shialabeowulf:

Howdy Folks! 

Fall is coming. Well actually it’s already here, but you would never know with the ridiculous heat and humidity in DC. I’m on the fringes of a cold, or what I believe to be a ‘stress cold.’ Ya know, one of those colds that sneak up on you because stress has literally taken over your body and mind. While I am feeling the hammer, I am seeing the fruits of my labor and know that my stress and hard work now will pay off down the road. I’ve had 3 exams in the last week, one Spanish Oral, 4 applications, another due on Monday (For the CIA, baby!) and many more of these exact things on their way. Come on Midterm Season!

For now I’m taking my life day by day and can’t wait to be able to take a nap without feeling incredibly shameful. Beyond that, life is good and I’m chugging along. Being in the midst of political chaos certainly lifts my mood and I hope all of you are doing your part by registering yourself and planning to vote! 

Stay classy, readers, and keep on chuggin! 

As most of you know, I’m back in the big DC. This coming week marks week 4 of classes and time already feels like it’s slipping through my fingers. 

I didn’t write any posts over the summer for many reasons. Mostly because I needed a break from the lifestyle I was living last year and also because I was writing for The National Alliance to End Homelessness. I’ve realized, as a Sophomore, that returning to college brings about floods of the same question asked in different ways: “how was your summer?” Most of the time, I couldn’t give a rats tail about your summer but because we have yet to form new memories for the 2nd year, I have nothing else to talk to you about so I’m going to pretend to pay close attention while you relay how your summer was. Since the previous statement is just my personal opinion, I’ll go ahead and tell you how my summer was, just in case you care. My summer…was probably the laziest two months in Maddison History. I read so many books I can’t remember their titles, I slept in until 10 almost every day. I took trips to Purcell to see the family, I ate out with my mom and two sisters, and the list goes on and on. I did however, buy a motorcycle. It’s pretty BA and currently sitting back in OK for my return.

And speaking of return, that’ll probably not happen. I’m already looking into alternatives for Winter Break and making plans for my summer. If I do stay in DC, I’ll most likely sell the Ninja (creatively named Ninja Turtle by Mr. Alan Thrower for its namesake and how bright green it is) OR just bring it to DC with me. What I love about life is just how endless the opportunities are. 

Now that I have all that out of the way, I’ll bring you to the present. I’m sitting at my desk in my empty room munching on some grapes. My mascara is a little effed up because a good friend just left (you guys remember Pomegranate, right?). She was supposed to be living with myself and Apple, but she didn’t get enough aid to come back. We spent this weekend doing Touristy activities, and I must say I had more fun than I have in a long while. If she reads this, I hope she knows how much I’ll miss her. 

Until next time, M

As much as I love wallowing in the fortuitous atmosphere that is DC, with its national monuments, green grass, and people-friendly squirrels, I cannot help but be appalled occasionally by the utter disregard for “the rest of the country” by Northeasterners. As I’m sure most of you know GW is widely known for being one of the most politically active universities in the country, and you also probably have an idea that most of the population is Democratic and swings more to the left. I have encountered some of the most genuine and I-want-to-change-the-world-for-the-better people in my life here. However, along with these notions of global preservation and equality comes an ignorance, or in some cases a complete rude disregard, for those states which lie west of Virginia and even often times south of it. I call it the ‘Northeast Complex.’ It exists in students who were born and raised here who carry with them notions of superiority because they believe they, being native Northeast dwellers, are somehow more intelligent, more qualified, and more important. Not only that, they believe that states in which they reside are those that in the case of a world-crushing hurricane should be at the top of the ‘save us’ list over any others.

I’ve been itching to answer this mystery for months now! Why and how is it that people who claim to be so equality mind-centered can be so negative about not only the ‘fly-over states’ but even sometimes the west coast itself. Why does saying, “ya’ll,” “yonder,” and “pop” make me any less intelligent than you? It doesn’t. If you want to continue to be ignorant and self-centered, go ahead, but I refuse to play into your stereotype. I will persevere my in homeland diction AND be smarter than you. Take accountability for your beliefs—you can’t be out to save the world and be that unlearned at the same time. 

For those of you who grew up and/or live in the Northeast and realize you are not somehow more special than the rest of the country, I commend you; because without these ‘nobody-gives-a-shit-states’ you wouldn’t matter either. 

I owe this catchy tag line from my man, Zach Hayley.

I wouldn’t quite agree that I have climbed the social ladder of the rich and powerful, but damnit I’m trying! When I first arrived in DC, I was amazed. I’m going to school here? Like seriously, here?! After the initial shock, wonderfulness and all out I-love-my-life-so-much-I-could-cut-my-throat (joking here) came the ‘do I really belong here?’ Some kid and I were talking about the diversity of GW and simply how awesome it was when he said “yeah, Gdub represents all 50 states,” when then I replied, “I’m pretty sure I’m the only kid from Oklahoma. In fact, the only reason I was probably let in was because they needed to maintain their slogan for representing the entire nation.”  I was kidding when I made this statement, sometime during Colonial Inauguration, but when I was sitting in my Nation, State, and Identity class, I actually began to believe it. Tiny dust particles of doubt flittered across my mind-can I do this? Do I want to do this? Am I smart enough to do this? All in all, the year has come to quite an ending. I have accomplished more than any average freshman at any average college and am drawing my memories for this first year to a close. So far I’ve, 

• Worked at the Peace Corps
• Met the GW provost
• Had dinner with 8 ambassadors from across the world
• Been to every memorial in DC
• Witnessed the Cherry Blossoms Bloom
• Missed a day of my freshmen orientation program
• Shopped at Eastern Market
• Attended GW’s biggest anual fundraising dinner
• Chatted with a woman from the CIA
• Had dinner on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
• Been thrown up on in a taxi cab
• Won a prestigious award for public service
• Visited the State Department and spoke to various Civil & Foreign service workers
• Failed a test
• Attended Clinton’s Global Initiative
• Witnessed more motorcades than is normal for one’s life
• Presented a paper at a research conference
• Been presented in a GW news report
• Gone to the wrong class
• Become Yoga certified to teach
• Taken a random trip to Colorado on a 24 hour notice
• Gotten myself into credit card debt
• Met the Ambassador of Guinea
• Missed a final

All of these things (and much, much more) have formed the memories I will forever have about my year here in this grand city at one of the best universities in the country. I now realize that I do belong here, I can do this, and I am smart enough. In looking at this list, if I can these things, who knows what I will accomplish over the next 3? 10? 30?

My life is at my fingertips. 

A fad. A form of behavior that a large population follows with enthusiasm for some amount of short time. I know these things occur and are a fact of life, but it becomes more saddening when, in this day and age, not only are these fads seemingly more and more ridiculous, parents are getting in on the action of fads that would typically be reserved for young adults. First example? ABBREVIATING EVERYTHING. Yeah, sure you did it with your friends as a joke in the beginning but now you do it all the time. And, as I float through the absurd status updates on my Facebook wall that give birth to the ideas and thoughts of my counterparts, I notice that MOMS have followed suit. Every middle aged mother has not only taken up the abbreviating lifestyle of teenage girls (which makes you sound ignorant by the way), but they have also taken to placing their hands on their hips, leaning forward, and smiling for the camera. Dear God, please allow these people to become their own person and stop all this ‘every photo looks the exact same’ phenomenon. 

Now then, since I don’t feel accomplished unless I start off a blog post with my own little editorial on life, I will now present what “SB” means to me. Spring Break. I was able to fly home for spring break to just kind of relax and see friends. I spent most the time at Lori and Alan’s home and hid out from most my family. Sometimes I would rather go back and see nobody. Simply seeing Norman is the only thing I need. The city itself is like an old friend.