I'm that person. 

The person who would leave her Christmas decorations up all year round if she could.

The person who starts playing Christmas music in September. Okay, okay so maybe I never actually stop playing Christmas music. I'm a Jingle Bell in March kind of girl.

I'm that person who say Merry Christmas to everyone I meet when December rolls around. You may even catch me in a light-up Santa hat or some reindeer antlers on December 1st. I may or may not post a selfie with my Christmas tree or share a photo of the handmade ornaments that embellish that tree.

I can't help myself. I just love the Christmas season and it's one of the few things I will never apologize for.

Think about it, all year round we are constantly stressed out or anxious about something. A country is recovering from a bombing and another is in the middle of a war. Families are broken. People are sick and dying. Cops are shooting kids and kids are shooting cops. The world is falling apart and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it.

But then the lights go up. The red and green. The blow-up snowmen sway in the yard. The reindeers graze. The Christmas carols start to play. The smell of cookies fills the air. All of a sudden the world seems a little brighter.

For me it's not just about Santa. For me it's about the baby in the manger. The true reason for the season. The Savior that saved my life and yours. But I understand not everyone agrees.

It's hard to be mad when all you can smell are fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

It's hard to be sad when 'Frosty the Snowman' is blaring in the mall.

It's hard not to smile when you see a kid drop his last few cents into the bell ringer's bucket.

It's hard not to feel at least a little optimistic when Christmas rolls around and finally, with all of the nonsense going on in the world, people are greeting one another and smiling at each other.

Christmas is here and it brings a little bit of light.

That's what makes me happy. Knowing that the world isn't doomed just yet.

People are still capable of smiling over a newborn in a manger, a jolly man in a red suit, an overgrown man-child in green tights, a snowman who doesn't want to melt, and a little reindeer with a red nose.

The light is coming...

​Can you see it?

Our next assignment for News and Feature Writing is to write about college culture. The first part involves writing a sketch of a scene in that article but there's a TWIST! We have to turn that sketch into a song. So... here it goes:

___
What's your GPA? 
How many sports do you play?
What's your schedule like today?

Four, five, six more tests,
Waiting on what comes next.
Can you handle the stress?

If you're sleeping more than six hours a night,
You're not doing this college thing right.

Anxious and overworked,
Teachers assign more homework.
No A? That's okay.
​C's get degrees anyway.
Could this really be our life?
Will we make it out all right?
Anxiety with no end in sight.
This is our life.

___

I am not a songwriter by any means, so this is what I came up with.

Simply put, Rena’s Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz is about the Holocaust. It follows Rena Kornreich and her sister, Danka, as they attempt to survive one of the most horrific events in history. Rena was on the first transport to Auschwitz-Birkenau and was the 716th Jewish woman in the concentration camp. From the second week of June 1940 Rena and Danka, along with their passing friends and family, endured three concentration camps (Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Ravensbruck) until the liberation of Ravensbruck in April of 1945. The book follows Rena’s journey of protecting her sister, her friends, and (last in her mind) herself through the terror of the Holocaust. It showcases her self-less courage, boldness in the face of fear, and intelligence as she makes it from day one in Auschwitz to the final liberation.

​The author of the book is Heather Dune Macadam. She is the one who compiled Rena’s story into a book twice (once in a regular version and then in the expanded version). At the time of the book, she was still in college studying writing, and because of a mutual friend between her and Rena, she was commissioned to write Rena’s story. Now, she has a Masters in Creative Writing and has been awarded several honors for her work including a PEN American stipend and Outstanding Writer of the Year in the state of North Carolina. At the time the book was written her only qualification was a writing ability and the willingness to listen to Rena as she talked about her story. Since the books publication, she has become the director and president of the Rena’s Promise Foundation and Rena’s Promise International Creative Writing Camp.

The conception of the book happened accidently. Rena dialed the wrong number and ended up on the phone with an old friend, Corrine. Through the conversation, after the ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’, Corrine mentioned she had been going through a tough time. She talked about the pain of her past and Rena, without thinking, said she knew all about that and started talking about her time in Auschwitz. Corrine wanted to know everything, and Rena said she’d been writing the story in her mind for years, but just couldn’t get it on paper. She needed someone to listen to her tell the whole story and then write it down. Corrine told Rena she knew the perfect person. That perfect person was Heather Dune Macadam.

Heather drove two hours to Rena’s house every weekend for four months and sat with her for hours on end with a tape recorder rolling and a pad of paper and pen at the ready. The original idea was for Heather to sit quietly as Rena told the story. After the day was over, Heather would drive back the two hours and transcribe what Rena had said. However, the most pertinent memories were usually the most painful ones and Rena did not want to dwell on them. The compromise was for Heather to listen, but to gently tug at the painful memories and get Rena to share more and, through the tears, Rena spoke magic that Heather was able to write down.

The book is told in first-person from Rena’s perspective. It talks about the time before the Holocaust to the events that occurred in the thick of it. Readers will be in the camp with the S.S. men and women, with the prisoners, and, most importantly, with Rena. The story is told chronologically and, in some cases, readers will meet a person with Rena and, just a few pages later, watch them die at the hands of the S.S. The only thing that is for certain at the beginning of the book is that somehow Rena survived. However, when readers find themselves on the ground with Rena as she is being beaten or standing in a line of women being taken to the testing centers where Jews go to die, the doubt of Rena’s survival creeps into their mind. Just when they think she’s finished, Rena comes up with a plan to save her, her sister, and, in many cases, other girls in the camp.

Even though the author is technically Heather, Rena told the story. She is one hundred percent involved in the process of creating the book. This is her story. Therefore, she is just as much of an author as Heather. That makes the story raw and powerful. Readers can’t dismiss the events as fiction. They are forced to recognize that these horrific moments were lived and experienced by Rena, Danka, and the others in Auschwitz-Birkenau. That creates a kind of credibility for the stories presented.

The most memorable moment in the book for me was when Rena and Danka are standing in line in Auschwitz-Birkenau awaiting their fate. There are two rows of people. The first row goes to work in the concentration camp. The second row goes to an unknown and unfamiliar place. Rena and Danka are moved to the second row and lead to a building where they take off their uniforms and trade them for new clean and crisp clothes. For a moment they think this is it, they’re the lucky ones. However, by the time Rena figures out something isn’t kosher, she is forced to think fast and get her and her sister away from this place. This moment in the book made my heart beat faster than almost any other part. I doubted their survival as they grabbed their uniforms and walked through the concentration camp and tried to go unnoticed. I just knew an S.S. was going to pop out, capture them, and kill them on the spot.

The book in incredible. Most of the Holocaust stories I’ve read have been fiction or at least heavily fictionalized. This one was real and I greatly appreciated that. I caught myself dismissing some of the more horrifying parts because “it’s just a book.” That’s when I had to remind myself that this was not just another book. This was Rena’s story. I couldn’t push these events under the rug and ignore the terror. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. It is violent and heart-wrenching and there are some aspects that will keep readers up at night. However, since finishing the story I don’t have any regret for reading it. As a matter of fact, I think I’m ready to read it again.

Daya takes pop music to another level with an R&B and Indie twist. Her mature vocals leave jaws gaping at her young age of 17.

Her debut album, Sit Still, Look Pretty, has earned her over 341 million plays on Spotify since the album's release earlier this month.

The songs seem to target the female demographic with lines like "I don't want to sit still, look pretty ["Sit Still, Look Pretty"]" and "girls seem to like the guys who don't appreciate ["Hide Away"]."

These aren't your Taylor Swift break-up songs, but they do offer a strong dose of girl-power for the ladies lacking in that department. The sound is, for the most part, upbeat and poppy with a dash of just the right amount of Indie. The R&B hits on rap-ish segments in songs like "I.C.Y.M.I." It all mixes together to form a distinctly Daya sound that her 116,000 Twitter followers would likely agree is easy on the ears.

While the sound is not something that would normally be my taste, I enjoyed listening to the songs while working on homework, and I even had a dance-around-the-house session to her song "I.C.Y.M.I." That and "Sit Still, Look Pretty" are still on repeat on my Spotify account.

As someone who usually stays in her (for lack of a better term) music box, I understand that you know what you like and this might not seem like it. But give Daya and her new album a listen and go out there to broaden your horizons... or something like that.

My name's Jenni and I own a business with my mom.

It sounds like the start to a crazy teen-angst comedy, but I can assure you it's not. 

My mom, Joanie, and I own Positive Note Network. We have an online radio station that plays uplifting music all day, every day. We publish a bi-monthly magazine filled to the brim with stories from authors who want to spread joy and light in the world around them. We even have an online TV show that will be taking on Roku in the near future. Outside of that, we're making plans for movies by writing screenplays, creating drafts of possible productions, and filling notebooks with ideas that we can't wait to bring to fruition. 

The first question we get is 'how in the world did this happen?' According to my mom, it just kind of came up... 

"We both love Jesus and media, and we decided to do something about it," she says. I couldn't agree more.

One day, we were just your ordinary mother and daughter. Okay. To be fair, we were never just your ordinary mother and daughter. She has always been my best friend and, for as long as I can remember, we've done everything together. We've traveled through Australia and China and taken numerous roadtrips across the U.S. So, it wasn't a shock to the system when we decided to take our relationship to the next level. We decided to share our crazy and, somewhat unconventional adventures, with the world.

About two years ago, Positive Note Network was called JB Square Media and we connected with a lovely woman named Catherine and began working with a pro-life ministry where she is the executive director. We started making videos and posting about the incredible work Gabriel's Corner was doing in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That opened the door for Catherine to begin writing for our magazine, and when I asked her how she felt about PNN and working with the crazy mother-daughter duo, this is what she had to say: "It is such a joy working with your mother-daughter team... PNN inspires me daily with the Facebook posts and opportunity to write for Positive Note Magazine."

It's people like Catherine who keep Joanie and I from waving the white flag, throwing in the towel, and succumbing to all of the 'giving up hope' clichés. Yes, our mission is to spread positivity, but that doesn't mean things are always easy.

Just like any business relationship, we hit bumps in the road. We can argue about colors for logos, printed programs, and websites. Sometimes we butt heads when setting up for interviews or video productions. It's going to happen, and that's the part that people don't seem to understand. When we argue, we get over it. How are we supposed to reach the masses with a message of hope and the love of Christ and positive thinking if we give up after one difference of opinion?

Sure, we're really close. We're closer than most, actually but, despite our similarities, we are not the same person. Joanie is older than me. No matter how "business-y" we get, she is still my mom. I am a millennial and most of the time, my mom understands me perfectly. There are, however, times when we forget how to communicate (ironic, right?), but we work through it.

One of our most special friends and clients is Gaye Lindfors. We met her through an organization called Christian Women in Media. She has allowed us to film her speaking events and she writes for the magazine. When I asked her what she thought of when she thought about PNN, she got a little excited.

"Positive Note Network lives their brand," she says. "You enter every phone call, room, and email with an energy and spirit that says, 'We're in this together, and it's going to be great.'"

Gaye got it right. Before every interview or meeting, Joanie and I have a pep-talk session. We talk about how, no matter what, we're in this together (High School Musical, anyone?). We're going to walk in with heads held high and we're going to walk out the same way... even if things don't go as planned.

At the end of the day, we don't want people to forget that we're the mother-daughter duo. We want people to remember that, because it's unique. We're a mom and daughter who travel the country and the world together. We laugh together. We film together. We own a business together. And we're making it work one day at a time.

     "Mom. What's the one thing you want people to know about PNN?"

     "Only one thing?" She's standing by the stove, stirring her freshly dropped pasta. "I guess I want them to remember that we're just two ordinary women living life on a positive note."

Exactly.

We're the wacky duo that no one expects.

Two ordinary women who don't always get it right, but you better believe we won't give up until we do.

Next week I'll be posting the first draft of a personal narrative I am writing about Positive Note Network. For today, I'm just showing you a small scene:

Owning a company with your mom is an interesting experience, but we make it work. We divide and conquer. Joanie, my mom and business partner, is in charge of all things magazine related. I am in charge of the video content. We split the duties on the radio. Then there's the website, which you could say we're both in charge of.
You may be able to tell that we just completely redid our website. I was in charge of the technical side. She gave me free reign to do whatever I thought necessary to make the website better. When I thought I had it figured out, we came together."

          "I took the outdated banner off the home page," I began. "And replaced it with         this picture."

          "The flower says spring." She pointed to the daisy on our new home screen.

          "So maybe fall leaves?"

          "Try that. And then add a button so they can get to the about page."

We moved from the homepage and went through each section of the website. She would click the buttons and make sure it went to an appropriate page. She scrutinized the ease of use and once everything seemed in order she added,

          "What about a sponsors tab? That way we can display who is sponsoring us and give a way for new people to join."

It was something I hadn't thought of.

Owning a business with someone who thinks identically to you makes it easy to collaborate, but does it really generate enough ideas? With my mom, we don't think in the same way. I can see the technical and she can see the usability. When I'm blinded by timing everything to the music on a video, she sees that, maybe, that shot isn't the best choice.