I graduate this June with a BS in Journalism, a minor in Sociology, and a Women's Studies Certificate. Until then, most of my energy is going toward finishing my honors thesis, in which I'm looking at the use of feminist ideology, specifically empowerment, in advertising to motivate women's consumption. My conclusion is that feminist ideology, when co-opted by marketers, is used to further a capitalist, patriarchal system that feminists actually work to subvert.

As for the future, right now I have absolutely no idea! I want to take a year or two off before going to grad school, so it looks like I'm going to go the "job" route. Ideally, I'd like to end up working in the non-profit sector, which it turns out is hard to break into at an entry-level when you're also looking to make a salary to live off of.

Perhaps after I graduate I'll also expand the essay that I sent you. I've written a few short pieces on the same topic, and your contest made me seriously consider writing the rest down and sharing it with more people. In fact, I had never spoken a word of what I'd written to my family, and winning the contest forced me to open the dialogue with my parents. It was a very tentative conversation, but also very good in the long run--keeping silent on such issues isn't going to change anyone's perspective. A lot of my friends were shocked, too, and had nothing to say other than, "I had no idea..."

Around the same time last year, I ran across a blog on xanga of an adoptee who expressed feelings of mixed identity similar to mine, and I realized that it's not that no one else has these struggles, it's just that no one voices them. And that's the point of your contest, right? So thank you very much for your efforts to spread awareness.