Hello Friends,
We first “met” Jenni D when her blog, Story of My Life, was one of the featured blogs during this years 12 Days of Letter Writing at The World Needs More Love Letters. We fell in love with her photographs, her stories, and just KNEW that’d she be perfect for the Movers & Shakers Q&A Series!
Friends, meet Jenni D…
TWT: First things first, can you explain to our readers about the “story” behind Story of My Life?
JD: Simply put, the “story” is my day to day life – what I do, where I go, what I feel, who and what I love, and everything in between. Just like you get to know the characters in a real story, you get to know the characters in my life via the blog!
TWT: Who is your favorite Harry Potter character?
JD: Oh, how to choose?! Cliche as this answer might be, I think my favorite character is Harry himself, though he’s closely followed by Hermione… and Dumbledore… oh, and I guess Ron, too… and the Weasely twins. Can you tell how torn I am? No, but in all seriousness, I absolutely love Harry’s character. As in, his virtue. His humanity and his suffering and his kindness and his courage.
TWT: In a perfect world, what type of genre and medium would you like to write and make a living out of writing?
JD: Young adult literature – probably something a little fantastical, like Harry Potter or Twilight. I like that I wouldn’t be bound to the parameters of the “real” world!
TWT: Any advice to give to the reluctant readers of this world?
JD: Start to see reading as just the same as falling in love. During one of my obsessive stints with one book series or another, it suddenly dawned on me that the feelings I felt for those characters–the way I couldn’t get the books out of my mind, the obsession and devotion itself–was exactly the same way I’ve felt during the “honeymoon phase” of my various relationships. I’m happily married now, but I love that I can get that slightly feverish euphoria back any time I want, if I just find the right book. 🙂
TWT: We’ve never met a photographer who wasn’t enthralled with taking pictures 24/7. Our founder often says that if she could get paid for taking pictures for a living, she would. In your opinion, what is it about photography that makes one so passionate?
JD: When you start to get into photography, you start to see the world through a completely different set of eyes. Everything slows down. Everything is more beautiful. You see things in a frame, vs. the big picture your eyes naturally see when they scan a scene. To me, that makes life more thrilling. Not to mention the priceless memories you capture through photographs. Those aren’t half bad either. It’s art, and an artist sure does get passionate about their art!
TWT: Here at The Write Teacher(s), many of us work with “at-risk” youth. These students are recovering drug addicts; struggling drug addicts, teenage parents, and almost all of them come from broken homes. The struggles, demons, and anger that our students face is often a hindrance to their progress in school and life in general. Do you have any words of wisdom to offer these students?
JD: During the past few years, I had the very hard task of watching as my sweet step father suffered, wasted away and, eventually, passed away of cancer. I’ve processed all this a lot on my blog, but one of my greatest lessons through all of it was one I learned by watching my step dad’s attitude. It was remarkable how the cancer couldn’t break his spirit, couldn’t steal his joy, and couldn’t change his hope. I was humbled, and I learned that there is really nothing else in this life that we have a darn bit of control over except our attitude. I think a good attitude was what my step dad held on to when everything else was falling apart around him. It was the one thing he still controlled, and he owned it. So I guess my advice is to fully embrace the understanding that your attitude about your life–about the cards you’ve been dealt, and where to go from there–is the one and only thing you have control over. I also believe in the law of attraction, and I believe that when we change our attitudes, we attract more and more good into our lives. That’s the secret of happy and successful people everywhere.
TWT: In today’s economy, arts programs in schools are being cut. What reasons would you give a politician for preserving the arts?
JD: I would simply say that art is the breath and life of people. Without art, we would waste away.
TWT: Here at The Write Teacher(s), we believe that art drives life, and theatre transforms lives. Would you agree or disagree with those statements? Why?
JD: Absolutely! Art, and theater specifically, are simply a reflection and an expression of our daily lives. I think it’s so important for people to see humor and beauty in that expression, because it changes the way they feel about their own lives. It makes people think, it makes people act, and it keeps people creating.
TWT: Just for fun, what’s your favorite movie and play?
JD: My favorite movie is probably the Shawshank Redemption. Admittedly, I also love all the dumb comedies by guys like Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell. 🙂 Favorite play – The Phantom of the Opera. That music gets me every time!
TWT: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
JD: My mommy. I was home schooled until 7th grade, and I am so thankful for that time with my mom. She was and always be, hands down, my best teacher!
Live, Love, Learn,
The Write Teacher(s)