A small town kid just living the dream. — Hi everyone! My name is Noah Nelson and I am from the small town of Taylorville, located smack dab in the middle of Illinois. Currently, I am a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign majoring in journalism with minors in political science and history. Outside of the classroom…

This story is crazier than you think. — You know who President John Tyler is, right? You should know he spent some time in the White House, and that even though he died in 1862 in the early days of the American Civil War, he still has one grandchild living today. How is that even possible? It’s strange…

You should look to J.K. Rowling for help. — British author J.K. Rowling was 25 years old when she hatched the idea about an 11-year-old boy with magical powers who attends a wizarding school to master his skills. Sounds pretty simple, right? I think so too. It’s not only an idea, but the first seed into the Wizarding World…

And what keeps me writing every day. — To be successful on Medium, a writing platform, you just have to do the main part of it. Write! How hard can that be? For some folks it is. Writing every day and come up with ideas. That can be a challenge in and of itself but it doesn’t have…

Or do you think it’s a waste of time? — I love reading as much as the next bibliophile. So much so that over the years I have re-read some of my favorite books. These include: The Woods by Harlan Coben The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Don’t Blink by James Patterson To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper…

I’m low key really excited to do this. — You know that moment when something unexpected in life happens for the better, and the jolt of energy rushes through you? That happened to me yesterday. I went to my favorite book sale in the Champaign Public Library basement on Saturday. …

It might be good for what ails you. — This time of year is Lent, the time when many folks spend 40 days abstaining from meat and doing better with their lives. I’ve been a part of it for years. Anyway, you’re supposed to eat some type of fish every Friday. …

It changed my writing career for the better. — I used to write like James Patterson. Short chapters, a New York setting, killers and detectives, the whole works. Then I realized something. I love reading about those things, but I don’t know the first thing about them when it comes to writing. …

Around this time of year, basketball fans across the country gear up for March Madness, a single-elimination tournament to determine the U.S. national champion of men’s college basketball. But this decades-long sports tradition originated in Central Illinois. I Met the Entire Illinois Basketball Team the Other Day! It was another great day to be an Illini!medium.com According to the Illinois High School Association, the annual tournament of high school…