice has matured and developed a better tone. Taylor Swift now sings with a stronger voice and a better understanding of the art of storytelling in a music setting. 

The retelling of past stories – the ones Swift experienced when the album was first released – comes with new emotions aged by time and handled with beauty. In many interviews, Swift claimed that she has turned songs like “All Too Well” into a heartwarming song where she experiences an overwhelming amount of support from fans. Any Taylor Swift fan can attest that her concerts are full of audience members belting the words of every song right along with her.

The new version of “Red” has a few different aspects to it that many may not notice; however, they change the overall theme of the album and thus slightly adjust the “Red” era. Songs like “We Are Never Getting Back Together” and “State of Grace” have a brighter sound in the guitar – possibly a change from Swift’s acquisition of more variations of guitars. She also has a different sound in her new version of “All Too Well.” The instrumentals are more dream-like and blend into the background. Additionally, she added complex backing vocals to many verses. 

“Red (Taylor’s Version)” has two songs featuring the original artists she recorded with back in 2012, and the album features three more songs with guest artists Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton and Phoebe Bridgers. The tracks from the vault on the album are all very different. “Babe” comes from Taylor’s country-style she started with but incorporates the pop styles she has since learned. “Message in a Bottle” sounds more like a “1989” song than a track that fits within the “Red” era. “Forever Winter” is another one that fits more with Taylor’s transition to pop music. “I Bet You Think About Me” is one that sounds like it has been in the “Red” album the whole time. 

“The Very First Night” also fits in well with this album. Swift chooses not to rhyme every word and where one would think she’s going to say “her,” she instead says “you,” which makes me wonder if that was originally written or if she had to adjust it for the status quo. Both songs follow the same character development of many other songs and have similar instrumentals to a lot of the other tracks. “Run” features Ed Sheeran and it sounds more like a song he would produce than Swift would. It doesn’t take away from the album as a whole, but it is one that doesn’t fit the tenacity found in the rest of the album. 

Overall, I don’t think any Taylor Swift fan could be upset with this album. She gave listeners a better version of the original album and she has added to the story that the “Red” era embodies. For those wary of Taylor Swift, it still has many characteristics of an amazing album. She borrows from every corner of the music industry to tell a convincing, profound and invigorating story with every track.