A bit of a recap

In the very beginning of the summer, before I'd hardly had a chance to unwind, I boarded a plane bound for West Virginia where I went to visit my Dad. I had not, for a multitude of reasons, seen my father since the day I graduated high school in 2005. There had always been all these reasons and excuses why I hadn't visited him. I've realized that despite everything and anything...there are some relationships in your life and people you meet or know that are worth holding on to. While it was stressful in its own way, I'm grateful the trip gave me the opportunity to get to know him better.

Working for CTY this summer as an administrator was above all things a tremendous learning experience through which I made a small handful of incredible friends. While it was not what I had expected and my naive enthusiasm for the position did not serve me well, I adapted and made the best of it. I missed working more closely with students and found myself creating opportunities--visiting floors to join in on improvised four square games, co-facilitating afternoon swing dancing lessons, acting as a pirate judge for campus color wars, and performing in a staff lip sync for the talent show just to be a greater part of the action.

While I have not made any decisions regarding future endeavors (as I really ought to as soon as I can) I'm hopeful I will return to CLI in Baltimore next summer, where I really felt I had a tremendous positive impact on the staff and students.

Moving back to New Paltz was like coming home. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and keep reminding myself to soak up every minute and to take advantage of every opportunity I can.

I also started working on a new body of work. At the end of last semester I spent an exuberant amount of time in the studio cutting out magazine clippings. I kept finding all these characters and scenes that suggested strong narratives filled with tension. I've begun scanning these collages and am making large format digital prints of them that I'm going to continue to print over. I'll have to post some images soon.

Song of the day: The Weakerthans-My Favorite Chords

Pay It Forward

The premise of the novel “Pay It Forward” is one that any person can implement in his or her own life, at any time. It begins with doing a favor for another person ~ without any expectation of being paid back. Indeed one would request that the recipient of that favor do the same for someone else ~ ideally, for three other people. The unconditional favors can be large or small. As 12-year-old Trevor observes in the novel: it doesn't have to be a big thing. It can just seem that way, depending on whom you do it for. Both to inspire and to educate, the Pay It Forward Foundation posts projects, activities and stories to this website and to the Pay It Forward Movement website. There’s really no end to what you can do when you set your mind to Pay It Forward!

Tomorrow is National Pay It Forward Day! Here are some ideas of little ways in which you can Pay It Forward.

• Start your own Free Hugs Campaign!
  
• At a drive through, pay for the car behind's meal and give the cashier a Pay it Forward card to pass on...You could do this at a gas station, coffee shop, etc.
• Visit an elderly neighbor’s house and ask them if they need any help with house work.
• Donate some money to your favorite charity.
• Tell the manager of a restaurant how great your waiter/waitress was.
• Talk to parking attendants - try and get them to hand out Pay it Forward cards instead of Parking fines or top up other people's parking meters to stop them getting a fine.
• Cook a casserole for a new mom. Caring for newborns is tiring and draining. Mom will appreciate the ability to eat something home-cooked without having to cook it herself.
• Clip a $5, $10, or $20 bill to a “Pay It Forward Card” and as you pass by someone’s table on the way out of the restaurant, drop or slip it on the table or simply hand it to someone sitting there. If they refuse to take it, give it to the next table.
• If you are washing your own car or mowing your own lawn, do the same for your next door neighbor.
• At your office, thank the “little people”. Everyone’s part is essential and no one’s job is purposeless. Thank the mail guy, the girl who orders supplies, or the door person.
• Drive an older person in the neighborhood to the grocery store (they will love the opportunity to get out of the house, as well) or if they aren’t able to go themselves, take their list and go to the store for them. If at all possible, pay for their things.
• Be a mentor for someone who needs some support.
• Give a homeless person some food vouchers along with a Pay it Forward card.
• Do some work for a client or one that can't afford your services free of charge - just ask that they Pay it Forward.
• 
  

There are so many ways to brighten someone else's day. One gentleman donated $10,000 for a lady to have a liver operation she couldn't afford - he was a stranger and remains so to this day. What an amazing random act of kindness and what a difference it has made to that lady and all the people with whom she comes into contact.

It doesn't need to be expensive.....it just needs to be from the heart. What random acts of kindness will you do on April 30^th and beyond?

JHU's Center For Talented Youth

This past week I received a phone call from a Project Manager for Johns Hopkins University's Center For Talented Youth Program saying that I an employment opportunity opened up for me as a Senior Resident Assistant at a site in Pennsylvania. I was originally told the enrollment rates were so low, they had been forced to cut a number of spots and that the likelihood of new ones becoming available were slim to none. You can imagine my surprise when a Baltimore area code appeared on my phone and I found myself accepting the position immediately!

I am a former student of the program back when it was called IAAY in '96 and then CTY in '97. I came back to work for their Civic Leadership Institute (developed with a sister program in Chicago) as a Resident Assistant. Grateful for what my experience had been as a student, I was eager to play a dynamic role in creating a similar positive experience for my own students. The three weeks I spent in Baltimore were truly remarkable and I cannot wait to join the staff at my new site this summer. As a Senior RA, I will be in more of a supervisory position, responsible for training and leading the staff, handling any disciplinary issues, and maintaining a close line of communication with administrators. The hours are crazy and I get maybe two days off in seven weeks. I will be distracted beyond belief and for that I'm even more grateful.

Better Days

There are 11 days of class left and still a seemingly insurmountable amount of work to be done. I can't seem to think straight and though you would think the pressure of looming deadlines would inspire a superior work ethic, I find myself severely lacking focus.

This semester--this year has been and continues to be a year of tough lessons and a great deal of reflection. There have been early morning conversations I wouldn't trade for the world, nights curled up on the couch listening to my friend's twelve string trading song lyrics, afternoon runs with best friends, and drinks with old friends. I've grown "fearless" in some ways--unabashingly friendly, I talk to strangers without hesitation. Circumstance has forced the cultivation of a kind of comfortable solitary calmness both within and with myself that I don't remember ever having.

I have made mistakes from which I have learned to trust my own conscious and sense of self more than the opinions of others. I have challenged myself to stop downplaying my own aspirations and achievements. I no longer sweep my own needs and wants under the rug for the sake of others. More than anything, I have developed a kind of cautiousness regarding trust in others and a healthy confidence in myself.

I have nothing but kind wishes for everyone (yes everyone) who has entered my life in any way. I am thankful for the opportunities I've been given and the experiences I've had.