Wake Up!

1. Make sure your alarm is set.
2. Make sure you don't turn off your alarm instead of hitting the snooze.
3. If all else fails, just make sure your phone isn't on silent so someone can call you to wake you up.
4. Wake up.

Hello from Iowa! I am currently sitting in a hotel in Ames, IA, planning out tomorrow with Megan. We are at MBLGTACC (Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference) with our Straight and Gay Alliance. So far it has been amazing - went to a session on trans*, heard Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington speak, and saw Andrea Gibson perform.

We were scheduled to load up at 6:45 this morning and leave by 7....I woke up to Megan storming my dorm, telling me to wake up and get going. I had overslept my alarm and only had a few moments to finish packing and quickly get ready. If you know me, you know I do not feel human until I have a shower - I cannot function and I am not a happy camper as I normally am.

My "grr" face...

Although I felt non-human all day because I didn't get a shower, I woke up today. I woke up to the fact that there is more to learn and more to discover. I woke up to the fact that there needs to be change. I woke up to the fact I don't know myself as much as I thought I did. All of this isn't bad; it's exciting.

So here is my quick lesson for today: wake up to the world around you and wake up to yourself. When you think you know it all, something has gone terribly wrong. There is always something to learn - wake up to it.

Peace!

-Nicole

PS Listen to the Circle of Life while watching the sunrise.

Chords

1. Nutella is a great night time snack.
2. Don't slip on snow.
3. Keep the heat on in your room.
4. A single chord can bring so much.

This was my week.

My schedule looks insane right now. Purple is class, green is volunteering/work, brown is play practice, blue is campus events, and red is other. It seems as time goes along, I add more and more events and more colors - it's almost looking like an art project. I love being busy, so I'm ok with it. But the downside is I am missing out on the crazy shenanigans my friends are doing. It's weird not going to dinner with them or spending a few hours each night doing homework or jamming out while Sally plays guitar. It's almost secluding.

Tonight I went to Preston Pugmire's concert. In order for you to know what I'm talking about, check out one of his songs below.

Epic, huh? A few songs into his set, he starts to record/play a few different things...then he played the bass line. A few notes into it, instantly everyone knew he was playing "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5. I found it absolutely crazy how one or two chords could indicate what song it was. Tons of songs have similar chords, but somehow that specific progression makes it unique.

These past few days of having a secluded feeling has taken a bit of a toll on me. My doubts get the best of me when I'm away from my friends; I think they will suddenly not want me anymore or I missed too much to know what's going on. But as soon as I enter their presence - a first chord, if you will - I know it's all ok.

My time away from my usual group of friends has also brought a few new first chords. I just had the first practice for a play I'm in (The Vagina Monologues) and I already know it's going to be a blast being around a cast of all females. Plus, spending time away from my friends allows me to appreciate the next chord with them that much more.

But sometimes that first chord isn't what you wanted or needed to hear. But even so, the song keeps on going and chords change and the key may even change. It all turns out and it resolves. The song eventually ends and another one starts.

So the next time a song starts or your schedule looks like mine, remember to listen for the first chord and anticipate the rest of the song.

Peace!

-Nicole

Hold on Tight

1. Doctor Who is weird.
2. Drink lots of water.
3. There's a light up ahead.
4. The rungs on loft ladders are slippery.

Megan here, happy Wednesday!

Today has the potential to be the most stressful day of my collegiate career thus far, complete with a blood donation, paper due, a meeting, and a group project. In short, I am hoping to crawl back to my room around 10 pm with one less pint of blood in me to start my homework for the night. It will be a marathon of a day.

It's a little bit funny, I always wake up in my loft and perform some tricky maneuver to get down that involves hanging on to weird handholds while finding the metal rungs, and the entire time I silently pretend to be some sort of spiderwoman. Why? Well because sometimes you slip off the rungs and if you're holding on tight you can calmly maintain control and touch down on tile as if you didn't just have a miniature heart attack. I don't really think anyone said that college would be easy. If they did, they lied. The only thing I can do today is hunker down, hold on for dear life, and give the appearance that it was all a planned stunt. It will end up all right. This too shall pass.

It makes me think though... I always pass off my tendency to worry as just a part of my personality. You know, a character flaw? But... what if it isn't? What if the tendency to worry is just another conditioned response to stimuli? I think it would be pretty cool if I could just retrain myself to take it all in stride like SOME people seem to be able to. (*cough* *cough* Nicole) I wonder if it would simply be a matter of retraining the brain to not associate "busy" with "stressful." Whatever the case may be, it's an interesting thought to ponder.

Well dear reader, it's time I get ready and go stuff myself full of protein laden eggs and cottage cheese. Take good care of yourselves. Take good care of each other.

-Megan