My Takeaways from a Talk with Jody Shipka

                On Thursday, I had the opportunity to sit in on a talk by Jody Shipka. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, since this was my first guest lecture that I had attended in college, but I was not disappointed by the experience at all.

                Whenever I read an article or essay for a class I always feel some type of detachment from the author when I am reading their work. I can never really picture the person that devoted their time to an essay as a typical human being like the rest of us. For some reason, I tend to put authors on a higher level than the rest of us. This lecture by Shipka shattered my preconceived notions about authors completely. I realized that the people that author these articles and essays that we read in various courses are just average people that decide to write an article, and make sure that their goal is accomplished. Now that I have actually met someone that has published a well-recognized article in the English community, I can adjust my own ideas of what the people that author these intelligent articles are like. They are not stoic and unattainable, but average, colorful people with quirks like everyone else.

                One thing that Shipka emphasized during her talk was her desire to mesh her hobbies with her composing process. She stated that she was always focused on one over the other but realized that she shouldn’t be prioritizing one over the other. Instead, she realized she should find a way to pursue both her recreational and professional interests instead. This was something that I admired about Shipka, because I believe this is something we all strive for in life. We want to find career paths that are beneficial for us from a financial standpoint while also being something that we enjoy.  During her lecture, she focused primarily on how her composing process was affected by this revelation, but I continued to relate this back to my own quest to find a career that will be financially stable while also being something that I love. This was not the only quality that I admired about Shipka.

                Jody Shipka also talked about her many hobbies, some of which included baking and thrift shopping. She stated that she collects various things during her day to day activities, some of which she incorporates into her texts. My perspective of this was that she is someone that is always creating. She never really sits still for too long and is always doing something productive with her life. I would see her as someone that is always learning. This is something that I can appreciate and hope to do as well with my life. I want to continue to learn and discover new interests for myself as I reach each stage of my life. I hope to continue to evolve and create new things.

                Perhaps I focused on miniscule details during Shipka’s speech and not the grand scheme of things, but I definitely believe her lecture left an impression on me. Jody Shipka lives her life boldly and creatively, she uses her texts to allow others to do the same. She creates a space that urges others to think outside the box, which in my opinion is beneficial for everyone. Room for creativity allows for innovation to occur.