From Paper Towns by, John Green:
“In my experience...when you leave a place, it’s best to leave.” (283)
“I couldn’t figure out any other way that I could leave without getting dragged back.” (287)
I struggle with the transitory nature of the life of a college student. I live in two cities, have two sets of important people in my life, and have to balance the independence I have from living alone with the responsibility I have to the family I live with.
When Margo Roth Spiegelman says "it's best to leave" she means that it's best to leave completely. This character cut her ties with home abruptly and instantly started her independent life on her terms. It was irresponsible not to tell anyone what she was doing, and I do not agree with her choices, but leaving and returning between my two homes is emotionally draining.
I like that I can get dragged back to my life as it is in each place. I have routines at school and I have routines at home. The people I interact with are pretty great in both places, and I love all the connections I have. In that way, my metaphor is the grass because I do feel interconnected, but not that I can necessarily become another person (Green's characters discuss metaphors for life and interpersonal relationships including strings, cracks, and grass in reference to "Song of Myself" by, Walt Whitman).
Getting dragged back, however, makes the leaving incomplete each time I go. A piece of me stays behind and it's always hard to be in transition. In that way, I crack.
I always return to these ideas from Paper Towns each time I go back to school. Not necessarily the ones about the human condition, but the stuff about leaving. It's really hard to say good-bye to friends I know I won't see for months at a time. E-mail and social networking is not a replacement for time spent together. This time, I will be apart from home friends either until March or until August. It's a long time not to see someone you care about in person.
There were a lot of extra long hugs today.
And, despite all these mixed emotions, today is awesome because I got to spend it with some of my closest friends in the entire world. They're great, I miss them while I'm away, and I look forward to seeing them when I'm back.
Ok...time to go...another crack, but always more connected roots to my fellow leaves of grass.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
2011: That Happened
I'm not sure how much internet access I'm going to have in the next week, so I'm posting my New Years blog now instead of later in the week.
A lot of my friends have been saying, "this year needs to be over," and while I understand the need for some sort of change, I completely disagree with the sentiment. A lot has happened in 2011, and I'm pretty happy with how things went. I'm going to recap the big things that happened (good and bad) month by month just to have a record in one place. If you need details on any of the big stuff, that's what the rest of this blog is for!
January:
I got into student theater. I was a lighting production assistant for Ragtime, and I had the best first team to work on. Over the course of the month, the designer, master electrician, assistant designers, and other production assistants taught me pretty much every electrical thing I would need in subsequent theater work, and I did a lot of the programming for the show, so I learned Ion syntax and how to use the light board. January is when I really found my place at college and began to feel at home there.
February:
In February, I hopped tech weeks each Monday to get to meet theater people, get a better feel for how student theater works, and help out with other shows. I worked on a different show each week, and I had a blast. I also got to be closer with the person who would become one of my best friends. We went to the gym each week; took a trip into the city to ice skate, walk around, and shop; and celebrated her birthday.
March:
My birthday was in March, so that was a really fun way to start the month. I had friends to celebrate with (we got ice cream). That same week was Dance Marathon, which was one of the most life-changing experiences of the year. I joined the lighting team late in the process, and had the time of my life working the event. After DM, I had finals and then went home for Spring Break, so the rest of the month was uneventful. I started listening to the radio and got a Pandora account.
April:
Coming back from Spring Break, I truly felt at home at school. I was ready to be back there as soon as I got home, which was a great sign in terms of contentment at college. In April, I was the assistant lighting designer for a theater department show, which was a completely new experience. I was in charge of the spotlight operators and the paperwork for the designer. There were a new set of classes. We had one awesomely warm day during which I played kickball by the lake.
May:
The defining experiences of May were working on The Mystery of Irma Vep as the assistant technical director and Into the Woods as the Master Electrician. On Vep, I learned so much about building and painting things. I was so proud of the pieces I worked on, and I gained a new appreciation for what set people do. Into the Woods was the first show I ME'd, and it was the best role for me on a prod team, as evidenced by the number of times I've done it since. Also in May was Dillo Day, which was super fun.
June:
I finished my first year of college. Went stargazing on the lakefill, which was wonderful and amazing, and I wrote a blog about it in a poetic style. I started my summer job. Got back to Tae Kwon Do.
July:
More working. Medieval Faire. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II!!!!!! That was my first midnight premiere and my first cosplay. I love Harry Potter, so it was great to finish the film series with my home friends. I started doing knife defense with my instructor before classes at Tae Kwon Do. This was a big step for me because I'm totally uncomfortable with facing the reality of violence. It was a huge growing experience, and I got to be better friends with certain people at Tae Kwon Do. Those friendships mean a lot to me, and they wouldn't be what they are unless I had spent the summer there.
August:
I finished my summer job, visited Speech Camp, did a lot of swimming and seeing friends.
September:
September started with a family event that was a huge success in terms of being fun and without drama. A week later, I returned to campus to be the Master Electrician for Pippin, which was really great. I loved being back early because at that point the summer was feeling quite long. Classes started, I moved into my new dorm room, and I was a leader on one of my committees.
October:
Defined by breaking my hand. I took a trip home, came back, went to tech week, and had my dimmer rack accident. It was very stressful. I missed classes for the first time. I continued to work on the show, and it was quite rewarding. Halloweekend was fun.
November:
My friends had birthdays. I did my first lighting design. I finished wearing my splint. I ME'd another show. Thanksgiving. Beginning of Reading Week.
December:
Reading Week: I had a cold, wrote papers, did a project. I finished my fourth quarter of college (1/3 of the way done!). I came home for winter break. I did Tae Kwon Do, saw friends, went to the alumnae event at my high school, judged two speech tournaments, and had occupational therapy for my hand. I'm finishing the month (and year) building for the same production that I started the year with, so it's a pretty cool bookend to the year.
I think 2011 was a really good year, and I'm looking forward to what 2012 holds. There are a lot of exciting things coming up (which I will blog about as they come up), and I think things are only getting better and more exciting.
Today is awesome because I recapped how awesome the past year has been. From the good and fun experiences to the painful and stressful ones, I have become a more independent person and really appreciate all of the friendships that make my life so amazing.
A lot of my friends have been saying, "this year needs to be over," and while I understand the need for some sort of change, I completely disagree with the sentiment. A lot has happened in 2011, and I'm pretty happy with how things went. I'm going to recap the big things that happened (good and bad) month by month just to have a record in one place. If you need details on any of the big stuff, that's what the rest of this blog is for!
January:
I got into student theater. I was a lighting production assistant for Ragtime, and I had the best first team to work on. Over the course of the month, the designer, master electrician, assistant designers, and other production assistants taught me pretty much every electrical thing I would need in subsequent theater work, and I did a lot of the programming for the show, so I learned Ion syntax and how to use the light board. January is when I really found my place at college and began to feel at home there.
February:
In February, I hopped tech weeks each Monday to get to meet theater people, get a better feel for how student theater works, and help out with other shows. I worked on a different show each week, and I had a blast. I also got to be closer with the person who would become one of my best friends. We went to the gym each week; took a trip into the city to ice skate, walk around, and shop; and celebrated her birthday.
March:
My birthday was in March, so that was a really fun way to start the month. I had friends to celebrate with (we got ice cream). That same week was Dance Marathon, which was one of the most life-changing experiences of the year. I joined the lighting team late in the process, and had the time of my life working the event. After DM, I had finals and then went home for Spring Break, so the rest of the month was uneventful. I started listening to the radio and got a Pandora account.
April:
Coming back from Spring Break, I truly felt at home at school. I was ready to be back there as soon as I got home, which was a great sign in terms of contentment at college. In April, I was the assistant lighting designer for a theater department show, which was a completely new experience. I was in charge of the spotlight operators and the paperwork for the designer. There were a new set of classes. We had one awesomely warm day during which I played kickball by the lake.
May:
The defining experiences of May were working on The Mystery of Irma Vep as the assistant technical director and Into the Woods as the Master Electrician. On Vep, I learned so much about building and painting things. I was so proud of the pieces I worked on, and I gained a new appreciation for what set people do. Into the Woods was the first show I ME'd, and it was the best role for me on a prod team, as evidenced by the number of times I've done it since. Also in May was Dillo Day, which was super fun.
June:
I finished my first year of college. Went stargazing on the lakefill, which was wonderful and amazing, and I wrote a blog about it in a poetic style. I started my summer job. Got back to Tae Kwon Do.
July:
More working. Medieval Faire. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II!!!!!! That was my first midnight premiere and my first cosplay. I love Harry Potter, so it was great to finish the film series with my home friends. I started doing knife defense with my instructor before classes at Tae Kwon Do. This was a big step for me because I'm totally uncomfortable with facing the reality of violence. It was a huge growing experience, and I got to be better friends with certain people at Tae Kwon Do. Those friendships mean a lot to me, and they wouldn't be what they are unless I had spent the summer there.
August:
I finished my summer job, visited Speech Camp, did a lot of swimming and seeing friends.
September:
September started with a family event that was a huge success in terms of being fun and without drama. A week later, I returned to campus to be the Master Electrician for Pippin, which was really great. I loved being back early because at that point the summer was feeling quite long. Classes started, I moved into my new dorm room, and I was a leader on one of my committees.
October:
Defined by breaking my hand. I took a trip home, came back, went to tech week, and had my dimmer rack accident. It was very stressful. I missed classes for the first time. I continued to work on the show, and it was quite rewarding. Halloweekend was fun.
November:
My friends had birthdays. I did my first lighting design. I finished wearing my splint. I ME'd another show. Thanksgiving. Beginning of Reading Week.
December:
Reading Week: I had a cold, wrote papers, did a project. I finished my fourth quarter of college (1/3 of the way done!). I came home for winter break. I did Tae Kwon Do, saw friends, went to the alumnae event at my high school, judged two speech tournaments, and had occupational therapy for my hand. I'm finishing the month (and year) building for the same production that I started the year with, so it's a pretty cool bookend to the year.
I think 2011 was a really good year, and I'm looking forward to what 2012 holds. There are a lot of exciting things coming up (which I will blog about as they come up), and I think things are only getting better and more exciting.
Today is awesome because I recapped how awesome the past year has been. From the good and fun experiences to the painful and stressful ones, I have become a more independent person and really appreciate all of the friendships that make my life so amazing.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Lots of Love in the Holiday Season
Between today and tomorrow, I will have attended three holiday parties.
The first one tonight was the annual holiday party for my tae kwon do school. Everyone gathers at the dojang and brings something to eat/relevant to eating (paper goods, etc.), wears their real people clothes, and gets to chat, play with a bean bag toss, throw cards, and there are ball pit balls for the little kids. I brought garbage bags and two of the challot I baked today, one cinnamon sugar and one plain.
I made an appearance wearing a skirt, top, and tights, my glasses, I had makeup on, and I was wearing my glasses. Basically, I presented myself in the exact opposite way of how I normally look at tae kwon do (hair back, contacts, no makeup, wearing a dobok that consists of man pants and a generic baggy top). I was surprised at how many people commented on how different I looked, particularly about my glasses.
It was refreshing for these people who are so important to me to be able to see me as I am day to day. They appreciate me when I'm sweaty, gross, and not cute at all, but now they've seen me when I've actually made an effort to look decent, so I hope they have a fuller understanding of who I am and how I present myself.
It also made me realize how important my presentation (performance, for all you sociology/gender studies/performance studies people out there...applying my area of study for the win!) is to my sense of self. The people I interact with day to day never see me in the tae kwon do context, so they have no idea about what I'm physically capable of the way the tae kwon do people understand that, yes, I can kick with power and accuracy, and, yes, I can do a bunch of push ups and sit ups on demand.
Getting to socialize with the TKD people was so much fun. I had a lot of people who are significant participants in my life to catch up with, and I really just felt loved and appreciated by people who I love and appreciate. It was particularly nice that the head of the school mentioned all the college students who have come back and called me out by name to be welcomed home. He said that it takes a special kind of person to spend their school breaks sweating and fighting back at the old tae kwon do school, but really, it takes a special school to draw me back whenever I get the chance.
And I successfully threw a card into the milk crate for the first time, so that was a milestone.
So, my second party was a family party with another family who we've been friends with since our mothers were pregnant with the eldest siblings at the same time. We went through elementary school together, and just have a familial relationship. I so enjoyed chilling with them again, especially now that the younger daughter of the other family is such a comedian. She had all the perfect one-liners that kept me laughing all throughout dinner.
Tomorrow's party is a reunion of my high school group of friends, and I can't wait to see everyone again!!! Despite all the ways we've grown and changed throughout our time apart at college, we still care deeply for one another and the sisterhood from high school brings us back to rolling on the floor laughing. Literal rofls.
Today is awesome because I was reminded of how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life who I care about and who care about me.
The first one tonight was the annual holiday party for my tae kwon do school. Everyone gathers at the dojang and brings something to eat/relevant to eating (paper goods, etc.), wears their real people clothes, and gets to chat, play with a bean bag toss, throw cards, and there are ball pit balls for the little kids. I brought garbage bags and two of the challot I baked today, one cinnamon sugar and one plain.
I made an appearance wearing a skirt, top, and tights, my glasses, I had makeup on, and I was wearing my glasses. Basically, I presented myself in the exact opposite way of how I normally look at tae kwon do (hair back, contacts, no makeup, wearing a dobok that consists of man pants and a generic baggy top). I was surprised at how many people commented on how different I looked, particularly about my glasses.
It was refreshing for these people who are so important to me to be able to see me as I am day to day. They appreciate me when I'm sweaty, gross, and not cute at all, but now they've seen me when I've actually made an effort to look decent, so I hope they have a fuller understanding of who I am and how I present myself.
It also made me realize how important my presentation (performance, for all you sociology/gender studies/performance studies people out there...applying my area of study for the win!) is to my sense of self. The people I interact with day to day never see me in the tae kwon do context, so they have no idea about what I'm physically capable of the way the tae kwon do people understand that, yes, I can kick with power and accuracy, and, yes, I can do a bunch of push ups and sit ups on demand.
Getting to socialize with the TKD people was so much fun. I had a lot of people who are significant participants in my life to catch up with, and I really just felt loved and appreciated by people who I love and appreciate. It was particularly nice that the head of the school mentioned all the college students who have come back and called me out by name to be welcomed home. He said that it takes a special kind of person to spend their school breaks sweating and fighting back at the old tae kwon do school, but really, it takes a special school to draw me back whenever I get the chance.
And I successfully threw a card into the milk crate for the first time, so that was a milestone.
So, my second party was a family party with another family who we've been friends with since our mothers were pregnant with the eldest siblings at the same time. We went through elementary school together, and just have a familial relationship. I so enjoyed chilling with them again, especially now that the younger daughter of the other family is such a comedian. She had all the perfect one-liners that kept me laughing all throughout dinner.
Tomorrow's party is a reunion of my high school group of friends, and I can't wait to see everyone again!!! Despite all the ways we've grown and changed throughout our time apart at college, we still care deeply for one another and the sisterhood from high school brings us back to rolling on the floor laughing. Literal rofls.
Today is awesome because I was reminded of how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life who I care about and who care about me.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
I Read Two Books This Week
Hey there. It's winter break, so between going to the gym with my brother, going to tae kwon do classes, and spending time with friends and family, I read two books this week.
The first one was The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson. It's the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which is the story of a teenage girl's adventures traveling around Europe following instructions her aunt left her posthumously in the form of 13 letters. The sequel begins with the protagonist, Ginny, getting an e-mail about the last letter, which brings her back to England for another adventure around Christmastime.
It was a really fun read! The plot moves quickly and is super entertaining. Johnson's language about each city (London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.) is quite evocative and expresses an understanding of how it feels to visit these cities. I was particularly struck by some of her descriptions of Paris because one of my best friends from college just finished studying abroad there and had the time of her life. I feel like she could easily relate to the feelings expressed about the city, which, in turn, made me feel more connected to the story.
The second book I read was called Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It's a tough topic, but a compelling story; I read most of it in one day. This novel follows to parallel plot lines, those of Clay Jensen and Hannah Baker. Hannah just committed suicide and left a set of seven cassette tapes for the thirteen people most involved in the snowball effect that led to her suicide. There is a side of a tape for each person, and they are numbered 1-13. The book follows Clay as he listens to the tapes, so you get Clay's experience of Hannah's story; his reactions are interspersed with her stories.
Overall, I'm glad I read this book. I do not necessarily recommend it for every person to read, but I appreciated the book. You can't know what's really going on with a person, but it's important to be there just in case. The storytelling was really good and it was a thought-provoking topic. I felt compelled to continue reading despite my disenchantment with the subject matter, and I'm glad I read the whole thing.
I like to read, and my next novel is War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. It's the novel that is now a play and a film. I really want to see both, but I believe it is important to read the book first.
Today is awesome because I reunited with one of my high school best friends for the first time since August, and we got to have pumpkin spice ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop, just like the old times.
The first one was The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson. It's the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which is the story of a teenage girl's adventures traveling around Europe following instructions her aunt left her posthumously in the form of 13 letters. The sequel begins with the protagonist, Ginny, getting an e-mail about the last letter, which brings her back to England for another adventure around Christmastime.
It was a really fun read! The plot moves quickly and is super entertaining. Johnson's language about each city (London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.) is quite evocative and expresses an understanding of how it feels to visit these cities. I was particularly struck by some of her descriptions of Paris because one of my best friends from college just finished studying abroad there and had the time of her life. I feel like she could easily relate to the feelings expressed about the city, which, in turn, made me feel more connected to the story.
The second book I read was called Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It's a tough topic, but a compelling story; I read most of it in one day. This novel follows to parallel plot lines, those of Clay Jensen and Hannah Baker. Hannah just committed suicide and left a set of seven cassette tapes for the thirteen people most involved in the snowball effect that led to her suicide. There is a side of a tape for each person, and they are numbered 1-13. The book follows Clay as he listens to the tapes, so you get Clay's experience of Hannah's story; his reactions are interspersed with her stories.
Overall, I'm glad I read this book. I do not necessarily recommend it for every person to read, but I appreciated the book. You can't know what's really going on with a person, but it's important to be there just in case. The storytelling was really good and it was a thought-provoking topic. I felt compelled to continue reading despite my disenchantment with the subject matter, and I'm glad I read the whole thing.
I like to read, and my next novel is War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. It's the novel that is now a play and a film. I really want to see both, but I believe it is important to read the book first.
Today is awesome because I reunited with one of my high school best friends for the first time since August, and we got to have pumpkin spice ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop, just like the old times.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
TKD and a Hand Update
I had a really great time at Tae Kwon Do tonight. The class had really great energy and we did creative kicking drills for the full time. I got to lead one of two teams for the power and distance drills, which was so much fun because I had an awesome group and to be appointed as a leader in this class means that you really know what you're doing.
We finished class with the challenge to kick over two wavemasters, which are the punching bags on water-filled bases that weigh about 250 lbs when filled. I was the first kicker, and I knocked them both over on the first try. That was a really cool moment, even though I had lighter bags. I'd fulfilled the challenge once before, but this time it just happened, and it felt really good.
It's been tough to be in TKD with the hand recovery. I tape my hand and wrist not as support, but as a reminder to others that I'm recovering from an injury. I don't like being limited, but I'm not risking re-injury because the last three months of dealing with this one have really stunk.
I started occupational therapy last week, but I hate it. The therapist gave me the same stretches that I'd been doing and a ball of silly putty (when he handed it to me he said, "this is not silly putty. do not call it silly putty." but it's silly putty) to do grip strengthening. I could have found all of this online and saved myself the waste of time that the appointment took. I'm going for another appointment tomorrow, but if this is as good as it gets, I'm asking for a few hardnesses of putty to do on my own and never going back. Oh, and the first therapist said that it'll hurt for another six months. Great.
Today is awesome because of Tae Kwon Do and spending the afternoon with my friend.
We finished class with the challenge to kick over two wavemasters, which are the punching bags on water-filled bases that weigh about 250 lbs when filled. I was the first kicker, and I knocked them both over on the first try. That was a really cool moment, even though I had lighter bags. I'd fulfilled the challenge once before, but this time it just happened, and it felt really good.
It's been tough to be in TKD with the hand recovery. I tape my hand and wrist not as support, but as a reminder to others that I'm recovering from an injury. I don't like being limited, but I'm not risking re-injury because the last three months of dealing with this one have really stunk.
I started occupational therapy last week, but I hate it. The therapist gave me the same stretches that I'd been doing and a ball of silly putty (when he handed it to me he said, "this is not silly putty. do not call it silly putty." but it's silly putty) to do grip strengthening. I could have found all of this online and saved myself the waste of time that the appointment took. I'm going for another appointment tomorrow, but if this is as good as it gets, I'm asking for a few hardnesses of putty to do on my own and never going back. Oh, and the first therapist said that it'll hurt for another six months. Great.
Today is awesome because of Tae Kwon Do and spending the afternoon with my friend.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Going Back
Each time the school term ends, I come home to my parents. It's always nice, but also strange.
I love getting to spend time with them and not have to be responsible for doing everything myself. I eat home cooked meals with them and enjoy my fluffy bed and showers with superior water pressure. When I come home, there are people around who know me and love me, which I appreciate after living in a single in the dorms.
However, it's weird because I grow a lot during each quarter I'm away. I'm not the same person I was when I was in high school, or even shortly after graduation. I gain the experiences of taking care of myself and being on my own schedule without having to check in with anybody. It's strange to come home and be held accountable for every thing I do and place I go. It's hard to come and go when so much changes in the interim, and it's impossible to start over in a place I've already begun because everyone here knows me from when I was little.
By the time break comes around, I'm always ready to come home, but I think it's also partially because I am craving change after the end-of-term wind down that happens around week 8. I'm already looking at many empty days ahead, wondering how I'm going to fill my time while my parents are at work. I love going to tae kwon do, but those classes only fill a couple hours each day I go.
I did a huge return today when I judged a speech tournament. I woke up at 7AM, which I just don't do anymore, and drove as the sun was rising. I judged 3 rounds: round 2 drama, round 3 impromptu, and the power round of oratorical interp (declamation). Judging the power round was really interesting for me. When I was called to judge, the person in charge remembered me from my competitor days and gave me a special greeting as he handed me my ballot. One of the other two judges for the round is a judge who judged me just two years ago, whom I hold in high regard, so getting to judge alongside him was a cool moment.
As the competitors were speaking, I was thinking of how they were doing overall, writing comments, but also trying to rank them fairly. I kept having moments of realizing who was better, but also who I would find deserving as a competitor and who I would be bitter/angry about winning. It was hard to try to be objective because there was a lot invested in this activity, but a good performance is a good performance. And I did a pretty good job of ranking them because I was fairly consistent with the final results.
Going back as a judge is fun for me because it is a chance for me to be the person I am while doing a thing I used to love. My senior year self could not come close to judging well because I was too close to everything, but now that I only know a handful of competitors and have more perspective on how small speech and debate is in the scheme of things, judging is much more fun for me and I can do a better job.
So, I drove away into the pink sunrise, came home in the yellow sunset, and have had a chance to enjoy being a new self in an old place.
Today is awesome because I was remembered.
I love getting to spend time with them and not have to be responsible for doing everything myself. I eat home cooked meals with them and enjoy my fluffy bed and showers with superior water pressure. When I come home, there are people around who know me and love me, which I appreciate after living in a single in the dorms.
However, it's weird because I grow a lot during each quarter I'm away. I'm not the same person I was when I was in high school, or even shortly after graduation. I gain the experiences of taking care of myself and being on my own schedule without having to check in with anybody. It's strange to come home and be held accountable for every thing I do and place I go. It's hard to come and go when so much changes in the interim, and it's impossible to start over in a place I've already begun because everyone here knows me from when I was little.
By the time break comes around, I'm always ready to come home, but I think it's also partially because I am craving change after the end-of-term wind down that happens around week 8. I'm already looking at many empty days ahead, wondering how I'm going to fill my time while my parents are at work. I love going to tae kwon do, but those classes only fill a couple hours each day I go.
I did a huge return today when I judged a speech tournament. I woke up at 7AM, which I just don't do anymore, and drove as the sun was rising. I judged 3 rounds: round 2 drama, round 3 impromptu, and the power round of oratorical interp (declamation). Judging the power round was really interesting for me. When I was called to judge, the person in charge remembered me from my competitor days and gave me a special greeting as he handed me my ballot. One of the other two judges for the round is a judge who judged me just two years ago, whom I hold in high regard, so getting to judge alongside him was a cool moment.
As the competitors were speaking, I was thinking of how they were doing overall, writing comments, but also trying to rank them fairly. I kept having moments of realizing who was better, but also who I would find deserving as a competitor and who I would be bitter/angry about winning. It was hard to try to be objective because there was a lot invested in this activity, but a good performance is a good performance. And I did a pretty good job of ranking them because I was fairly consistent with the final results.
Going back as a judge is fun for me because it is a chance for me to be the person I am while doing a thing I used to love. My senior year self could not come close to judging well because I was too close to everything, but now that I only know a handful of competitors and have more perspective on how small speech and debate is in the scheme of things, judging is much more fun for me and I can do a better job.
So, I drove away into the pink sunrise, came home in the yellow sunset, and have had a chance to enjoy being a new self in an old place.
Today is awesome because I was remembered.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Memes/Viral Vids
I wrote this in August, but it pretty much still applies. I thought I'd share since I have neither blogged nor vlogged in quite some time.
So, remember that trendy game of facebook a while back when we were all surviving the zombie apocalypse? Well, the game was that the first five friends in the sidebar list were your team to survive the zombie apocalypse. You and the five of them (who you'd tag) would then laugh about who got chosen and comment on how feasible survival would be.
This type of thing has spawned many others, such as Harry Potter parallels, superhero characters, and many others. I don't know if the zombie war was the first game like this, but it's the first one I saw. It feels a lot like those chain e-mails we used to get and send, back when everyone used AOL, AIM, and Yahoo.
Well, I still look at my friends list to see how I would fare in the zombiepocalypse. Since my most recent friend purge, I've found that I always have a good team. Glad to know the people in my life would help me survive.
Anyway, remember the "Bed Intruder Song" from Autotune the News? Yeah, well, everybody quotes it and it's become such a thing that Antoine Dodson now has his own YouTube channel with a huge following and he is an activist against sex offenders and supports diabetes research. He's actually awesome. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw)
And this Nigel Thornberry thing? It's pretty weird. I can only stand so much of it, and I think "Toxic" is probably the best video of it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw7A5fFjNfI)
The internet is a strange place. Fun, interesting, and most odd.
Today is awesome because I'm almost done with the quarter!! 2 finals to write, and I'm there.
So, remember that trendy game of facebook a while back when we were all surviving the zombie apocalypse? Well, the game was that the first five friends in the sidebar list were your team to survive the zombie apocalypse. You and the five of them (who you'd tag) would then laugh about who got chosen and comment on how feasible survival would be.
This type of thing has spawned many others, such as Harry Potter parallels, superhero characters, and many others. I don't know if the zombie war was the first game like this, but it's the first one I saw. It feels a lot like those chain e-mails we used to get and send, back when everyone used AOL, AIM, and Yahoo.
Well, I still look at my friends list to see how I would fare in the zombiepocalypse. Since my most recent friend purge, I've found that I always have a good team. Glad to know the people in my life would help me survive.
Anyway, remember the "Bed Intruder Song" from Autotune the News? Yeah, well, everybody quotes it and it's become such a thing that Antoine Dodson now has his own YouTube channel with a huge following and he is an activist against sex offenders and supports diabetes research. He's actually awesome. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw)
And this Nigel Thornberry thing? It's pretty weird. I can only stand so much of it, and I think "Toxic" is probably the best video of it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw7A5fFjNfI)
The internet is a strange place. Fun, interesting, and most odd.
Today is awesome because I'm almost done with the quarter!! 2 finals to write, and I'm there.
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