the life catatonic

This is my family in a picture taken last year, before my little sister died from cancer. I place this information first because these people have had the most effect on my character through the years, and will continue to do so. I've lived around Grand Rapids for most of my life, and almost all of my extended family is still in the area. I like it that way, so as I graduate I'm trying to focus on looking for work around here, if possible.

As for myself, I'm about to graduate with a major in Advertising, minor in Writing. Working at the Writing Center on campus over the past year has been a lot of fun, and I'm leaning toward trying to find a job more writing-oriented than advertising right now. Partly, I think I enjoy writing so much because I love to read. Fiction, non-fiction, comics - anything. There's a lot of power in stories. They're buried in movies and television as well; I'll admit, I'm a bit of a fiend for television lately.

• Favorite fiction. The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky. As painful as it can be to slog through, it still has some of my favorite characters of all time.
• Favorite non-fiction. Intoxicated By My Illness by Anatole Broyard. A great series of thoughts by an excellent writer suffering from cancer. I actually read this while researching for my own grief-related writing project.
• Favorite comic. The Goon by Eric Powell or Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis. I can't decide! The former has some of the best artwork I've ever seen and a story to match, but the latter has a really solid political message and one of the best endings of any series across all media.
• Favorite film. World's Greatest Dad with Robin Williams. A relatively recent, darkly comic film that slipped under most radars. Robin Williams is a struggling writer who exploits his own son's death to boost his career, then faces the guilt.
• Favorite television show. Dexter with Michael C. Hall. One fo the few cases where a show surpasses the source material, Dexter is a drama with some of the best black humor out there. Hall's delivery is perfect, and the story arcs for each season are intricate and self-sustaining, meaning no terrible, end-of-season cliffhangers like so many other shows.

Well, this really just got side-tracked into a section about what I like as opposed to what I am, but I've never gotten the hang of writing about myself. Hopefully this offers some insight.