Things I Like

I have compiled this page so you can learn a little more about me — things that have impacted me, the best performances by Kelly Clarkson (such an angel as she is), and whatever else strikes my fancy.

It’s a page of pure self-indulgence. Enjoy.

The Top Five Live Performances
by Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson is America’s sweetheart. She is down-to-earth, came from nothing, and embodies the American Dream. But most of all, she has the voice of an angel, and these are my favorite examples.

5. Home (Marc Broussard)

Orlando Mardi Gras
March 29, 2009

The first winner of American Idol, Kelly is a power-house vocalist. Talent enchants me. And here, her vocals are insane. She slips effortlessly between belts and head voice. And it drips with soul, even if her bluesy rasp doesn’t take center stage here.

4. My Country ‘Tis of Thee (Traditional)

Inauguration of Barack Obama
January 20, 2013

This performance sends chills down my spine. I have a soft spot for patriotism (who can resist an ode to this great nation?). In this performance, one personal hero of mine is welcoming another hero into office. Two American heroes, together on one stage.

3. Since U Been Gone

MTV Video Music Awards
August 28, 2005

What fun. What silliness. Never mind that the vocals are trash. Here, she is so human. It looks like pure fun. Jumping around in the rain. And, of course, what millennial didn’t sing Since U Been Gone as a moody teenager pretending to be all that, like this?

2. Piece by Piece

American Idol: The Farewell Season
February 25, 2016

Who didn’t see this? It’s so touching. The song, written by Kelly, is about how her husband is a better father than hers was. It’s about doing right by her children. And she is singing it while pregnant. It’s raw. She emotes. I can’t help but cry with Keith Urban.

1. Up to the Mountain
(Patty Griffin)

Idol Gives Back
April 24, 2007

This happened right around the time I became a big fan. There’s just something about her. I can’t put my finger on it. Something that makes me want to be all I can be. To be a better person. To touch the world in a way that makes something better of it, too.

Bonus: Medley of 2017’s hits

Billboard Music Awards
May 20, 2018

I’ll keep this “bonus” slot open for recent favorites.

This year, Kelly hosted the Billboard Music Awards. And if the previous videos didn’t prove that she’s the Queen of Live Covers, this medley definitely will.

Did I mention that I met Kelly Clarkson?

Stronger Tour in Champaign, Ill.
February 25, 2012

My Favorite Book

To the Lighthouse (1927)
Virginia Woolf

This book is unconventional. Written in stream-of-consciousness style, it is a 200-page character study. We learn about the dreams, fears, and neuroses of the insecure Mr. Ramsay, blissful James, and others, in often painful detail. It engenders empathy.

But one character touched me more than the rest: Mrs. Ramsay. I hope to one day have the self-awareness and social agility that she does. She can make anyone feel welcome — or not, if she so wishes.

Mrs. Ramsay is not everything that she wants to be. She is trapped by the gender confines of her time. She has her own insecurities, weaknesses, and fears. But by leveraging her social prowess, she expands her influence beyond her domestic station.

Like her, I strive to make the greatest impact that I can in my current station, trusting that my commitment will expand my station to all I want it to be.

My Favorite Artwork

The Slave Ship (1840)
J. M. W. Turner

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Boston, Mass.

35.7” by 48.3”
(90.8 cm by 122.6 cm)
oil on canvas

“The Slave Ship” was painted during Europe’s
late Romantic period. Romanticists aimed to capture the “feeling” of an event or phenomenon, with special emphasis on the battle between nature and mankind that dominated the Industrial Revolution.

This scene depicts the disgusting practice during the slave trade when traders would throw (living) slaves overboard to collect the insurance money.

The mood is frantic. Urgent. The rough seas toss about the ship and drown the overthrown slaves, whose limbs and shackles we see bobbing in the waves (man vs. nature). We are burdened with its utter depravity without the power to change it.

When I first saw the work in person, it overwhelmed me. It had been a favorite already — I saw it in a European history textbook — but when I stumbled across it in the M.F.A. Boston without expecting to, the emotion arrested me. Such cruelty.

It begs us to answer, What can you do to stop the cruelty? In this painting, the answer is: nothing. For those slaves, it is too late. But we cannot settle for “nothing” in the present. For people suffering today, “The Slave Ship” urges us to do all we can.