Writing Sample: Why Your Community Should Be Pet Friendly
Approximately 3 out of 4 renters own pets — which means about 3 out of 4 renters prioritize pet-friendly communities when they’re searching for a new home. If your property doesn’t allow four-legged residents, consider these three benefits of allowing pets into your community.
Increased Resident Appeal
Pet parents can take the home searching process especially seriously, since they need to find a place perfect for both them and their collared companion. Any community that isn’t pet-friendly is an automatic “no.” In addition, as more and more people are encouraged to stay home, pet adoption rates have skyrocketed during the pandemic, which means greater demand for pet-friendly homes and amenities.
Revenue Boost
Pets have the potential of adding additional wear and tear to a unit, but that’s what pet deposits and additional pet rent are for! Pet rent can help cover the cost of damages, but if you have a well-behaved pet resident, then that monthly fee becomes profit that builds up nicely over time.
Pets Can Improve Mental Health
Studies have shown that having a pet can improve mental health. Higher resident happiness and satisfaction can lead to lower turnover and higher referral rates. Plus, residents who do not currently have a pet can easily get one without having to wait to move to another more pet-friendly location. Every detail that helps make a residents life easier reflects positively on the community.
In Conclusion
Weigh the benefits and possible drawbacks of implementing pet-friendly amenities — and don’t forget to draw up a clear and thorough pet policy. Don’t waste a “howl” of an opportunity to significantly improve your community’s appeal!
Writing Sample: Body Neutrality — An Alternative to Negative (and Positive) Pressure
In the 1960s, Fats Rights activists sparked the modern Body Positivity movement. The term “body positive” wouldn’t be used until the 1990s with the creation of the site “thebodypositive.org,” which sought to provide resources around feeling good about our bodies without the emphasis on weight loss and dieting.
Around 2015, the term “body neutrality” popped up. What does it mean and how is it different from body positivity?
Body neutrality focuses on what the body does and how it feels as opposed to how it looks. Many industries — including but not limited to fashion, fitness, dieting — manufacture a specific, narrow range of body types to strive for. Anything outside of that is either shamed and/or not accommodated. The fat acceptance and body positive movements worked to counteract this harmful, negative messaging. And in the age of social media, the movement has thrived — the #bodypositive hashtag is currently associated with 14.7 million posts on Instagram.
However, this shift perhaps pushed the pendulum too far in the opposite direction.
Body positivity still often focuses on appearance and accepting who we are on the outside. That is not always attainable for everyone and after a while, some folks began to feel a tension between negative and positive pressures with regard to how they were supposed to think about their bodies.
Enter the neutrality portion.
Instead of focusing on outward appearances, body neutrality seeks to look inward. What does my body do for me? What does my body feel? In practicing this mindset, folks can work toward freeing themselves from having to hate or love their body. Their body can simply be.
For some, body neutrality is a safe haven, a destination. For others, it is a stepping stone toward more full-on body acceptance — and even liberation.
Further reading:
Writing Sample: 5 Portland Scenic Points You Can't Afford to Miss
If you're a Portland veteran, you may think you've seen it all: the Portland Oregon sign, the Unipiper, the bridges, the world’s smallest park. However, this weird, glorious city has a few scenic viewpoints hidden up its sleeve for urban adventurers, avid photographers, and casual hikers alike. Embark on a staycation and bounce around these gorgeous city viewpoints.
1. Pittock Mansion
This historic landmark was constructed from 1912-14 for Henry Pittock and Georgiana Burton and remains a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. Despite it's close proximity to downtown, the vastness of the surrounding Forest Park makes it easy to forget that this beautiful piece of history overlooks the trendy Alphabet District. Hike or drive up here, snap a pic, tour the grounds, and then grab a bite to eat along NW 23rd right below. (Pro tip: The view is even more beautiful at night.)
2. Mt. Tabor
Circle around the park or walk straight to the top! You owe it to yourself to check out all of the places on this list at night and the view from the top of Mt. Tabor is certainly no exception. Portland might be the largest city in Oregon, but as far as big cities go, it's pretty petite. You can more or less see at the entire downtown area from the top of a volcano - yes, you read that right: "volcano." Don't worry, it's dormant (for now).
3. Vista Bridge
Overlooking the quiet, historic Goose Hollow neighborhood in SW Portland is the unobtrusive Vista Bridge. Also known as the Vista Avenue Viaduct, this 200 foot stone crossing is a peaceful place to get away from the hubbub of downtown while still being surround by the lush beauty of Portland. (Note: It has had a sad history since its completion in 1926 as it has been the site of over a dozen suicide attempts - a fact that can't be ignored no matter how lovely a view the modest bridge provides. Whether or not this deters you, we would be remiss in not paying tribute to those who have passed.)
4. Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade & Tom McCall Waterfront Park
One of the greatest features of downtown Portland is the Willamette River running directly down the middle of it. This is why I've combined two Portland areas into one entry on this list. There's a photogenic shot of the city at every point along the river and with a route that's roughly 2.5 miles long, that's a lot of photo opps. The waterfront loop takes you around the Hawthorne Bridge to the Steel Bridge and dips you down to water level, giving you a variety of vantage points from which to take in the City of Roses. Beware of cyclists - do not, I repeat, do not get in their way. You've been warned. (Pro tip: Walk down to the small dock just south of the Hawthorne Bridge, adjacent to OMSI. It's a pleasant place to just sit and look across the length of the waterfront area.)
5. Portland Aerial Tram
Having completed construction in 2006, the tram was a source of controversy in terms of use of taxpayer dollars. However, what isn't controversial is the magnificence of the view from that metal box 3,000 feet above the ground. The tram is mostly used by students and staff of OHSU, the hospital on the hill. Plus, take advantage of the fact that while it requires a ticket to go up, the cost of traveling down is free. Keep your camera at the ready; hike up to the station above and enjoy the breathtaking four minute ride down. (Pro tip: Be sure to look North toward the city and South toward the newest addition to Portland's family of bridges, the pedestrian- and MAX-only Tillikum Crossing.)
And there you have it. You now have no excuse not to clog your Instagram feed with some of the best views Portland has to offer!
Writing Sample: 3 Science Experiments You Should Name Drop to Totally Impress Your "Friends"
Have you ever found yourself at a gathering of pseudo-intellectuals? The guests are name dropping like mad, adding syllables to words to bolster the verbal character count. Making others feel slow and inadequate is the name of the game.
Never fear, however, that's why you're here. You’re going to fake it 'til you make it. You don't need to go into horrendous student loan debt nor do you need to actually understand anything. Just memorize these three famous and pivotal science experiments for your next social gathering.
1. The Milgram Experiment
In the 1960s, before there were many regulations regarding ethics in research, professor Stanley Milgram subjected hundreds of people to the psychological shock of their lives - literally. Actually, it's not so literal. In this experiment, test subjects were placed in front of a contraption connected to a person in another room. Beside the subject was a "doctor" (read: paid actor). The participants were told by this "doctor" to use the panel before them to shock the person in the other room. While mostly hesitant, most people were willing to shock the unfortunate soul into excruciating pain. (Spoilers: The panel wasn't really connected to anything and the people in the other room were also actors).
The Takeaway
People are willing to act beyond their normal moral comfort zone when instructed to do so by an authority figure. Use this to provide Hobbesian commentary on the nasty, short, and brutish nature of man. Mention an authoritarian government for additional flavor.
2. The Stanford Prison Experiment
A decade after Milgram's house of electrifying horrors, Phillip Zimbardo at Stanford University recruited several dozen students to play cops and robbers. Some students were assigned the role of prison guard. The rest were assigned the role of prisoner. The participants roleplayed over the course of six days, which resulted in the "guards" physically and emotionally abusing their "prisoners" for just over 6 days until one of the researchers thought that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. (It was later revealed that “guards” were coached and other variables were tampered with, among a variety of other unethical, unscientific practices.)
The Takeaway
Again, people are sadistic and get easily power crazy. Drop a super saccharine cherry onto your intellectual cheesecake with the terms "power of suggestion” and “cognitive dissonance” to emphasize that you really understand the underlying social constructs revealed by this experiment. You can also reference Lord of the Flies.
3. The Watching Eyes
More recently, researchers at Newcastle University conducted an experiment in the lobby of their very own psychology department. They had a coffee station that people could pay for via the honor system. As you may imagine, some paid, some did not. Over the course of several weeks, the researchers pasted different images above the coffee station. The images were mundane out of context. However, when the researchers posted pictures of a pair of eyes above the coffee stand, the money jar was noticeably more full.
The Takeaway
People act differently if they know or feel like they are being watched. You can explain that it’s a subconscious thing having to do with the id, ego, supergo, and maybe something called focaccia. (Say it with enough confidence and alacrity and no one will notice.)
What You Should Actually Take Away
Forget all of this. I'm serious. Don't name drop any of these, please. While this isn't to say you shouldn't actively seek to educate yourself, you also need to realize when the people around you are toxic. Go ahead and learn more about these experiments of your own volition, but don't do yourself the disservice of resorting to shallow social tricks. If you need to learn anything from these experiments it's that the human psyche, while impressively robust, isn't infinitely flexible. For the sake of your emotional well-being, stop going to social functions that make you feel inferior. Chances are, while those people might be experts at shallow "high brow" games, their depth and long-term worth are just that - shallow.
Seek out like minds and hearts. You'll be a lot happier there.
Selected Published Writings
Ready, A.I.M., Don’t Shoot [Review] | Thru Magazine
Faced With Need | Thru Magazine
Do You Have a Minute to Talk About Your Alma Mater? Lessons from the Telefund | Study Breaks
Ethical Non-Monogamy and You: The Stuff You Should Know | Study Breaks
Whip Up Your Own DIY Motivational Posters For Your Dorm | BeFunky