A Belated New Year’s Resolution

Like some people on the planet, I normally don’t make new year's resolutions. The concept never really intrigued me. Sure I have life goals, but I normally don't sit down at the beginning of each year thinking about what I want to accomplish in the next 365 days. By reading the title of this post, you can see that I am making a change for this year.  

This semester, I’m taking a class entitled Mobile Digital Storytelling. Basically, we will spend the semester telling stories using only our mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc.). For one of our first assignments in the class, we had to read an online article called The Flâneur.  

For those like me who are not fluent in French, a Flâneur is a term for a person who goes about daily life really seeing what is going on around him. He doesn't so much interact with the world, but instead quietly observes and notices what many other people may miss. A Flâneur would be someone who is content with window shopping instead of going off on an extravagant shopping spree. 

Today, we have a unique component in our lives that the Flâneurs of the past didn't have: technology. 

For most of us, we use technology to tune out, but what if instead, we use it to tune in and share/document our day-to-day experiences? That is my new year's resolution: become a 21st century Flâneur. 

This time last year, I was doing a much better job of being a Flâneur. I was studying abroad in Rome and everyday life was brimming with new experiences. Living in a completely new country and then jetting off almost every weekend to another new country made it very easy to pay attention to small components of daily life. Everything was new and exciting. Now, I’m back in Chicago, a place that I have called home for the past 10 years and the excitement of everyday life has faded. I have become numb to the little things that happen around me that make life so interesting and exciting. 

I want to change this and my hope is to share the things I notice in the form of video, photo and audio in order to inspire others to be more active observers in life. 

As a student studying photography and journalism, I am attracted to discovering things that normally go unseen and I feel I have an obligation to share them with others. 

For those interested, here is a link to my blog that I will be keeping as part of my mobile story class. Also, leave a link in the comments below for your own blogs/instagrams/ whatever you use to document life. I wanna check them out! 

Hope everyone has a great MLK weekend! 

9/11

I came across this article today in the midst of the numerous 9/11 posts. It offers a deeper look at the numerous people who were affected by that fateful day and where they are now. I think stories like this help put a face to the tragedy, making it all the more personal and emotional. My heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one 13 years ago and to the men and women who are trying to keep our country safe today.

Eataly

Last weekend, my friends from Rome and I had a Rome reunion dinner at Eataly. This was my first time actually eating there, as in the past, it's been too crowded to actually sit-down and enjoy a meal.

As it turns out the place was still packed. We had to wait around an hour to get a table. We decided to use that time to explore.

First off, there was the fruit. VERY overpriced but still fun to look at. They also had free samples of melon which were very good.

We then ventured upstairs to be greeted by vast amounts of cheese. Again, the prices were not so friendly to college kids. The mozarella di bufala in particular was a personal blow since we were so used to the cheap Italian prices.

After a quick stop at the focaccia bar and a little more wandering around, our table was finally ready.

If you couldn't tell from the picture, our meal was worth waiting for.

And what better way to finish off some amazing pasta, than with an equally amazing banana Nutella crepe at the nutella bar? 

Bottom line, Eataly is a fun place to grab a meal. Do yourself a favor though, and come on a weekday when it's not flooded with people. 

Week in Photos

Hope everyone had a great day! Just wanted to share some of the photos I took last week. Warning: about 90% of them involve food.

Last week, my friend and I went to Molly's cupcakes before she heads back to school in New York. If you are ever in Chicago I HIGHLY recommend making a stop here. They are some of my favorite cupcakes in the City.

On Wednesday, I ended up going to The Blind Bet Comedy show at the Pony Inn. My friend got free tickets, and I have to admit it the comedians were actually very good. 

I finally finished moving in! It still hasn't hit me that this is my last year of University.  

Over the weekend my Rome friends and I had a little reunion at Eataly. I had Taglitelle al Ragu followed by a Nutella and banana crepe. I thought it was very good! In the upcoming week I'll probably write a more in depth post. 

And thats it! Have a good rest of the week!

An Introduction

Welcome! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Benita Gingerella. I am currently a Senior at Loyola University Chicago majoring in Journalism and minoring in Photography. My interests include fashion, Youtube, theater, traveling, cooking, music, movies, and books, just to name a few.

Here is a picture of me and a french bulldog for reference:

In January 2014, I started a Wordpress blog documenting my study abroad experience in Rome. I fell in love with the idea of blogging (duh, I’m a Journalism major) and now I want to continue writing about my daily life and loves with a personal blog.

Since my little “get to know me” questionnaire worked so well on my study abroad blog, I’ve decided to do the same here.

Name: Benita Gingerella

Favorite color: Blue. If we’re getting specific- turquoise.

Favorite Season: Fall

Favorite candy: Reeses

Favorite store(s): H&M, Old Navy, Madewell, Urban Outfitters

Favorite TV shows: New Girl, Breaking Bad, Lost (yes I finally finished it), Supernatural, Orange is The New Black

Favorite Youtubers: Shaytards, Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, Hannah Hart, Vlogbrothers

Major/minor: Major- Journalism,  Minor- Photography

But isn’t journalism a dying art form? Why would you want to major in something that doesn’t make any money? You should go be a lawyer.

Yea, I’m well aware of the challenges related to my major, but writing is what makes me happy. So, what can you do? I would also be the most disorganized, neurotic, indecisive lawyer ever, so no.

Do people ever mix-up/mispronounce your name?

Yes. Once, the Citi credit card lady lovingly referred to me as Ms. Gorilla while on the phone. It was weird. Another time, a person once magically transformed Benita into Fanida. That was weird too. She wins the creativity award.

Did you pick up any Italian while studying abroad in Rome?

Si. Parlo un po’ d’italiano.

Do you know any other languages besides English and a little Italian?

The fact that I’m answering this in English should tell you the answer to this question.

What will we find on this blog?

Fashion, travel diaries, things to do in Chicago, photography, DIYs, rants, cool things I find on the World Wide Web, puppies, etc. It’s basically my little place on the Internet.

Aren’t there a lot of personal/fashion/entertainment blogs on this website? What makes you different?

Not a clue. I would like to say that I have a unique perspective on a range of different topics. Furthermore, my mom thinks I’m pretty cool and I trust her opinion on everything.

Is this the end of the questionnaire?

Yes.

Oh, and for those you who want to go read my study abroad blog you can do so by clicking here. =)