Three on Thursday: Jacqueline Paniagua
Today Jacqueline Paniagua shares her thoughts on writing, reading, and creativity. She is a recent graduate from our Humanities program and has started her Masters in Communication this semester at Florida Tech.
1. What is the last topic you wrote about? If you’re a creative writer, tell us about what inspired your composition. If you’re a student or scholar doing research, explain the context of your piece and what motivated you to choose that topic.
Jacqueline: The last piece I wrote was my Humanities Capstone Project, which was The Legalization of Euthanasia: A Comparative Study of Cultural Impact. Many questioned why I wanted to perform research on a particularly morbid topic. I suppose end-of-life issues have always caught my eye because it’s such a sensitive subject that people rarely like to delve into. Learning about different cultures is also an interest of mine. However, the strong opinions regarding Euthanasia is what intrigued me the most. Throughout the research, it was interesting to see how the beliefs of multiple cultures varied regarding the Euthanasia issue and how it ultimately played a role in lawmaking.
2. What conclusions or assumptions (right or wrong) might someone make if they looked at the books on your bookshelf/desk/backpack right now? Tell us about some particularly interesting selections and any books you’d recommend to others.
Jacqueline: First off, if someone were to simply walk into my apartment, they would find books in every room. EVERY ROOM! They vary from biographies, photography, Paulo Coelho, the Qur’an, cookbooks, Kafka, poetry, the Bible, Toni Morrison, and even books on farming. The list goes on. However, one thing that someone looking at my bookshelf may conclude is that I love reading titles/authors from different cultures. Every time I read, I like to take something from it. I try to learn after every reading session and learning about different worlds simply fascinates me.
There are three books that I would recommend:
- Mortality by Christopher Hitchens
- Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan
- Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn
3. What or who inspires you when you are feeling creative? Your response doesn’t necessarily have to be about writing. It could be about anything you do to express yourself creatively and the inspiration that fuels that creativity.
Jacqueline: Movement inspires me. Whether I am going for a run, dancing, or traveling, I truly believe that it helps me free my mind. Once I start running laps, do spins on the dance floor, or see new places, I get a rush of excitement and tend to have all these ideas come to me at once. I live for those moments. It is actually quite difficult to explain how it all happens, but maybe that is what makes it so great!
