All posts by Jennifer Dorsey

Sports

Demystifying Figure Skating

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When I was five years old I became obsessed with figure skating. Not just mesmerized or fascinated, but outright obsessed. I watched it every chance I got on television and imagined throwing myself into the air to spin like the skaters I idolized. I even used my slippers to glide across the kitchen floor, pretending I was skating on ice.

My parents were pretty entertained by this and when my obsession didn’t go away after a few weeks, they enrolled me in skating classes at the local ice rink. I’m pretty sure they thought I’d get bored with it and move on after a few sessions. But instead I turned out to be an avid skater, rarely ever falling, and skipping right past the tots intro class that required you to wear a helmet and skate with an orange safety cone.

For the next few years I skated every winter (it was a seasonal rink) and did fairly well, that is until I hit the moves that required me to have a fair amount of (read: any) coordination.

I skated on and off until I was twelve, when a not-so-great injury made me realize that I was not built to throw myself into the air and never would be. I moved on to other interests but I still hold a love for the sport that captured my attention when I was little.

So to help those who are new to this wonderful sport (yes, it’s a sport, don’t you dare argue with me), here are a few keys elements you’ll be looking at when watching the skating unfold.

1) Jumps

Ah, yes, throwing yourself blindly into the air and then landing on a thin piece of metal on a slippery surface. No big deal, right? There are six types of jumps – the toe loop, the Lutz, the flip, the Salchow the loop, and the Axel – often in double and triple form (if not quads, which is INSANE) because that’s how many rotations they have to get through in the air before landing. To get an idea of what these look like and for more detail on what each of them are, check out this awesome article from The Wire with gifs of each of them. They then have to land on the appropriate edge of their skate (inside or outside, depending on which way they’re going) and they better not even dare to land on two feet or man are they screwed in points.

2) Spins

There are a six core spins you will see and hear about in the Olympics, all of which require so much speed that many of the skaters become blurs before your eyes –  the scratch, the flying, the sit, the Biellmann, the layback (my favorite), and the camel. Check out this handy guide, with GIFs, that compliments The Wire’s article. All of these require a solid center, much flexibility, and an enormous amount of power and core strength to keep the speed up. These spins often have variations as well – like switching feet, picking up speed mid-spin, and even occasionally combining spins – in order to get more points for difficulty. On top of it, they are seen as more artistic than jumps, and therefore must be graceful in order to also be seen as effective. It’s no easy task.

3) All those other random moves they do

A lot of other moves are seen more for artistic movement. Some don’t have official names, and most of that is dance-like stuff, but there are a few I can quickly introduce you to.

Spiral – nonsensically, this is the move where the skater puts her leg high into the air behind her (or sometimes in front of her if she’s a pretzel) and glides. It’s actually a lot easier than it looks (didn’t think I’d say that, eh?) but requires massive amounts of flexibility and balance.

Lunge – this is exactly as it sounds. The skater puts his leg down onto the ice and drags it behind him, usually for just a second or two because it will slow him down. This requires a strong center of gravity, let me tell you, or you’ll end up in the most uncomfortable half-split of your life. I may or may not be speaking from experience.

Crossovers – oh, these things suck. These things are what did me in early in my years of lessons because I was so clumsy. The concept is that you cross one foot over the other, either forwards or backwards, and it helps you gain speed—plus it looks nice. They do these constantly while skating. Look for them next time you watch and you won’t be able to un-see them again.

There you go – your basics to the language of figure skating. If you’re still hungry for more terminology, check out the United States Figure Skating Association’s glossary of terms – it’s comprehensive and very useful. Now go pop some popcorn and settle into your couch while you watch these skaters fling themselves into the air, spin at high speeds and generally do things that seem unsafe for the population at large. And then watch them cry as they get their scores. It’s the next great American pastime – only with ice, blades, and absolutely no padding, because padding is for amateurs.

Photo by Sara Slattery

Photo by Sara Slattery

Geekery

Nerd Knows No Age

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Full disclosure: I am a full-blown adult nerd.

Nerd is a pretty broad term—sometimes it’s science nerds, or book nerds, or fandom nerds. But really it just means that you’re extremely passionate about something and you like to show it. You exhibit your emotions and feelings about what you love and that’s okay.

For me, being an adult nerd has been a great way to relieve stress and have fun. I’m a pretty enormous Harry Potter nerd, as well as a social media nerd (do I have fellow Tumblr friends out there?), a young adult novel nerd, not to mention the dozens of other fandoms (fan communities) I dabble in. I love getting into passionate discussions with my friends about the intricacies of the house system at Hogwarts or the latest Vlogbrothers video on YouTube. It’s a hobby that’s not only fun for me, but also engaging and empowering.

When I was 22, I jumped head first into the world of fandoms. Through a few chance encounters, my need to have something to do outside of work, a roommate with a common love of Harry Potter, and a desire to not hide my own nerdy obsessions any longer, I quickly found myself knee-deep in fandom. I started volunteering for The Harry Potter Alliance, an organization that engages youth and fandom communities in social justice through parallels from the Harry Potter books and other novels, TV shows, and movies. What I found within that organization was not only a cause I could believe in and enjoy simultaneously, but also a group of friends and colleagues who helped me realize how indulging in our passions improves our daily lives. This encouragement has pushed me to find my other passions, and more than three years later I am heavily involved in many communities.

Through things such as The Harry Potter Alliance, Nerdfighteria, Tumblr communities, LeakyCon, and so much more, I have come to find networks of friends that I would have never been exposed to otherwise. They are friends I would have never been exposed to just through college and work—friends who make YouTube videos for a living, who work for entirely online non-profits, who go to conventions all over the country and get paid to do it. We live all over the world and yet we are able to form true, close friendships based entirely off of our shared enthusiasm. I never thought I’d meet some of my best friends online but it only makes sense now considering how much we have in common.

As an adult, however, I can often see the more difficult sides of nerd communities. Sexism, ableism, and racism are not uncommon, especially in communities heavily dominated by a specific group—cosplayers constantly face discrimination based on body type, gamers are often pegged as mysognyistic for how they treat women who try to join the traditionally all male community, and comic fans are defensive of anyone who claims to be a true fan but doesn’t know every single detail of a story. Every community has them, even the most inclusive and welcoming of them. Assimilating into the cultures we love can take a lot of conviction, especially when we don’t always fit the mold. Not to mention that the social aspect of these communities can be difficult to break into, especially if you don’t know what to expect. But the more atypical members who join these communities, the more changes will permeate them.

To me, being an adult nerd is about not allowing ourselves to hide from who we are. For those who have been nerds all our lives: our passions as teenagers are still part of our passions as adults and it’s okay to keep those interests alive even as we age. At twenty-five I’m more enthusiastic than ever about my nerdy passions and I don’t see that going away anytime soon. I look forward to the day I get to pass those passions on to my own children and share in them as they too learn the world of fandom, stories, and nerdy obsessions. For those who are just now discovering geekdom, don’t be pressured away from finding new interests and new ways to express yourself—it only goes up from here!

Photo by Meaghan Morrison

Photo by Meaghan Morrison

Health

The ER: It’s nothing like on TV

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Just under 130 million people visit ERs every year, complaining about everything from earaches to broken bones to severe pain. I, myself, have visited the ER more times that I would like to admit, due to some chronic illnesses that love to become acute at the worst of times, combined with a tendency to twist joints in directions they are not meant to go.

Photo by Meaghan Morrison

Photo by Meaghan Morrison

If you’ve never been to the ER, it’s good to know what to expect in advance, because the stress of the situation can easily overwhelm you.

Bring your ID and insurance card: While paperwork is often the last thing you want to think about when dealing with a health crisis, it’s important that you have the necessary documents so that the hospital can easily get you into its system. Without them, it can be a nightmare in the following weeks to  play middle man between the hospital and your insurance company—trust me, I’ve been there. That’s why it’s one of the first things you’ll be asked for: while you’ll never be denied care, insurance or not, having all of your information up-front will save enormous headaches down the road. Usually, registration is quick, and in big emergencies where you can’t really chat with the hospital staff, they’ll get it from a family member or friend as soon as possible. I keep my ID and insurance card with me at all times in my wallet, and I make sure at least one other person can access it: in college, my roommate and I had copies  of everything organized and accessible—it saved the day at least once.

Know your medical history: The first thing you will do after registering in the ER is go through triage, whether you arrive by ambulance or walk through the front door. This is a short process in which a nurse or nurse practitioner will measure your vitals (blood pressure, pulse, oxygen levels, and temperature), find out what symptoms you are experiencing (always be as descriptive and honest as possible—unlike hospitals on TV, they aren’t likely to spend hours and thousands of dollars worth of tests figuring out what you are hiding: drugs, drinking, sex, all of it is important), ask for your pain levels (scale of 1-10), and get your medical history. This will include information like what medication you take, including any vitamins, your drug and alcohol use (again, be honest!), medical conditions, and any past surgeries. If you are female, you will also be asked if there is any chance you could be pregnant and when your last menstrual cycle was (it’s as awkward as it sounds at first, and often I forget—I hate this part). All of this information is key to helping with diagnosis, so it’s important to keep it handy. If you have a few things you need help remembering, keep a list on your phone or somewhere else handy so that the stress of being sick doesn’t cause you to forget the dose of your daily medication or the name of that surgery you had years ago.

The wait: ERs are notorious for their wait times. This is most common in big-city ERs where life-threatening traumas are more commonly experienced. I’ve experienced wait times as short as ten minutes and as long as five hours. It’s a toss-up as to when these times will be the worst, but I’ve found that nighttime is definitely the longest wait. There’s less staff on call, tests take longer, and there are more accidents coming in.. In the end, your wait depends not only on how many people are there but also how ill you are in relation to the other patients. If you are having a long wait and your symptoms change, make sure you let the triage nurse know immediately.

Getting care: Once you are seen, don’t expect there to be a private room: it’s often simply a curtained-off area. This can be extremely awkward at times, because you can hear everything around you. Sometimes it’s difficult to overhear, especially if someone is very sick around you. Other times, you’ll hear the wackiest conversations: I once heard someone find out that they were pregnant with their mother there, and her reaction was hilarious. In the ER, people watching is one of the few forms of entertainment available.

A different nurse will probably take your vitals again, will likely take some blood, and will ask you many of the same questions you were asked in triage. They are required to do this: it’s annoying, especially when you’re stressed and worried, but it ensures that they are getting the right information. Depending on your symptoms and complaints, they may also put you on an IV immediately. An IV is a tube  inserted into a vein, most often in the arm where blood is taken, which facilitates getting fluid into your body (often saline) and medications for pain or nausea. It only takes a minute to insert and, though it’s super uncomfortable, it no longer hurts once it’s in.

After the nurse has seen you, a doctor will follow. Sometimes this wait can also be a bit lengthy, depending on how many people that doctor is covering. He will again ask you about your symptoms and conditions, and may have more extensive questions than you have experienced previously. Depending on your situation, he will then likely order medications or tests to figure out what is going on. Those tests can vary from blood work or urine analysis to an ultrasound, X-ray, or CT scan. Every trip of mine has varied because it really depends on what the issue is. The worst by far for me was when I was in a severe amount of abdominal pain. Seven hours later, I had gone through three rounds of blood work, an ultrasound, a CT scan, and an EKG. Other times, I simply had one test and was out within an hour or two. No matter what, they try to get these done as quickly as possible, but there can be a long wait even when you are in a room.

Leaving the ER: Once the doctor has the results, he or she will either order more tests or, if they’ve found a diagnosis, will get you the right medication or care. Remember that the ERs are for acute care (for sudden and often moderate to severe issues). I’ve always left the ER with a prescription for pain medication or other temporary treatment, with the direction to follow-up with my doctor as soon as possible. Usually, once the major issue is solved, my regular doctors are able to get a better idea of what is wrong and find a long-term solution so that I can avoid acute issues down the road.

If the condition is serious enough, it may warrant admittance to the hospital. I’ve been admitted three times in my life: once right after an emergency surgery, and twice when I spent six days in the hospital before solutions were found and solved by surgeries. Those were expensive, scary, and extreme cases, and I am definitely an exception to the rule: in reality, only about 13% of ER visits result in hospital admissions. Likely, admittance would occur for something like heart trouble, breathing issues that can’t be resolved, severe pain that can’t be managed, dangerous blood pressure, or serious infections. Hospital admissions are expensive and the beds are in high demand, so it requires sound medical necessity. However, if a doctor wants you to be admitted, know that it is in your best interest and they will aim to have you better as soon as possible. It’s always been worth it for me!

Otherwise, it’s back home you go! You will be discharged by your nurse, which, like everything else, can take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, in my experience. Discharging includes home care instructions, information on your diagnosis, and any prescriptions you might need. Be sure to also request records of any tests you received, so that you can show them to your primary doctor and have them added to your medical file.

ERs are overwhelming places. Sometimes fear of them will keep people from going at all. However, if it could be a medical emergency, you need to make sure you get it checked. It’s never silly to go if you are unsure of a severe pain or of a mystery symptom that concerns you, especially if your doctor is unreachable. And if it’s a critical emergency, never hesitate to call 911 and get an ambulance, as it is always the safest and fastest way to get to the nearest hospital. I’ve arrived at the hospital by ambulance and by my own transportation: sometimes, it was out of my control entirely as I wasn’t the one calling the shots, but other times when I could make my own decisions, I never hesitated to go by ambulance if it was my best bet. Don’t be afraid to call one, despite the possible expense, because it can make all the difference in your situation—some counties even cover the cost of an ambulance for this very reason (mine does!).

Hopefully, you will never need this advice. But if one day you do, you now know how to be prepared and make it just a little bit easier.

Food

Learning to Live Gluten Free

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Chances are, if you walk around any grocery store, you will see signs of the gluten-free movement. Some stores have entire sections; others have bright, noticeable labels to help you find products free of wheat, barely, rye and other gluten ingredients. What you may not know is that these products are not just a side effect of the latest fad diet; it’s how millions of people around the country with gluten intolerance and celiac disease manage their condition.

I won’t go into terrible detail here on symptoms and diagnosis, or what it’s like to react to gluten. Gluten intolerance symptoms are very specific, not only to the person but also to the amount of gluten ingested, and many people’s symptoms also change over time. But for the curious, you can check out this pretty comprehensive list.

What I am more interested in explaining here is the “how.” How do you live without gluten and not hole up in your apartment, destined to never eat anything other than fruits and vegetables grown in your own backyard…? Fine, that’s a little overboard, but it really can be tough at first. However, it is doable and, with a little work, can easily become just another part of your daily life.

Do Your Research

You must do research in order to understand how to live with this disease. But don’t just go and scour the big bad west of the Internet without a bit of planning and a cautious eye.

There are many exaggerations, lies, and outright scams out there when it comes to anything medical (or, I guess, any topic created). This problem especially applies to gluten intolerance because it has become such a fad to not eat gluten. So instead, here are some tried and true resources to get you started on the right track.

There’s much more out there, and some of it is quite good. Just make sure it’s coming from a reputable source before believing it.

Learn to Love Food Shopping

Raise your hand if you like food shopping. If you’re like me, your hand is firmly plastered to your side because the idea of going into the grocery store at least once a week for tons of specific things is, well, akin to a dental appointment. I’m with you. I feel your pain. And I promise, it gets easier.

Food shopping is important because (1) you need to buy a lot of fresh foods to stay both healthy and gluten-free, and (2) that’s the only way you are going to eat anything that isn’t bland meat, fruits, and veggies.

Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Giant Foods, and Wegmans all have great selections of gluten free products—from pasta to breads to baking goods—it’s all there. Just make sure you also learn to read labels. Many sauces, oils, and even spices have gluten. If in doubt, ask an employee, or consult a trusted list, before you buy.

Cook? Yes, You’ll Have To Do That, Too

For some of you, stepping into the kitchen may bring pure joy. But if you’re the kind of person who prides yourself on your PB&J skills with a side interest in boiling water, then this may take a bit of extra effort. But it’s totally worth it.

There are many great recipe sites and books out there, sharing both original concoctions and plays on traditional meals with the right substitutions. You may not be very good at them at first. That’s fine. It will get easier, just like cooking does in general. Eventually, you will love how easy it is to make your favorite recipes without any gluten at all.

Pro Tip: If you share a kitchen with those who are blessed with a tolerance for gluten-y goodness, it’s good practice to have a separate set of cooking utensils, pots and pans, and baking sheets. Gluten contamination happens all too easily on these surfaces. Also be sure to extensively clean your kitchen counters and other prep areas before and after every use, and also thoroughly clean any shared plates, utensils, or cups. While those who are not as seriously affected by gluten may not find these small contaminations bothersome, those with full-blown celiac disease often get sick from even the smallest interactions. It’s a good habit to learn.

You Have to Be Pickier About Where You Eat Out

The good news is that you don’t have to give up restaurants, happy hours, and late night munching. The bad news is that your favorite spots may or may not still be viable for you. Many more restaurants and other eateries now cater to those of us who can’t eat 98% of their food anyway. Pizza places, burger joints, and sit-down establishments are now dedicating parts of their menus to us. But even then, there are few things to keep in mind.

Here’s how to find the best places that will handle your requests with ease:

  • Call ahead and ask for a manager. They will be able to tell you any accommodations they offer and how broad their options are. While some restaurants have dedicated separate menus, others just modify a couple of their recipes by substituting something for something else. These may be good options, but still be wary. Their kitchen staff may not be as attentive and you’ll need to be extra vigilant in making sure they do it right.
  • Try to be familiar with the menu beforehand. This will save you review time and allow you to more specifically handle working with the staff so that you don’t slow down the whole process. Also, it cuts down on surprises.
  • Tell your waiter or waitress as soon as you are seated that you have a gluten allergy. She’ll ensure you have the proper menu and will tell you if there’s anything you should be aware of. This will also give you more time to work out the details while the rest of your party has time to make their selections. Often, this will even prompt a manager to come over, who will likely be more familiar with the processes of the kitchen and handling food sensitivities. Some restaurants even make this a policy.
  • Be wary. I hate to say it, but no matter what, eating out is a risk for those with gluten sensitivity. Your food is being prepared in the same place as food with gluten, by a busy and sometimes overworked kitchen staff. While there is still a good chance you will have a perfectly fine experience, be ready for the possibility of contamination and side effects. If your symptoms are severe, be extra careful and consider ordering something entirely from scratch that you know will be gluten free. If the chef says that he can’t guarantee that there won’t be contamination, consider whether this will be okay for you. The risk sometimes may be too high.

If you’re not sure where to start looking for gluten-free friendly establishments, check out the Gluten Free Registry. (It’s comprehensive and covers most of the country.) While it is sometimes a bit outdated, and includes old restaurants or forgets new ones, it’s a great starting point and often will help you think of other places that haven’t even crossed your mind.

Learning to live gluten-free may seem overwhelming, frustrating, and downright unfair, but it will get easier. If you stick to your new habits, are extra vigilant, and are above all patient with yourself and those around you, then the habits and routines will fall into place naturally. Gluten-free living doesn’t need to be hard, it just needs to be done right.

GlutenFreeFullSize

Photo by Jennifer Dorsey

Health

Three little words: “You have cancer.”

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I’ve never really been bothered by going to the doctor. I know a lot of people hate the waiting rooms, the medical tests, and the wasted time, but I’ve always been rather ambivalent to the whole experience.

Then cancer happened.

Like life, cancer doesn’t have a how-to book. There is no magic formula, no quick and easy cure. There is no one that can tell you exactly how you will need to face the disease emotionally, physically, and mentally. But you can learn through others’ stories and experiences, strengthened by the hope and knowledge that there is another side to it all.

I hope my story is that to someone else.

When I was little, my pediatrician told my mom that I would never be a well child. It turned out that he was borderline prophetic, because over the more than fifteen years he treated me, I amassed a chart that could rival the thickest of the Harry Potter novels.When I was twelve I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition and put immediately on low doses of thyroid hormones. By the time I entered high school I already had several polyps on my thyroid gland that had to be closely monitored. My doctor was alarmed by the rate at which the polyps were growing. Surgery was imminent, cancer suspected. Then, suddenly, they shrank as quickly as they had grown.

The polyps came back to haunt me again this year. Just weeks before my 24th birthday, I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma, or thyroid cancer.

Papillary thyroid cancer is currently the fastest growing cancer in the U.S., accounting for around 80% of all thyroid cancers and when caught early, which is most of the time, chances of becoming cancer free are nearly 100%. But statistics don’t tell you everything.

From the beginning this knowledge gave me hope. When you’re young and diagnosed with something like this, you want to think beyond short term, beyond what is medically defined at one year, five years, or even ten. I have decades to go. I want to write, travel the world, and go to nerdy conferences. But my particular cancer doesn’t always agree with those plans. What I didn’t realize at the time was that even when my tests showed no sign of cancer I would still have to face the long term repercussions of my treatment.

Another thing statistics don’t tell you is how many difficult decisions cancer forces on you. It’s amazing the number of decisions that you must make when you are least prepared to make any. They all had to be immediate: whether to get a second opinion, how to handle my extended time off of work, whom to tell. I checked everything off diligently and mechanically, focused only on the next thing I had to tackle, refusing to let my mind linger.

Aside from the medical reality of my cancer, it became immediately clear that I had to adjust to a new “lifestyle.” I couldn’t afford to take too much time off from work so I had to find a way to balance professional responsibilities with the demands of my health. I had two or three medical appointments a week for doctors’ visits, blood work, and scans. I walked the route from the hospital to my job more often in the first month of my diagnosis alone than I had the entire two years I had been employed. Time and energy were no longer to be taken for granted. I was lucky that my job allowed me a flexible schedule so that I could work from home when necessary to save the precious energy usually expended during my commute. The same standard applied to my social life. My friends came to me more than I went to them and I relied on the Internet more than ever. It was a new normal, at least for the time being.

I also had to tell about my diagnosis, little by little. I eventually found myself dreading the conversation because I  often had to calm others more than I had to calm myself. By the time I had told close to a dozen family and friends I had my “speech” memorized: No it wasn’t deadly. Yes, I would need surgery. No, chemo wasn’t necessary. Yes, I was doing okay.

Thankfully, my mom was with me every step of the way. No matter what her schedule, or how last minute the appointment, she was there. She helped me tell my family, advised me on handling my insurance, and kept me calm. She took care of me during my recovery, even if she was not feeling well. It helped that she is also a cancer survivor and knows this road all too well and without her I would’ve had a much more difficult experience.

Finally came the treatment. This cancer frequently results in removing the thyroid because all thyroid cells must be destroyed in order to prevent a recurrence and to make sure the cancer doesn’t spread to other organs (metastases). In my case there were local metastases to the lymph nodes in my neck, which are not uncommon and did not lessen my chance of a cure by much, if at all. But it did mean a more radical surgery, leaving a scar on my neck that looks like a botched attempt to slit my throat from behind. The surgery gave way to weeks of neck pain and a nearly immobile shoulder that only just recently regained all of its strength.

I was also treated with radioactive iodine, a high-dose radiation pill that targets the thyroid cells specifically, killing whatever is left. Much more forgiving than chemotherapy or beam radiation, the treatment lasted just a week and had very few side-effects. Though it involved almost total isolation (thank goodness for the Internet) and a period of dealing with my body’s poor reaction, I was grateful that it was over quickly and relatively painlessly.

Lastly, the pills I started as a child are now invaluable, taking the place of my thyroid entirely. The dose skyrocketed and is still adjusted every few months as my doctor attempts to find exactly the right number, waiting to see if I react adversely to each increase. The goal is to keep the cancer at bay and my hormones functioning. I will never be able to stop taking the tiny pill, and it has become as much a part of my routine as eating and drinking.

Getting through these treatments, especially surgery, was hard. But it was the people I had with me through the entire journey, from those a short drive away to the ones across the country, that made the experience not only bearable, but livable. They texted me with random jokes and check-ins, took me out to lunch, and asked thoughtful questions about my surgery and treatment. They acknowledged my limitations in what I could do with them by helping me find alternatives so that I wouldn’t feel isolated because of illness. They sent me cards or small gifts just because. They were there for me when I needed them, and more importantly, when I didn’t.

When I reflect over the past year I still have trouble processing it. I was told over and over again how strong I was, but there were many times that I felt anything but. I was often a few moments away from crumbling inside, retreating into a shell until I found the cure for the pain I was facing. I had trouble explaining the struggle to others-–I didn’t know how to put it into words without sounding like a frightened, paranoid child. After all, my cancer had never been deadly. My doctors assured me from the moment of my diagnosis that I would not lose my life.

And yet, despite that comfort, nearly everything changed in a way I could not have foreseen. I unwittingly took on an illness that would never be entirely cured. I lost an organ. I became the constant recipient of concerned or curious stares. And most of all, I took on a new form of isolation, one that can only be bestowed by illness. Despite this internal struggle, I still felt guilt for feeling the way I did, for allowing myself to become so upset when I knew that I would soon be cured, while others would not. It took a long time to reconcile those feelings.

It’s been nearly eight months since my diagnosis and I am tentatively cancer free. I have to return regularly for tests, but for the first time in months, I am not worried. Everyday I feel a bit better, and some days I almost feel like I never had cancer at all. I am back to being me, to writing and travelling where I can. But I can’t deny that I’ve been definitively changed by three little words.

Cancer

Photo by Meaghan Morrison

Brainfood

Your Guide to Voting in All 50 States

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It is common knowledge that, statistically, young people don’t vote. Whether it’s because we’re not registered, we don’t care, we don’t know how, or we need a refresher in civics (because we were too busy watching a bumblebee out of the window during Government class), people under the age of thirty-five, given the right to vote, often don’t exercise it.

So for those of you who are just now eligible, haven’t registered since the last election, have recently moved, or are lost in an existential crisis about the meaning of a vote, I give you our quick and dirty instructions on how to register to vote:

1) Figure out the state where you are registering

This is the state where you have your driver’s license/pay your taxes. Even if you do not live there, it is where you vote. If you’re travelling, away at school, etc., you can vote absentee (more on that later).

2) Look up your state’s process

Unfortunately, every state is a bit different, but it’s usually a very simple process. You need to do a quick search on your particular state’s rules, how long before the elections you need to register, and what registering requires. In nearly all states, there’s a registration deadline (and no, it’s almost never Election Day). You can check your state’s deadline on this handy list. (Note: A few lucky places do allow same-day registration or election-day registration, but it’s pretty uncommon.)

If you’re not sure if you’re registered, where you’re registered, or how you are registered (absentee, party preference, etc.), try one of the following:

    • Can I Vote.org can help you find out if you’re registered and where your polling place is.
    • County Registrar: Google “county registrar” with the name of your city. You should be provided with the name of your county’s “Registrar of Voters” and the website, address, and phone number of his or her’s office. Their website can help you check your registration status and/or re-register (this includes changing your address, changing your name, changing your party, or changing your vote-by-mail status). But if that gets confusing, give them a call, or take a quick drive over (they are in your county).

If you just need to register:

    • See above for your County Registrar.
    • State Election Board: You can also get a voter registration form from your State Election Board. You can find a complete list of all of the State Election Boards here.
    • State Registrar: If your state doesn’t provide an easily accessible form, you can use this national registration form and send it to your state Registrar’s office (follow the Googling procedures above with “state registrar” and your state).
    • If all this online stuff is super confusing and you just want to fill out a paper form, visit your nearest local library or post office.

On all of these websites, look for any “Register to Vote” buttons or FAQ that can help you navigate the process.

You CAN register online, but remember you still have to print out the form, sign it, and mail it to your state Registrar.  Make sure you leave time to mail the form before the registration deadline!

3) Register!

Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

4) Find out if your state has early voting / Apply for an absentee ballot

Many states/counties allow you to vote up to a few weeks early to avoid the sometimes-crazy lines that amass on Election Day. Early voting is often significantly more convenient, so go ahead and see if it’s an option for you through your State Election Board.

If you are going to be out-of-state for the election, apply for an absentee ballot. Again, you can check your State Election Board’s website to find out the specifics. Just remember, this will take more time, as it requires mailing and such, so don’t wait too long. Double check if your state will allow you to drop off your ballot at a polling place on Election Day (allowing you to both procrastinate and get a super awesome “I Voted” sticker).

5) Find your polling place

Usually the address of your polling place will come in the mail with your voter registration card (if your state doesn’t send cards, check the back of your sample ballot, or see step #2) a few weeks after you register or a few weeks before the election.

6) Do your research

Once you are registered, you might receive a Voter Information Guide from your Registrar with information about the candidates as well as propositions, initiatives and referendums.

If you tend to not keep up with local news and politics, you may want to do some research on your local elections as well. Often a good place to start is your local news, as they tend to profile local candidates and run stories on them close to the election.

If you don’t get the newspaper  (or it doesn’t show up in an easy Google search) and local TV news isn’t your thing, smartvoter.org is also a very useful, nonpartisan site for information on local, state, and federal elections.

7) Vote!

We’ve reached the most important step. Don’t forget! The next election is November 6th—mark your calendar now.

Now you are all set to influence the laws of our land. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, everyone’s vote matters in the end. You can help to change the statistics. After all, you likely pay taxes and possibly student loans, you may own a home or have kids, and eventually you could decide to retire. Today’s lawmakers influence all of this and more. Do something to influence them.

Go. Vote.

voting

Photo by Meaghan Morrison