Whenever I am writing an important story about someone’s life, I choose a song to listen to on repeat for hours as I craft the sentence structure and details for my stories. These carefully-selected songs become an inner part of the story.
These are some of my favorite commentaries and profiles, and the corresponding songs I listened to while I wrote them:
The Sunday morning that MLB pitcher José Fernández died in a boating accident at the age of 24, I felt a wrenching pain in my stomach. I woke up to social media notifications of his death, scrolling through pictures of his captivating smile. I was stunned, and decided to just go back to sleep, hoping it would all just be a bad dream. When I woke up, more news of the nightmare were surfacing. I had never felt so much pain for the death of a famous person. I needed to explain why his death, and more importantly, his life mattered. The melancholy song I listened to was “Cryin’ For Me” by Toby Keith.
COMMENTARY: Why Cuban-American José Fernández’s life matters now outside of baseball
By: Amanda González / Hilltop Views / Austin, TX
Posted: Sept. 30, 2016
One of the profiles I am most proud to have authored was on a St. Edward’s University alum who was being inducted into the SEU Athletics Hall of Fame. His name is Shawn Weinstein, and his song was “Leave the Night On” by Sam Hunt. Shawn’s from California, and the song mentions Cali.
Closing a chapter: Alumnus returns for St. Edward’s University Athletic Hall of Fame induction
By: Amanda González / Hilltop Views / Austin, TX
Posted: Feb. 29, 2016
The most talkative person I’ve ever interviewed is Romeo Cortina, Jr (right). He and his twin brother Juan Cortina (left) joined the St. Edward’s University baseball team for the 2016 season. Over the past two years, I’ve gotten the chance to truly know them and the differences that make them unique. When I was writing about the cuates, I listened to “We Were Meant to Live” by Switchfoot because of the battling, complementary guitars during the intro, and high-energy melody that fit their high-energy personalities.
St. Edward’s baseball twins thrive on each other’s success
By: Amanda González / Hilltop Views / Austin, TX
Posted: Feb. 29, 2016
Writing about other people comes much easier than writing about myself. When I left my position as Sports Editor for the school newspaper at St. Edward’s, I had to write a farewell. Over the past three years, I had met so many wonderful people, and I wanted to express my sincerest gratitude towards all of them. The fitting song I listened to was “Story of My Life” by Bon Jovi.
Amanda González: My highlight reel as a retiring sports editor
By: Amanda González / Hilltop Views / Austin, TX
Posted: May 1, 2017
This is the story of my life, and I write it every day…”
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