On Home, Travel, and Writing

Lots of things to talk about today, yes?
This past week, my mother and I were out shopping for school supplies. She's a teacher, and so we are constantly making pilgrimages to the dollar section of Target in search of goodies for her students. Whilst we were there, I picked up a planner for the coming year, and my mother mentioned to me that Coe had become my new "norm".
Yes, I thought. Yes, it rather has. I am more used to being in Iowa, throwing myself into my studies, than I am to being at home now. My concept of "home" has shifted. Now, I have two homes, 800 miles apart.
One of my friends, on a similar note, has decided to emigrate to England. She's been wandering around for some time, in search of something nameless, and thinks she has found it in England. I will miss her dearly, but she is doing what she wants.
“I know I am planning to visit a 'land' that is not entirely foreign, only foreign to me. As an adventurer, I am on a journey that I believe will last me my whole life. A new relationship, discovery, or awareness excites me" writes Marilyn Barnicke, and in a way she is write. A new place is only "foreign" to the traveler, because they've never been there before. The more we travel, the more we are able to learn and grow and make the world as a whole our home. I cannot say that I won't miss my family; I will miss them a lot. But this time next week, I will be in Iowa and surrounded by friends, books, and the promise of a new year. And I must admit, I'm looking forward to it. 

As Always, Yours,
Julia

On Packing

So given that in two weeks Coe students will be heading back to campus, I have begun the process of packing. Needless to say, I do not enjoy packing. I don't mind putting things in boxes; its more the inevitable understanding that, once they are in the boxes and in the car, I will have to take them out again eventually. So, this year, I've tried to streamline the process a little bit. Without further ado, then, here are my Packing Do's and Don't's:

DO pack some lounge-wear. When you're hanging out in your dorm, you will want to be comfortable
DON'T pack all of your clothes. This makes moving difficult, and somehow you always end up with more clothes at the end of the year.

DO pack one or two nice outfits.
DON'T pack more than one evening gown. Trust me on this one.

DO bring some decorations
DON'T bring your entire room.

DO buy a planner before you come, so you'll be prepared on the first day.
DON'T buy all your notebooks/binders/pencils/and so on beforehand. Each class is different and will require a different set of materials.

DO buy rain boots. Also buy snow boots. Iowa is very damp.

So there you have it. I pass the wisdom I have gleaned on to you, first-year students, as you prepare for college.

As Always, Your,
Julia

On the Importance of Doing Things

Summer time always allows a sort of atrophy to come over me. Rather than getting up at the hour of seven, I find myself wanting to stay in bed until ten. I don't usually want to get up and go to work; I'd much rather curl up in bed with a book all day and not move. Similarly, I don't want to put any effort towards any of my other pursuits. I have to force myself to write, to knit, to practice my instruments.
I sometimes wonder why it is that I don't experience something similar during the year. Why is it that during the school year, I am able to get out of bed at 7 and function for 15+ hours a day with no naps (yes, I do take naps. Don't judge me to harshly)? Why am I so excited for things during the school year, an excitement which is leeched out of me by the summer heat?
I think its a combination of things. In part, I think it comes from my extreme passion for learning. If I could spend the rest of my life in classes, learning everything I could, I would happily do so. I love the act of sitting in a classroom and making new connections with old material. I also love the people. I have friends in college who I've bonded with over our mutual love of intellectual pursuits.
I suppose what I am attempting to say (very clumsily) is that doing things makes me happy. I love school, and I love all the things I've had the opportunity to pursue there. So, if you are like me and the summertime blues sometimes overwhelms you, just remember that in a little more than a month, you will be doing more than you ever wanted to once again.

As Always, Yours,
Julia

On Summertime

It’s 90 degrees outside, and I am way too sweaty.

I always think, during the year when it is freezing cold outside and I’m exhausted from school work, that summer is gorgeous, that I’ll have all this free time to do things that I’ve been meaning to get around to, that I will finally not be exhausted all the time.

Inevitably, however, I perpetually have the wrong idea. Summer does have more free time, in theory, but much of that is eaten up by working and reading for the coming semester. Summer would be gorgeous, if it were temperate enough for me to go outside without roasting (sunburns are the bane of my existence). And summer would allow me to not be exhausted…if it weren’t for the fact that I wake up at 3 a.m. because of the extraordinary heat, even at night.

Basically, what I realize every summer and forget every fall is that school is my favorite time of year. The phrase “the grass in always greener on the other side” certainly applies to my divergent mentality on these two periods during the year; no matter which one I’m in, I think the other is better. During the school year, I’m exhausted, but it’s an exhaustion which stems from a job well done, and my “free time” is turned into fun classes, dinners with friends, and early mornings making coffee in the writing center.

So, when I looked at the calendar today and realized that the semester is only about seven weeks away, I couldn’t help but feel a little excited that soon I would be plunging into the world of academia and late nights once again.

As Always, Yours,
Julia

ringing in the new year (on the blog)

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said."

A man by the name of Peter Drucker said that. When I stumbled across it, I thought about how well it sums up our jobs in the Writing Center as consultants. We are, after all, communicators. We are listeners. We are fellow classmates, searching for what isn't being said.

The fun part has been learning how to listen for it and what to do with it once it's been found.

On another note - this is officially the first posting of the 2010 - 2011 school year. May many more follow after.

- Taylor E.