There are all sorts of fascinating people on HubPages- from archaeologists to zoologists! Ariana Philips falls into the former position, though she brings much more to the table than a strong understanding of history and culture. Having discovered her delightful Foodlore series, Haunty (a HubGreeter) invited Ariana Philips to be a part of our Discovered by a Greeter series. With no further ado, we introduce Ariana Philips- a fantastic new Hubber to follow!
You are a recent college graduate holding a BA in History and Anthropology. Which field of anthropology do you belong to and what are your areas of interest?
I’m an archaeologist, though a lot of my interests are in bio archaeology, which looks more specifically at what we can learn about past peoples through studying their bones. My mother was born in Sicily, so I’m drawn to the cultures of the Romans and to some extent the Greeks as well, in fact classics was my minor. I love learning about these great civilizations and even took three years of Latin courses, though I’ve forgotten a lot since then.
What brought you to HubPages and how do you like it here?
I first heard of HubPages from an ad on Monster.com. I thought that it looked intriguing and since I had some spare time on my hands, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did too, since HubPages has an awesome community. I love being able to see what other people are writing about and having a place to share all the random facts that I come across. As of yet I haven’t been able to find a technical job in anthropology or history, but writing these articles has given me a chance to keep good writing and research habits, plus it’s fun to learn new things.
You bring us super interesting and unique food tales to munch on. In this splendid Foodlore series, you share less-known facts, useful tips, and delicious recipes! Whence your interest in the subject?
As an archaeologist and a historian I love to learn about people from different parts of the world throughout time. Since I was a classics minor we were required to take a few folklore classes, and I loved hearing the different myths that people used to explain the world around them. I am part Italian so naturally I have an affinity with the kitchen, and love all kinds of different foods. These were all the ingredients, if you’ll excuse the pun, for the inspiration for the Foodlore series, but I didn’t put mix them together until I was reviewing the story of Adam and Eve one day.
Most of us are familiar with the story of the forbidden fruit. I started wondering why almost every reference to the forbidden fruit I’ve heard, besides the actual account in the Bible, assumed the fruit was an apple. This curiosity led me to do some research on apples and my findings made me think that it would be fun to combine a lot of my different interests to delve into the history of other foods as well and thus Foodlore was born.
Do you have any peculiar habits as a writer?
I wouldn’t say that I have any peculiar habits when it comes to my writing method. Writing has changed the way that I look at things, though. Now when I read a book of fairy tales I take notes about different aspects of the story. I’m continually learning and developing as a writer, which is great.
A few weeks ago, you surprised us with a blissfully light-hearted poem that talks about no less than the significance of our human journey, our being stones waiting to be carved. Do you write poem regularly and what inspires them?
The poem that I shared is about our journey through life and how we are shaped by the hand of the Lord as we go along the way. I don’t write poetry too often but sometimes feelings and thoughts that I have are more easily expressed through poetry or song. Most of the poetry I have written has a religious theme and come from experiences that I have had as I’ve felt the love of my Savior. I actually wrote a lot of my poetry while I was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
It seems to me that you have a great appreciation of figurative and expressive language. What are your future plans for writing in general and on HubPages?
I’ve dreamed of writing professionally since I was about 12. I want to use my knowledge of mythology, history, anthropology and general folklore to create stories that not only entertain, but also encourage readers to go and check out more about the rich cultural past that is found in so many of the great civilizations through out the world.
As for writing on HubPages, I plan on continuing the Foodlore series, but there are many other subjects that I plan on exploring in future Hubs.
You had a great, confident start on HubPages. Based on your own experience, what advice would you give new Hubbers joining today?
Set a schedule and stick to it! I personally tend to be more of a procrastinator, so setting a schedule has helped me out a lot. When I started writing for HubPages I sat down and decided how many articles I wanted to write a week, and what days I would publish them. So far this has worked really well for me and I feel like it makes it easier for my readers since they know when they can expect my next article. I also would suggest that they take the time to really become part of the HubPages community. I’ve found a lot of support from other Hubbers and they’ve given me some really good feed back on how I could improve my articles. More than that I would say that it’s important to have fun with what you write. If you don’t enjoy writing it, more likely than not people are not going to enjoy reading it.
I feel that each Hubber brings something unique to HubPages and that any subject can be interesting when the person writing about it truly has a passion for it.