A dear, old friend visited for the Sundance Film Festival. She crashed on a blow up mattress in the middle of this humble apartment I finally feel happy to call home. We ventured up to the festival for a few hours of madness: films and music and shameless corporate promotions. Oh my!
A game of phone tag with a southern university resulted in a second phone interview for a summer internship; a few other internship positions at places far, far away loom in my sights. Days like today, when the smog sits in the valley like a cloud of cancer, I have an itch to get away.
This home of mine is like a sibling. I can't help but love it here: the people, the memories and the comfortable possibilities. But there are so many things about it that I love but really don't like. I have changed endlessly since I moved to this big, little city but often am forced to be remembered as a girl I don't even remember. I am ready to break the mold, start over new.
When I complete my Masters degree I plan to jet out of this place with all the speed and fortitude I can muster, waving graciously behind as I go. One more year and I'll be job hunting. I'll go forth with all these things I have learned and opportunities I have so fortunately been given, ready for a new adventure. Sure, it's a ways away but my MBTI is ENTJ, heavy on the J...
I read an inspiring blog post by a women in student affairs. Her wish for the coming year: that she may 'sparkle' in every student interaction this year. So I've chosen to make that my mantra. I want to put the word on repeat in my mind so I will live it in each and every moment I spend with students. My Nana always said 'you catch more bees with honey than vinegar' and though some of her advice isn't premium (no, I will not join eHarmony) she couldn't be more right with this metaphor.
Today I had a chance to sparkle. One student came into the office awfully upset about parking ticket she had received from the city. She wanted someone from the school to pay for the ticket; the school had too few spaces for too many students and the ticket couldn't be avoided. Boy, did I understand her frustrations and she had every reason to be frustrated. Her attitude, however, was far from honey-sweet. I didn't placate her, that's not what she wanted. I listened to her concerns and did my best to gently point her toward someone with the ability to offer her some resolve.
She said some terrible things about a person and a place that I love but in the moment I could relate. Who doesn't have an issue or two with their school or workplace? I hope that my patience and kindness eased her anger. I also hope that next time I am left with a bad taste in my mouth about a policy or student's actions that I will pause to reflect. Maybe it's inconvenient, maybe the parking ticket made a bad day worse, but is it truly a reflection of the institution as whole? Perspective is a powerful tool. It leads to forgiveness which is something I am working on daily. A new favorite author said it best:
"When we forgive, we set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner we set free is us." -Lewis Smedes
This is my goal, to reflect a forgiving sparkle even when I am on the receiving end of vinegar.
It's been eons since my last week of on-call so my stories have been sparse. I plan to catalog some oldies but goodies this weekend; stories from my first year as a wide-eyed Graduate Assistant.
R.
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