Give me a reason to be myself.
Give me a reason to live again.
Give me a reason to look up.
Give me a reason to show up.
Give me a reason to fly.
But never let me out of your eye.
Give me a reason to yearn for longing
Gve me a reason thats not too daunting.
Give me a reason to explore,
one I ever so clearly can't deplore.
...
I finally open my eyes to find
all these reasons are W&M in my mind
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Unset Mindset
Right now, there is no emotion that I can truly convey.
But I can breathe in the sweet air surrounding me today.
I don’t care to analyze the should-have-beens, yesteryear or yore.
I am not here to contemplate my life as it was before.
I won’t look at the tomorrows. No whats, ifs, or whys.
No more doubting, no more tears, no more solemn goodbyes.
I won’t predict the future, assume nor ascertain.
I won’t plan for forever, but I’ll forget how to complain.
I will cast away these worries, for they are not mine to bear.
I’m erasing words that chill my bones, including hate, pain and despair.
I will dream, not strive to dream, nor live just as others do.
And the criticism I will surely suppress, subjugate, subdue.
For today is the present, and I’ve never felt so alive.
And, quite simply, that is all that my mind needs to contrive.
But I can breathe in the sweet air surrounding me today.
I don’t care to analyze the should-have-beens, yesteryear or yore.
I am not here to contemplate my life as it was before.
I won’t look at the tomorrows. No whats, ifs, or whys.
No more doubting, no more tears, no more solemn goodbyes.
I won’t predict the future, assume nor ascertain.
I won’t plan for forever, but I’ll forget how to complain.
I will cast away these worries, for they are not mine to bear.
I’m erasing words that chill my bones, including hate, pain and despair.
I will dream, not strive to dream, nor live just as others do.
And the criticism I will surely suppress, subjugate, subdue.
For today is the present, and I’ve never felt so alive.
And, quite simply, that is all that my mind needs to contrive.
Things That Make Me Smile
Things that make me smile:
Sunshine and sparkling wine
Summer nights
Surprises
Finding myself someplace I never expected to be
with people I never expected to meet.
Sunshine and sparkling wine
Summer nights
Surprises
Finding myself someplace I never expected to be
with people I never expected to meet.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
"Be Very Compassionate"
I have had dozens of moving, staggeringly beautiful experiences at William and Mary. One of the most unexpected parts of my William and Mary experience, for example, has been the consistency with which Tribe members celebrate one another's joys and mourn one another's struggles. Devoid of jealousy or apathy, people here truly care about one another.
But these are three stories that lack a real moment of any kind. They are not achievements. They are not losses. This is simply the story of the Marketplace staff serving students, serving me, to the very best of their ability without understanding how much their support means.
On a particularly hard day sophomore year, I arrived at the Marketplace for lunch, homesick and very lonely. I wanted to be with my Mama, and I wanted comfort food from my kitchen in Richmond. The staff member at Grillworks made me a grilled cheese sandwich, despite the fact that it was not on the menu, simply because I needed it. I nearly cried as she handed it to me over the counter. Together with two pints of 2% milk, that meal became one of the most memorable of my college experience. It sounds silly, but I knew I was home.
Just a few weeks ago, I was walking home from an event at the Kimball Theater that ended around 8:40pm. Thinking that the Marketplace was open until 9pm, I stopped in, walked through the unlocked doors, and started browsing the food in the refrigerated case. A staff member stopped mopping and came out to tell me that the registers had already been closed out and that the Marketplace was closed. I started to leave, already disappointed from a hard day and trying to figure out where I would find food before pulling an all nighter. The staff member caught me as I was leaving, told me to go back to case to get what I wanted, and to leave without paying. He said to me, "I could never send a college student home hungry." That extremely humble attitude demonstrated something I have encountered with that staff multiple times- they do not just do their jobs; they care about feeding us even when they have to make personal sacrifices.
Last, and most importantly, I was at the Marketplace salad bar at 10:45am the day after a student passed away. Since the Marketplace does not open for lunch officially until 11am, the staff was still meeting to organize for the day. After giving logistical reminders, the manager pulled everyone into a tight huddle, presumably to tell them about the student's tragic death. As I walked by to head to the register, I heard the manager tell her staff, "Be very compassionate today." I was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought about how considerate the staff members were and how much they cared about campus circumstances. As I mourned, I felt encouraged by that simple sentence.
So, in the spirit of the Marketplace staff, consider others' circumstances carefully. As Plato reminds us, "...everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Be very compassionate.
Go Tribe and Hark Upon the Gale.
But these are three stories that lack a real moment of any kind. They are not achievements. They are not losses. This is simply the story of the Marketplace staff serving students, serving me, to the very best of their ability without understanding how much their support means.
On a particularly hard day sophomore year, I arrived at the Marketplace for lunch, homesick and very lonely. I wanted to be with my Mama, and I wanted comfort food from my kitchen in Richmond. The staff member at Grillworks made me a grilled cheese sandwich, despite the fact that it was not on the menu, simply because I needed it. I nearly cried as she handed it to me over the counter. Together with two pints of 2% milk, that meal became one of the most memorable of my college experience. It sounds silly, but I knew I was home.
Just a few weeks ago, I was walking home from an event at the Kimball Theater that ended around 8:40pm. Thinking that the Marketplace was open until 9pm, I stopped in, walked through the unlocked doors, and started browsing the food in the refrigerated case. A staff member stopped mopping and came out to tell me that the registers had already been closed out and that the Marketplace was closed. I started to leave, already disappointed from a hard day and trying to figure out where I would find food before pulling an all nighter. The staff member caught me as I was leaving, told me to go back to case to get what I wanted, and to leave without paying. He said to me, "I could never send a college student home hungry." That extremely humble attitude demonstrated something I have encountered with that staff multiple times- they do not just do their jobs; they care about feeding us even when they have to make personal sacrifices.
Last, and most importantly, I was at the Marketplace salad bar at 10:45am the day after a student passed away. Since the Marketplace does not open for lunch officially until 11am, the staff was still meeting to organize for the day. After giving logistical reminders, the manager pulled everyone into a tight huddle, presumably to tell them about the student's tragic death. As I walked by to head to the register, I heard the manager tell her staff, "Be very compassionate today." I was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought about how considerate the staff members were and how much they cared about campus circumstances. As I mourned, I felt encouraged by that simple sentence.
So, in the spirit of the Marketplace staff, consider others' circumstances carefully. As Plato reminds us, "...everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Be very compassionate.
Go Tribe and Hark Upon the Gale.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Favorite Day of the Year
This month has been a struggle.
Life is a struggle.
But this month, oh it has been hard.
Seems like I'm always dealt the odd card.
The one that you often try to avoid, ignore.
The one that seems to knock on your door.
But wait, it's times like these that I realize.
That these odd cards are no surprise,
They do not mean to penalize,
They mean to open my eyes.
Dear God, I thank you for bringing to me
These struggles that bring me so much agony
Because after the pain settles, it's clear
I can smile when I look in the mirror
With just one innocent smile
I'm stronger, oh I'm stronger
Though people may doubt my word
Nothing can suppress what I've been assured
Today I woke up without much thought
And carried on without a caveat
And I was confronted by what I did not expect
A family that showed me much respect
My friends, they are my family forreal
They give my life so much appeal
Today I hugged each one of them
And remembered that WM isn't just about Swem
Life is a struggle.
But this month, oh it has been hard.
Seems like I'm always dealt the odd card.
The one that you often try to avoid, ignore.
The one that seems to knock on your door.
But wait, it's times like these that I realize.
That these odd cards are no surprise,
They do not mean to penalize,
They mean to open my eyes.
Dear God, I thank you for bringing to me
These struggles that bring me so much agony
Because after the pain settles, it's clear
I can smile when I look in the mirror
With just one innocent smile
I'm stronger, oh I'm stronger
Though people may doubt my word
Nothing can suppress what I've been assured
Today I woke up without much thought
And carried on without a caveat
And I was confronted by what I did not expect
A family that showed me much respect
My friends, they are my family forreal
They give my life so much appeal
Today I hugged each one of them
And remembered that WM isn't just about Swem
Swem Third Floor
My Junior spring was one of the toughest semesters I had at William & Mary. For an insane reason that still escapes me, I decided to take 18 credit hours.
It was the second week of finals and I had literally been up for almost three days straight trying desperately to finish a 20 page research paper for my Government Seminar. I was on the third floor of Swem at around 11pm when someone tapped me on the shoulder. Three girls were walking thru Swem handing out brownies and cookies for free. When I asked why they were doing this they explained that they were already done with their finals and they wanted to do something nice for the kids who weren't done yet to help them feel less stressed.
I thought that this was possibly the sweetest thing I had ever heard and it really highlighted to me exactly how lucky we are to be a part of the Tribe community.
It was a little thing that made a big difference for my mental state. I ended up getting an A on my paper, and I don't think the chocolate chip cookies they gave me were the reason why... but they certainly helped!
It was the second week of finals and I had literally been up for almost three days straight trying desperately to finish a 20 page research paper for my Government Seminar. I was on the third floor of Swem at around 11pm when someone tapped me on the shoulder. Three girls were walking thru Swem handing out brownies and cookies for free. When I asked why they were doing this they explained that they were already done with their finals and they wanted to do something nice for the kids who weren't done yet to help them feel less stressed.
I thought that this was possibly the sweetest thing I had ever heard and it really highlighted to me exactly how lucky we are to be a part of the Tribe community.
It was a little thing that made a big difference for my mental state. I ended up getting an A on my paper, and I don't think the chocolate chip cookies they gave me were the reason why... but they certainly helped!
Charmed
I thought I should tell you a simple, but heart-warming story about a girl and her cereal. For starters, said girl (I'm going to talk about myself in 3rd person by the way) does not have a meal plan, but every Sunday, one of her friends swipes her in so she can enjoy eating with them after church. It gets better. One day, to her horror (yes, horror actually finds a place in such a sweet tale), when she was craving Lucky Charms the most, there was none to be found. A worker overheard her plight, which really was more infantile than dire. However, he went out of his way to open up a gigantic, fresh bag of the most wonderful cereal ever invented. It need not be named twice. He intentionally flipped the bag upside-down, and thus the most perfect bowl of cereal was born. There never was a bowl of saccharine superiority more resplendent, and by that she means more chock full of marshmallow-y goodness, than the one she witnessed then. Many of her friends also partook in admiring the splendor, aka filching some of the delicious marshmallows. It was a lovely brunch, and this little thing was a wonderful, ADD inducing part of her day. She would also like to thank the Caf staff for making this moment possible.
Hakuna Matata~~
[Pumbaa:]
I'm a sensitive soul though I seem thick-skinned
And it hurt that my friends never stood downwind
And oh, the shame {Timon: He was ashamed}
Thought of changin' my name {Timon: Oh! What's in a name?}
And I got downhearted {Timon: How did ya feel?}
....
[Both:]
Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze
[Simba:]
It means no worries for the rest of your days
[All:]
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!
I think it was spring semester of last year when the facebook fad of listing 25 random things about yourself was at it's peak. The Flat Hat published some of random things William and Mary had posted on their facebooks. I remember reading an entry that said something like "there are some trees around campus that remind me of the trees from the Lion King, so every time I pass by them I sing a Lion King song." I still don't know what trees this person referred to, but every time I pass by any row of trees around campus I sing Hakuna Matata to see if the song and the trees match up. I think the student referred to the trees behind Swem, but I can't be sure. Still though, this random student helped me remind myself to stay calm even if I'm crumbling under lots of work or if everything goes wrong. So, yeah, thank you random William and Mary student and Flat Hat for reminding that everything passes-- so... no worries.
I'm a sensitive soul though I seem thick-skinned
And it hurt that my friends never stood downwind
And oh, the shame {Timon: He was ashamed}
Thought of changin' my name {Timon: Oh! What's in a name?}
And I got downhearted {Timon: How did ya feel?}
....
[Both:]
Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze
[Simba:]
It means no worries for the rest of your days
[All:]
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!
I think it was spring semester of last year when the facebook fad of listing 25 random things about yourself was at it's peak. The Flat Hat published some of random things William and Mary had posted on their facebooks. I remember reading an entry that said something like "there are some trees around campus that remind me of the trees from the Lion King, so every time I pass by them I sing a Lion King song." I still don't know what trees this person referred to, but every time I pass by any row of trees around campus I sing Hakuna Matata to see if the song and the trees match up. I think the student referred to the trees behind Swem, but I can't be sure. Still though, this random student helped me remind myself to stay calm even if I'm crumbling under lots of work or if everything goes wrong. So, yeah, thank you random William and Mary student and Flat Hat for reminding that everything passes-- so... no worries.
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