Student Shout-Out: Blogger and newspaper columnist Sarah!

Today’s “Student Shout-Out” focuses on junior Communication Studies major Sarah Manning, who, in addition to being a full-time college student, is also a blogger and newspaper columnist!  Sarah created a blog called “The Chocolate Fig” (http://thechocolatefigsf.com) where she explores healthy food and healthy living, and she also writes a column for her hometown newspaper.

Communication Studies major, blogger, columnist, and photographer Sarah!

Sarah is passionate about healthy living and healthy cooking.  I asked her why she started her blog.  “I first started ‘The Chocolate Fig’ to keep track of the easy recipes I made each day.  It was fun for me to write a little bit about why and how they came together, what sort of health benefits they boasted, and tips for my imaginary readers.  Eventually, I started telling my friends and family about the blog after they continually asked what I ate and how I maintained such a healthy diet.  The goal of my blog then morphed to become a place for my social network to read about exactly what I do to stay balanced.  As my readership has grown, I started hosting ads and promoting it more on other photography and food websites.  Of course, for the most part I write ‘The Chocolate Fig’ entirely for myself.  I have a ton of fun redesigning the site every so often and experimenting with my writing style.  It has been a great tool for learning and growing.”

Check out Sarah's blog for the recipe for this delicious-looking fig fudge

In December, Sarah started a food column called “Nourished” for the Los Altos Town Crier.  Sarah works on these articles for four weeks before they are due, and they are heavily researched.   You can check out Sarah’s most recent articles here:

http://www.losaltosonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23510&Itemid=133
http://www.losaltosonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23242&Itemid=133
http://www.losaltosonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23064&Itemid=133

Sarah has been interested in healthy living and healthy cooking since she was in high school.  I asked her what she likes about blogging: “What I love more than anything is the conversation and sense of community that’s created when you put yourself out there and write about what moves you.  I love getting notes from complete strangers who tried one of my recipes and liked it; it really makes you notice that we’re not all that different, even if we live worlds apart. Blogging has also become an extension of my diary, because what I choose to cook or bake has so much to do with how I’m feeling on a given day.  I try to incorporate this into my blog posts; usually there’s some sort of life update or adventure I tell readers about that inspired the dish.  In a word, it’s all about the journey.  That may seem really corny, but it’s true.  We’re all just exploring and going about our daily tasks, trying to give our lives meaning. For me, food and health hold incredible meaning.  When I eat the same foods for a week, I get really bored.  So I try new things and almost never make the same recipe twice.  If I didn’t do something with my passions and create art, I’d explode.”

A healthy cupcake. Sarah, if you have a healthy red velvet cupcake that tastes as good as the non-healthy version from my local bakery, send it my way!

I also asked Sarah if her study of communication helps her: “It absolutely helps!  [M]y writing has improved tremendously since starting the blog and the column.  With research papers, literature reviews, blog posts and newspaper articles, that’s four different styles of writing that I’ve had to learn how to do.  They all help each other in some way.  Studying communication also helps me adopt a different perspective about people in general, because knowing and understanding how and why we communicate helps me come up with new things to write about.  I’ve grown to love writing about food politics for the conversations that ensue, even though they’re usually controversial and sometimes critical of the writer.  You can tell a lot about someone based on what they say in heated discussions!”

Congratulations, Sarah, on all of your success!  I think it is so wonderful to see what our students are passionate about!  Only one suggestion: Any way we could get your byline to read “University of San Francisco Communication Studies major Sarah Manning”?  Check out Sarah’s blog for some food inspiration!