Amanda Smalfus, Staff Writer
When first approached my freshman year by the Smoke Signal at the activities fair, I was terrified by the idea of joining the staff. I dreaded the judgement of my peers; particularly the word "nerd." But I got to thinking, what does being a nerd mean? Does it mean I am smart? Does it mean that I love to learn, or that I am good at it? And the more I thought, the more I listened to John Green, the more I realized, whether I was a nerd or I wasn't, that I was just passionate. Most relevantly, I am incredibly passionate about writing. The only way to turn a passion into a talent is to practice, and so I have joined the Smoke Signal. I guess now would be as good time as any to say that my name is Amanda Smalfus, and I am many things. I am a student, dancer, sister, daughter, scholar, philosopher, and a fanatic. I am pensive and obsessive, but I am also hardworking, empathetic, and fun-loving. I love science, math, reading, writing, music, ballet, Taylor Swift, VlogBrothers, and movies that make you cry. I am one of possibly two Seattle Seahawks fans living in New Jersey. I am not normal, at least not on the inside. The thing about writing though, any kind of writing, is that not-normal is great. Not-normal makes people feel things. Writing reveals everyone's not-normal insides. At this point I've probably told you more about me than you ever felt the need to know, but the entirety of self-description in this profile reveals next to nothing about the whole of me. So know that as you read the articles with my name written on the byline, that you are reading my quirks, flaws, thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes, and so much more. You are viewing the inside. And it sounds scary, and it is scary, but in the end we are all so much better off for having shared, hence a great newspaper like the Smoke Signal.
