Today's task was to find a story and dissect it. Check out the story I chose here. It's about something known as the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) intended to give women secure rights beyond the 19th Amendment. It was never ratified, but still has an impact on society today. The story, while about the ERA, is actually about Women's Equality Day, which happens to be today (August 26th). More importantly, however, the story is about the woman behind the day. Her name is Bella Abzug. A strong New Yorker with a flare for brash conversation and wide-rimmed hats.

From this story, there are many other stories you could form. Here are five I can think of:

1. Expanded information on Bella Abzug: The story doesn't go into much detail about what made her tick. It says she experienced some problems with people assuming she was a secretary rather than a lawyer (which is why she wore the hats!), but it doesn't give much background on WHO she was and WHY she was that way. I'd like to know more.
2. The ERA today: I'd like to know what powerful women and ordinary women today think about the ERA. Talk to females in power: politicians (both parties), doctors, lawyers, high-ranked law enforcement officers, military officers, deans, etc. Talk to women who aren't in high-powered positions, but are still in male-dominated professions: women of Wall Street, female police officers and firefighters and military members, etc. Talk to women on the street. Do they know what the ERA is? Do they care? How do they feel about it? 
3. Do women have rights?: Talk to women about their rights. Same ideas as the story above, but less about the ERA and more broadly about rights. Do women feel like they have rights? Do they see the wage gap or do they think it's a myth.
4. Women in power: Talk to women in those high-powered positions and those male-dominated fields. How do they feel about their position? Their journey? What was it like for them trying to get there?
5. Profile based on story #4: Find a specific woman in a male-dominated profession and follow her and essentially live her life for a week or two. Immerse yourself in what she goes through on a daily basis. Study how people treat her. Ask her about how much respect she receives. Talk to co-workers and friends both male and female. Talk to family. Talk about her journey to the top or journey in the position she is in. How has she had to fight? Has she had to fight?
   

If I were to pick one of the stories above to write, I would definitely choose number five. I would LOVE to spend time with a woman in a male-dominated field and find out how her days go. I want to see if she gets respect and what it takes for her to get that respect. Did she have to compromise herself to get to where she is? Why or why didn't she do that? That would be fascinating to me, especially as a novelist whose main character is a female detective in one of the largest U.S. cities. I love to see women in power and, even more than that, I love to know how they made it there.

It's my senior year of college and that means I'm wrapping up my knowledge of mass communication. One of my last classes is News and Feature Writing and for the next several weeks, this blog will serve as a vessel for my writings. I hope you enjoy! For today's installment, here's a little bit about stories, what they are, and why you should care.
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A story is a life. Fictional or real. They're lives. Stories have brought us characters like Jane Eyre and James Bond. They've told of amazing people like Malala Yousafzai and John F. Kennedy. They take us to places like Oz and Neverland, and we go on journeys that aren't soon forgotten.

Most stories are associated with books, but stories aren't limited to the written word. They're found in movies, TV shows and even music. They can even be found in real life with people like you and me. 

They're underappreciated and sometimes go unnoticed. However, the day that all stories vanished would be the day that everyone noticed something was different.

For me they're important because people need to know about the young girl who risked her life for the right to be educated. People need an escape from the turmoil of their own lives, and what better way to find that escape than to hop into a world of unbirthdays, random tea parties, talking animals, and crazy queens with an obsession for beheadings? It gives people the chance to put aside their stresses and the things that cause them anxiety and for a day, an hour, or even ten minutes immerse themselves in the lives of others.

I'm a writer and someday I hope to also be a film director, cinematographer, and producer. My life is consumed with stories. I love hearing about other people and the lives they've lived, because it reminds me that there are other people out there and I'm not alone. People who have seen things I've never dreamed of, and that gives me the push I need to explore one more hidden corner of the world. I also love creating stories. My favorite character I've created is Rebecca Dalton. She's a broken detective trying to make the world a better place. Sounds cliché, and I work every day to make sure she never becomes that.

Whether you craft them or enjoy them, stories are a part of you. They make you who you are and they are there to remind you that the world is a big place. You're problems are not the worst in the world. You are not the best. You are not alone. Someone understands.

​A world without stories is a world I would never want to experience.