Watching the news often depresses me. Murder. Kidnapping. Cyber bullying. War. Natural disasters. Very rarely is there a positive story. While I tend to avoid the news for my own well being, it just so happened that last week I was glued to the TV for Diane Sawyer’s exclusive interview with Jaycee Lee Dugard, the girl who was kidnapped and lived for 18 years in her kidnapper’s backyard. A haunting tale, the more her story developed, the more upset I became with humanity.

Oprah’s episode on Chelsea, a 21-year-old who was abused by her parents and lived in a cage for the first seven years of her life, followed the two-hour Jaycee Lee Dugard story. And there I sat, for three hours glued to the couch in disbelief.

How is it possible for such evil people to exist in this world and get away with these atrocious things? Chelsea’s parents only had to spend one year in jail for child endangerment and they were let free. Jaycee’s captors have life imprisonment, but the man who kidnapped her was previously in jail for a long sentence before he was let out for “good behavior.”

While I sat there wondering how God allows these people to exist, the women in each story brought me back to reality. You have a choice to be a victim and throw your entire life away or you can stand up, move forward and make a life and learn from your experiences. If you do that, you can live a great life, Chelsea told Oprah. I was speechless.

Each woman chose not to hold hatred in her heart and move on with her life. In all honesty, I don’t know if I would be able to do the same.

Now a mother to a two-year-old, Chelsea said she felt the experience is making her a great mother. After all she’s been through; she works extra hard at making sure her son has the perfect childhood she never had.

While the Casey Anthony trial still remains a heated debate, regardless on how you feel about the verdict, I think the overall message throughout these …

I go out in hopes of forgetting, thinking about something else, anything. Music, poetry, who got wasted last Saturday night. No such luck. Going out for hookah can never be just that. All encounters result in talks of Moshiach (messiah), do rabbis believe in aliens, angels, devils, prophecies, evolution.

I should want to talk about this. I should get off on this discussion. But I can’t, because 10 years later I just accept that which I have accepted. My desire to question and debate is less innate. I just want to talk about the mundane. That which is not holy. But I am denied this. I can’t run away from it.

And I find myself just wanting to get away. To be somewhere else. Israel, where I don’t have to wear my Judaism on my sleeve because it’s a given. Where it’s an afterthought. And I can be something else: a poet, an activist, a free-thinker, a music-lover, a creator, who in all of this – despite all of this – is Jewish.

My physical needs tug on me, and I leave our outdoor bubble back indoors to a different reality. With a diverse people, with secular music playing, and I wonder which reality is truth. Which would make me happy. Which is the way my life is supposed to be.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting my trip to Nashville for what seems like forever. Since my first visit there two years ago my life has changed dramatically. No longer a recent college graduate, I’m not unsure of my future and my answer to the once dreaded question, ‘What do you do?’ Finally, I can say I’m a music journalist and not hesitate while thinking, ‘Well, I work here during the day but I write here and intern here.’

Sitting at Tin Roof for lunch (and sweet tea!) in Nashville by myself after David Nail’s fan club performance, I’m reminded that he was the first country artist I interviewed just two years ago. A lot has happened since then.

Overhead, Third Eye Blind is blasting from the speakers. Next, I hear Boys Like Girls and Taylor Swift’s “Two Is Better Than One” before the DJ segues into Train’s latest single. It’s here that it hits me. I have interviewed every single artist just played on the radio. Hard to believe exactly two years ago I was here for fun, covering the CMA Music Festival writing for free and now I’m getting paid to do what I love.

Sure, there have been some dark days where nothing seems to make any sense. But if the past few years have taught me anything it’s that if you stick with what you really love and follow your heart anything can happen. Carrie Underwood seems to think the same way. During Billboard’s Country Music Summit she talked of her experience acting in the film Soul Surfer and whether or not acting would remain in her future. What she said struck a chord.

“I just take my opportunities as they come. I feel like if you try to force anything, then it’s not going to be good. I see what’s going to happen and I say my prayers at night. ‘Just lead me in the right direction! And give me good things that I should be doing and give me opportunities to branch out and have fun with things and just do …

At what age are we supposed to receive everything we’ve ever dreamt of? Not 25 — I’ll tell you that. But for some reason, many of us at this age feel like we are supposed to be at a certain place in life. For many of us, we are gravely disappointed when 26 shows up.

If you haven’t heard, Oprah is no longer on the air 4 p.m. EST on ABC. Her 25 years came to an end the same time mine did. I would be lying to say I didn’t cry during her last episode…

The more I talk with Monica and Farrah about our career paths over the past few months, the harder it is to believe in coincidences. Instead, I find myself realizing more and more that God must have a hand in all of this. How else would we have wound up living in Brooklyn together and writing about these experiences and constant questions we have day-to-day?

I’m sure Monica has a lot to say about Oprah’s final episode last week, but one topic that she touched upon that struck me was that we should all listen to that whisper we hear (God) guiding us toward the right path. When we hear that voice and ignore it, our lives go off course. Often, it takes a huge meltdown and everything in your life turned upside down to realize it’s time to follow that voice.

I graduated four years ago and remember one specific moment I had when running into a former high school teacher of mine at our local bookstore. I was paging through the latest issue of Rolling Stone, thinking of stories to pitch them in hopes to work there after college. You know that look you get when someone thinks you’re crazy? Well he did one of those and simply said, “Good luck, Annie.” Obviously skeptical of my high hopes.

I wish I could say that was my last encounter with people doubting my career choices and ambitions, but it only got harder. But, for some reason, I always had that nagging desire to prove the world wrong and figure out how to make my passion for music also my job. Four years later, I’ve interned and freelanced for some of my dream publications (including Rolling Stone) and still have that childhood excitement after interviewing my favorite bands. While I know this career isn’t the easiest path one could take, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. There isn’t a moment I don’t thank God for allowing me to follow my heart.

Do you believe in coincidences?

It was May 2006 and I was in Jerusalem – the Old City, to be exact – for the holiday of Shavuot.  I had plans to stay with friends who were dorming at Hebrew University’s Mt. Scopus campus for the semester.  We took a cab down to the Old City to meet up with friends for the holiday where the Jews celebrate receiving of the Torah.  It’s customary to stay up all night studying Torah in anticipation of the gift we are about to receive…and that’s just what I did.

It was the only time that I stayed up all night.  I was with someone who became one of my best friends that year I was in Israel and he and I were always prepared to take on new experiences.  Of all the classes available in Jerusalem, we decided we would stick to an organization called Isralight that had a special Shavuot program.  It was perfect for us as we hadn’t really had an advanced Jewish education.  The topics of the lectures that night slip my mind, but the memories of walking from the Old City to the Kotel – the Wailing Wall – for 5:00am prayers will never escape me.

Seeing hundreds (thousands?) of Jews walking to the Kotel – some walked 1 or 2 hours to get there! – was one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful things I have seen in my life.  I highly recommend it for anyone who has the opportunity to be in Israel during this holiday.

My Brooklyn Shavuot experience won’t be the same, but I think it will be pretty awesome anyway.  I’m having a delicious dairy dinner (it’s a custom to eat dairy foods this holiday) with my congregation and will stay up as long as I can learning Torah from members of the synagogue.  While nothing can beat staying up for the sunrise in the Old City, something tells me tonight might be a close 2nd.  I’m looking forward to whatever inspiration tonight will bring.

This past month has been a major period of reflection. Since my full-time job ended in April I’ve been looking for additional freelance work, but things are slow. The more I think about it though, the more determined I am to stick with music journalism.

After going to various networking events and gaining tips from journalists in the field I’ve realized that while part of their success is a result of being at the right place at the right time, most of their success is because of their determination.

I don’t know why I have this unyielding passion for music when other friends are struggling to find their path. Obviously God has a reason for this and won’t allow me to give up despite my endless questioning. Remember that job I was devastated about not getting a few months ago? Turns out I’ll be covering a conference for them while I’m in Nashville this June for the CMA Music Festival. It may take a while to figure out why things pan out the way they do, but in the end I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason.

Joe Nichols’ latest single, “The Shape I’m In,” features an interview with a former US Navy SEAL who almost lost his life multiple times while in combat. A striking video, Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell states, “No matter what life throws at you, you gotta believe in yourself.” Despite his many struggles, he further explains his advice for trying times.

“Never give up and never quit. Keep getting back up and going forward and you’d be surprised at what you can do.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I know I’ve been quiet for a while, but maybe it’s because there’s just too much to say.  For the past couple of months I’ve been…conflicted.  So many thoughts running through my head, so many questions, yet not finding the right words to express myself.

The holiday of Purim came and went in a whirl with a vodka-filled and -emptied flask by my side. I will admit, something felt off, but it was a fun time nonetheless. Just the right amount of debauchery, and while my friend was spinning me around during wild dancing, I kind of felt like I was in a circus scene in a movie. Everything was a blur around me.

It was as if it never was here. When one is in graduate school, the most important thing is a break, a vacation – Disney World. Annie and I up and went last minute to the land of dreams, miracles and fairytales; a land where Passover almost doesn’t exist.

I didn’t even think about it.

You might remember another time when I wouldn’t have considered missing Passover. I would be the one in the family to make sure we get to shul, to be upset if my family was not getting together, to seek out seder meals. But I don’t feel that way anymore. After this trip, however, I wonder if I’ve become altogether dismissive of the power of a Jewish holiday.

It was a bit ironic that on the third day of Passover, four days before Easter, Annie and I show up to the gates of Disney World and in the sky was written “U + God = Smiley Face.”

It went on to write JESUS. Invictus. And some other words that faded as soon as it hit the sky. It was as if a fanatical religious man stole a skywriter and had a field day. But it reminded me — Hey! It’s Passover!

The only Passover-friendly food in our included breakfast was the yogurt. Bread, bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls… I didn’t even think about it, until I thought about it.

However, what really reminded me of my Jewish-ness is when a guy near the pool said, “This is the week that all the Jews from New York and New Jersey come here,” with a laugh and a tone that made me squirm. I wanted to walk over there and say, “So What?” But I pretended as if I didn’t hear. It’s a reminder to me that being Jewish is not something I should take for granted, but should wear on my sleeve a little more than I do.  Especially when my dad was the one to call and say Happy Passover first before I thought to call.

It didn’t all feel like that; in fact most of …

This past week, Monica and I escaped to Florida during her spring break and my time off from work. We headed to Orlando with the intention of reverting back to our childhood and being kids again. I think we both had a wake-up call and quickly realized we’re no longer children with our parents planning the trip and making sure everything runs smoothly.

Our first snafu came as we arrived at the airport to find there was no shuttle to our hotel, despite being promised one. We eventually took a way-too-expensive cab ride, which made us miss the easy and accessible commuting options of New York.

Throughout the remainder of our stay in Orlando I realized how grateful I am for my parents. Every summer we’d vacation together and they planned everything. I never had to worry about transportation anywhere or having enough cash on me. It seemed we came across badly behaved kids everywhere in Disney World, making me more and more thankful I had parents who paid attention to me, disciplined me when I needed it, and, most importantly, loved me unconditionally even when I frequently expressed that I would have rather been at a friend’s birthday party than on vacation with them. (That’s what happens in everyone’s teens, right?)

During our last two days, Monica and I finally decided to rent a car for the remainder of our trip and head to Daytona Beach. Relieved to not rely on public transportation to get around, and escape the screaming babies of Disney, we relaxed on the beach. And, after two bad sunburns, once again we fled from the reality of being adults — this time to the movie theater where we saw Soul Surfer, a film I’ve been anxious to see.

A powerful true story about Bethany Hamilton, a young surfer who survived a shark attack and went on to become a professional surfer, despite losing her arm, the film paints a vivid picture of the unconditional love of her family and the struggles and triumphs they all face after her arm was …