Kathleeeeeen

[klstevens14]

Find Your Band.... Because my life revolves around the consumption of coffee, I think the whir and spurts and hum of the Keurig machine encompasses my band. It is the music that greets me in the morning and inspires me in the middle of the night. It is the sound of a toxic level of caffeine running through my veins.

[klstevens14]

Make A Thing: Pokémon Go Away! The Pokémon craze that swept the nation over the summer represents the terrifying speed with which the digital world can infect the *gasp* real world. I prefer the digital world to stay out of my real world. Please. Everywhere I went there was no escaping the Pokémon or Pokéstops or Pokéballs. This collage represents that incessant bombardment of digital creatures in every aspect of life in the real world. Every corner. Every nook and cranny. Literally everywhere. Please just get the Poké out of my way.

[klstevens14]

Become Someone Else Kathleen: Goth Edition For Halloween this year my friends decided to dress in as much black as possible. As pale-skinned and fair-haired as I am (not to mention my incredibly girly sense of style) it is safe to say I don't own a lot of black. I'm more inclined toward pastels, flowers, and glitter. While I was initially hesitant about going out in public like this, as soon as I embraced the look completely I discovered the thrill of becoming someone I am not. I was unrecognizable. I was fearless. I could take on the world. For just one night. ◾️💀▪️

[klstevens14]

This is what adulting looks like. For my embarrassing object, I chose to spotlight my current supply of fruit snacks. As a 21 year old "adult" I am quite embarrassed by my affinity for the artificially-sweetened children's snacks that I buy in bulk at Costco. My lack of a sophisticated palate is shameful. Do not take me to a five star restaurant because I will just order the chicken tenders (which is the fancier word for "nuggets"). Some fruit snacks were consumed in the making of this post.

[klstevens14]

Fake Flyer, Really Single 

[klstevens14]

Constructed Landscape: Clinging to summer…. I already miss the warm months and sunshine, the breezy dresses and bare feet. As the weather turns crisp and my tan begins to fade, I recreate the colorful days of summer, paper flowers nestled in the dry grass.

[klstevens14]

Depression is an invisible disease. So how do we treat something we can’t see? With a building as equally invisible. 

Although I did not plan for it, the shadow in this photograph makes it more powerful than I initially imagined. The Psychological Counseling Center, much like the mental health disorders it treats, is cast in shadow, as though no one wants to acknowledge its presence.

The PCC is located off-campus, the ordinary building marked only by the small plaque hidden on a corner of the wall. Because of the PCC’s obscure location, students’ visits seem shrouded in complete secrecy. The student, and his or her condition, is made invisible to the rest of the Vanderbilt community. As though having a mental health disorder is a dark secret, something to be ashamed of, something to hide. 

So I gave it a thumbs up. A thumbs-up for “Good job, keep it up.” A thumbs-up for “Stay positive.” A thumbs-up for “It’s going to be ok.”  Because it is ok. It is ok not to be ok. Mental health disorders should not be cast in the shadows of our community. We should acknowledge these invisible struggles. We should work to turn those shadows in our community, and in our minds, into light. 

[klstevens14]

Measuring Histories: Brother by Brother by Brother

My three younger brothers are the medium through which I represent both my cultural and my personal history. Telling people I have three younger brothers usually elicits a shocked, sympathetic response. As I further relate that we are each two years apart, the resulting gasps and wide eyes lead me to quickly explain that we are an Irish Catholic family. Somehow that qualifier provides a sort of clarity and my audience usually regains composure. 

If our pale skin does not give away our Irish heritage, our names certainly do the trick: Kathleen, Quinn, Hugh, and Rory. Although I have never visited the land of my ancestors, having a big, close family has always been my way of understanding my heritage. I find that my big immediate family is unique among my peers, and it’s become the cultural identity I cherish the most. 

Growing up with brothers has also defined my personal history. In their own ways they teach me and inspire me and, occasionally, love me. I have become the person I am today because of our pillow forts, our hair-pulling fights, our walking-to-school-in-the-Catholic-school-uniforms-that-never-stayed-clean. 

So thanks, kiddos, for the memories. And for being a cooperative medium. :p    

[klstevens14]

Defending my faith in an academic environment...When I feel offended by a professor's negative comments toward Christianity, should I speak up? Usually I would just stay quiet, avoid confrontation. But my non-religious friend suggested I tell the professor how the comments made me feel, how I felt they were inappropriate and unnecessary in a public setting. So I did, hands shaking, voice quivering. To my surprise, the professor was very understanding and apologetic, saying she hadn't intended her comments to be hurtful to anyone. She asked that I come to her if I ever felt uncomfortable again, promising to be mindful of how her comments affected those around her. It takes just as much bravery to boldly speak up as it does to humbly step down. Kathleen Stevens