When I was six years old, I moved from Massachusetts to Texas. I’ll never forget balking every time I heard some phrase foreign to my New Englander ears. The accent, I was prepared for—I knew my family dropped our r’s, while our new neighbors would likely emphasize them—but the idea of different geographic areas having their own sets of words was entirely new [...]
Books that deal with fantastic adventures are the overwhelming favorite amongst the PSG staff when polled on their childhood favorite stories, and mine are no different. I recall swinging plastic swords to defend myself against the imaginary monsters that seemed to always cause trouble in my backyard, because of my infatuation with The Hobbit and medieval-themed fantasy novels. Because of my interest in such novels, [...]
Recently, a friend and I traveled to the Maybarton Community Garden in Clinton, Massachusetts, for community service. Growing Places, a nonprofit community garden organization based in my hometown of Leominster, Massachusetts, helped assist the Maybarton staff with building 15 raised beds. Local farmers plant various fruits and vegetables for low-income individuals, families and communities in North Central Massachusetts. Not only does Growing Places help [...]
When I think about Shakespeare, I imagine booming voices, wooden stages and yellow spotlights. When I think about Shakespeare’s sonnets, I picture tissue-thin paper from anthologies printed using florid, 8-point font. My concept of Shakespeare himself involves white stockings, feathery caps and rhyming, existential angst. I studied abroad my sophomore year of college and made sure to visit the re-created Globe Theatre. Standing [...]
I never went to a preschool when I was little. Instead, I stayed home with my mother while my older brother and sister went to the elementary school down the street. My mother and I made friendship bracelets and decoupage treasure boxes, cooked fun snacks and played board games. So it never used to occur to me that preschool could be anything different. [...]
During my junior year of college I took a course on the history of the English language in which I was one of about five students. When we got to the lesson on phonology, we spent over an hour saying different words and trying to decipher their origins based on how we said them. Since there were only a few of us, we [...]
Seven feet long and 665 pounds—that was the size of just one leatherback turtle saved by the Mass Audubon Sanctuary and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. And while that sounds like a massive turtle (and it is), realize that, at the time of rescue, it was underweight and near death. Thankfully, during the turtle’s brief stay at a New England Aquarium facility, aquarium vets, [...]
Growing up, I loved reading the works of Sarah Dessen, an emerging young adult author who took readers through the journeys of heartbreak, betrayal and family troubles. Reading her books taught me how to behave and what was expected from me as I matured from an angsty teenager into a young woman. I enjoyed reading her books and looking at the crossovers she [...]
I grew up on a Caribbean island, and although St. Croix is actually a United States territory, it’s also an exotic travel destination with sandy beaches and warm weather year round. That was my norm before I moved to Boston, but because I grew up on a tropical island I usually don’t consider an island vacation my ideal travel experience. Growing up, I [...]
Young adult (YA) literature has dominated my to-read pile on my nightstand for many years. It is my favorite category of books to turn to, especially with a cup of tea next to me. When I asked other PSG team members about their favorite YA book or author, I got an abundance of answers that prove you don’t have to be under the [...]