Alexandrea Callaghan
Bio
Certified nerd, super geek and very proud fangirl.
Stories (549/0)
In Defense of Libraries
Lately I have seen a lot of articles on the fall of libraries, how they are about to go extinct if we don’t save them. We see libraries getting closed down, art programs getting cut, essentially we are seeing the art of knowledge and self expression die off. In addition to personal reasons for needing libraries around, they are also a beautiful place for free knowledge, for those who cannot afford to buy books. For those who can not afford a computer for access to internet, it is a place for people who can not afford basic forms of knowledge to go and indulge in the information that libraries have to offer. Libraries are the backbone of our society; a place for knowledge and art, a place for people to retreat to when they need a safe haven for their ideas. I am one who has great belief that libraries are an essential part of our society as a whole. When the world gets to loud, and the thoughts inside my head get to busy, I can always take comfort in one single place. Thousands of single places, really. Any and all libraries. Nothing gives me the sense of serene comfort like being around hundreds and hundreds of books. Thousands of worlds and ideas surrounding me and all of a sudden I don't have to be in reality anymore. I can curl up with a classic or turn to something new I have yet to discover and find my heart in something new. The simple act of opening a book and losing yourself in its words seems like such a small action but it can open your mind and your heart and take you to new places. You can discover things you never knew before, about the world and about yourself. Another person's words can inspire you to create, speak out, and even live differently. Another person's ideas can ignite your own, causing a beautiful creative revolution. I know that no matter what life brings, I can always find a library with a big comfy chair, and curl up with a book; a book whose words dance through my mind with spectacular color and musical celebration. I can lose and find myself in the heart of a story either new to me, or completely comfortable and predictable. As a writer I can often see where a story is going to go within its first few pages, but that has never dulled the journey and authors words take me on. Many stories may take a similar path but an author's individual words, and the heart and perspective that they put into a plot line everyone has read before is what makes art unique. It is what makes our hearts and minds full, and it is what keeps us coming back to art. We don’t continue to read books to read the same story over and over again, we continue to read to discover something we didn’t notice before. We come back to books because of the way the stories are told. We keep being told that libraries are dying, being wiped out by digital books and the fall of literacy, but the truth is as long as people seek knowledge, truth, and creativity, there will be libraries. There will be places people can go to retreat into stories, a place where people can find their voice and themselves. Libraries will remain a place to find safety in knowledge, strength in truth, and relief in creativity. I will continue to find comfort among books and find myself in stories. So when the world gets to loud, and the thoughts in my head get too busy, I will always retreat into a story.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Geeks
How Theatre Has Helped Me in Sales
Whenever you have dedicated most of yourself to a field that is completely creative, it can be frustrating looking for other work because people don’t always see the transferable skills that we have learned from being on stage. Skills that we have not only acquired, but mastered better than any other candidates employers may have. As an actor, I have been trained in communication skills, public speaking, confidence, problem-solving, and persistence.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Journal
Letting Go
The sun was covered by a thick blanket of deep grey clouds that covered any blue for as far as anyone could see. On this cold, cloudy New York city morning, she walked quickly into her favorite bookshop. Just as she approaches the rain starts to fall, drizzles at first but as she makes it in the door it starts to pour. She finds at the front door a box with a sign that says “Take some inspiration to chase away a bad day.” She reached into the box and pulls out a slip of paper, she made her way to her favorite, oversized green chair; curled up into it. She opened up the slip of paper and read the words: “Don’t let anyone dim your shine.” She laid her head back and closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek and she thought of the words that he used to say. She tried to remember the words said in his voice, something he used to say to her almost daily and yet she couldn’t summon his voice to her memory. Tears started to fill her eyes as she thought about the fact that it had only been two weeks but had already begun to fade from her mind.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Families
Words They Couldn't Say
For years they struggled back and forth with their unspoken desire for each other, and for years it drained them both. To look at the person you want the most and be unable to tell them how you feel; to see in your mind's eye how good it could be and feel everything that is standing in the way; to be so afraid to shove the internal obstacles aside because you are top scared that to gain something wonderful you could lose everything instead.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Humans
The Feminism of Buffy
I wasn’t introduced to Buffy until high school. I had passed reruns on TV a few times saw a vampire go poof and thought it was the dumbest thing ever until my dad made me sit down and actually watch the first episode. I immediately made him play the second episode and then the third. After that my life was different, I binge watched Buffy like it was the only thing keeping me alive and for a while after that it was. Buffy (and a lot of other female characters brought to us by Joss Whedon) is the perfect symbol for feminism. She is strong and kicks ass, yes, but she is also not afraid to be vulnerable or emotionally weak, and her motives are not male driven. She saves the world because it’s her job, for her friends, and for her families. She isn't the way she is because of a guy which is the problem with a lot of “strong” female characters on TV and in movies.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Viva
Why Scarlet Witch is the Most Badass Character in the MCU
This is a topic that has spurred many an argument amongst my nerd friends and I. I will fight for Scarlet Witch to the death and here’s why; the character is played by the beautiful and graceful Elizabeth Olsen, who is not only gorgeous but one of the most kickass actresses on set as she doesn’t have anything tactile to act with. She has to wave her hands around and throw them at a tennis ball. Imagine as an actor how difficult that is, how well you have to know your character as yourself. I have been an actress for a long time and Elizabeth Olsen is incredible.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Geeks
What Love Looks Like
It was a windy yet beautiful spring day. The barn was decorated with lanterns and lavender, the dessert table consisted of Captain America decorated cupcakes. And the venue was packed with people that I had never met and ones that I didn’t remember. My cousin’s wedding was beautiful and though I had never met her fiancé before the big day I knew from the minute I heard their vows that they would be perfect together.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Humans
Home Is Where The Heart Is
They say home is where the heart is and I’m about to be a thousand miles away from mine. With the summer sun high in the sky I am forced to leave the only person who has ever made me feel safe. He is my heart, my soul, my light. I cling tightly to the warmth and security that he has given me. I let the pain that I am feeling flow from my eyes as you wrap me in your solid arms and I breathe you in for what feels like the last time. And it will be the last at least for a while and as we stand there in the airport I try to remember why it is that I am choosing to leave you.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Poets
Lighthouse
I am a ship, I am pushed and pulled by a vast, endless ocean. When the waters calm, I can see the horizon and begin to love the world I see again. Then the rain starts and as water crashes down upon me, and lightning brightens the sky, the waters become rough and cold. I am now thrashed and beaten by the waves and circumstances of my reality.
By Alexandrea Callaghan6 years ago in Poets