Hello, everyone. It is an absolute pleasure to introduce myself to you as the new Tuesday columnist for The Daily Free Press for the Spring semester. Since my rants and raves will be taking up a better portion of the opinion page in the coming weeks, and I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself.
My name is Kate Hofberg. I am the 25-year-old second semester graduate student in the Boston University College of Communications Journalism program who moved from Santa Barbara, Calif., to Allston in late August.
I like Halloween, spiders, snakes and skulls, probably more than you could imagine a young woman ever could.
Standing just five feet tall, with a small frame and a freckled face, it comes as a surprise to most when they learn that I am a die-hard heavy metal fan. My most prized possession is a Slayer guitar pick that I caught when lead singer Tom Araya threw it into the mosh pit during a sold out concert at Gibson Amphitheater in 2011. I’m sorry to say this Katy Perry, but the heavy breakdowns, evil lyrics and sinister sounds of heavy metal music speak to my darkened heart like none of your songs ever could.
Cups of coffee as black as my soul hold the key to my heart. Or my sanity. I don’t take sugar. I would like to think I’m sweet enough already. Actually, the saccharine and artificially flavored coffee of America appalls and sicken me.
My wardrobe that is almost entirely composed of black clothes, metal band t-shirts and ripped denim. I like to wear heavy eyeliner, color my hair with colors that are obviously unnatural and paint my nails black. I never leave home without my nose ring.
I love tattoos. I, myself, have ten. With flowers crawling up my arms, spiders and lightning bolts pasted on my sides, the state of California imprinted on my thigh and skulls etched behind my ears, I have no plans of stopping until my dad expresses enough disappointment in me that his threats of cutting me off financially become a reality. And when that day comes, he’ll leave me no choice but to increase my financial aid loan amount to pay for that skull and crossbones tattoo that I need so badly on my forearm to look more qualified for the part of the heavy metal groupie I so desperately want to be when I grow up.
But get past the blackness of my look, the heavy bass blasting in my headphones on the way to class and the ink that’s permanently pasted to my skin, you’ll find that I’m actually not as dark as I seem.
Fresh flowers are my favorite. At any time during the year you will find a bouquet of fresh flowers in my room. I’m a great eater. I’ll eat almost anything you put in front of me. Add enough Tabasco, and I’ll demand seconds. I like fragrant candles, fake eyelashes and ridiculously high heels. I like hot, sunny beach days in California, Renoir paintings, getting paychecks and ripe raspberries. And I like garlic, Paris, parties and long bubble baths.
And I love my best friend. He’s my gigantic cat Lars. Weighing in at 30 pounds, he prefers the term “big-boned” over “fat”. He’s three-feet long from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail and smarter than most people I know. How many other cats do you know that can sit, roll over, fetch and come running when called?
In my free time, I love to read and I love to write. Before moving to Boston last fall to work on my Masters, I was working as a restaurant manager of a successful restaurant on the beach in Santa Barbara. Although I could never complain about my office, a beachfront property that had a front row view of the sunset every night, leaving the world of blood orange margaritas and Caesar salads behind, and getting back into school was the best decision I ever made.
Surrounded by students steeped in academia, in a city that urges intellect and stimulates the desire to learn, I am thrilled to be able to be given the opportunity and space in print to share my thoughts about the world with you. With a voice that matches the intensity of my heavy metal soul and the blackness of my wardrobe, I can’t promise I won’t challenge your opinions or ruffle your feathers, but I can promise that I’ll do it as gracefully and reasonably as I can.
So let’s say cheers! Here’s to a semester of thought-provoking columns and insightful commentary! May it be as exciting as getting some fresh ink and as stimulating as headbanging to Metallica.
Kate Hofberg is a graduate student in the College of Communication. She can be reached at kwhofberg@gmail.com
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