Nearing the End

I realize that I haven't written anything in quite some time, but that is because I have had a difficult time formulating how the end of this semester has been going. A lot of truly wonderful things have happened. We began celebrating one of our best friend's marriages with her bachelorette party, I became a Kappa alum, we had our formal, and I presented my first independent research project three times. Luckily I have been able to enjoy these experiences because the bulk of my work for the semester had to be turned in by mid-April. Essentially the last few weeks have been relatively smooth sailing.

My one picture from Shannon's bachelorette party

While I have been trying to relish in each moment, I have also been trying to understand how I am feeling about the fast approach of graduation. In 4 days, I will be running my first half marathon with one of my best friends. In 2 months and 10 days I will be moving away for an indefinite period of time for the first time in my life. This will be the first time that I am out of school and its honestly just strange. I have a few friends who are post-grad and they all talk about how they are fine and everything will be fine, but I also know that the first year out can be really hard.

research with the best

However, I am lucky that I know it will be hard. Yesterday I had to run some errands and spent a little bit of time outside and I was able to realize just how much I appreciate Creighton. It hit me like a bus, but I have realized just how lucky I am to have the friends, mentors, and family that I have. I would not have become the human that I am today without the Dominican Republic, residence life, the CCSJ, Kappa and every other moment in between. Has it been easy? Of course not. It wouldn't have been worth it if it was easy.

Senior formal with the senior class <3

In one of my capstones yesterday, Father Gillick talked to us about how God wants us to be and how really God doesn't have a plan. He explained to us that God simply wants us to be human beings. Being human means recognizing that we are selfish and that we are going to feel pain and that we are never going to be complete, because only God can complete us. Success won't complete us. Money won't complete us. Finding the perfect life-partner won't complete us. Yes, these (un)freedoms will contribute to a false sense of security, but at the end of the day, we don't know what will happen tomorrow. The only thing we can do as humans to be truly human is learn how to love unconditionally and do our best to live selflessly while recognizing that we are going to mess up sometimes. While a lot of what Father Gillick had to say would anxiety-inducing for a lot of people, I (an anxiety ridden person) felt a sense of ease after what he had to say. Recognizing that perfection can never be achieved and that all God wants is to see us try is oddly comforting.

Earth day = best day (and everyday)

So. Tomorrow is my last ever day of classes. I have one more test (for aerobics) and one more presentation (for art class) and then I will be done. Though I am in no rush, graduation is in 2.5 weeks, but I think I will be ready when it gets here. I am forever grateful for the people and the experience I have had at Creighton. All of them, even those that made me uncomfortable or made me feel pain because I have grown.

End sappy post.

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion - put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright © 1973 by Wendell Berry, reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Rediscovering Restlessness

This semester has been a bit of an odd one for me. For a while I was not feeling quite like myself and it took a trip halfway across the country for me to figure it out.

About a week and a half ago, I was able to enjoy the privilege of presenting my research at the Society for Applied Anthropology meeting in  Pittsburgh. Though my presentation was one small part of a massive conference, I felt very alive the entire weekend. I was surrounded by like-minded individuals who renewed my faith in my abilities as a student and as a human being. I was able to see the vast array of opportunities within Anthropology and beyond while being surrounded by individuals at all points of their Anthropology journey from undergraduate students like myself to Merrill Singer, an Anthropological celebrity. I entered this trip thinking it would be a "good experience" and a "learning opportunity" but for me it amounted to so much more and I am so glad that I went.

SETH HOLMES - fan-girling 

My research. 

Augusta's research 

Easter was also quite interesting. I learned what it was like being a single child - which I have no desire to do again - but I was also able to consider some interesting topics. One major part of Easter weekend in the Christian faith is renewing one's baptismal vows. I had never paid all that much attention to it before, but this year I decided to really listen. Afterwards, I felt compelled to consider what other promises I have made myself and to renew those as well. A few are listed here:

1. Take care of your health - run, yoga, meditate, bike, hike, lift, eat healthily - your body is your mechanism of achieving dreams and helping others.
2. Pray intentionally.
3. Practice vegetarianism.
4. Practice forgiveness.
5. Have an attitude of gratitude - think of a  handful of things you are grateful for everyday.
6. Honor commitments.
7. Sleep.
8. Practice patience.
9. Release anger.
10. Listen for God's call and respond passionately and dutifully.

These are just a few, but are food for thought as well. I feel at peace and am enjoying this present moment.

My one picture from Easter