Some things I've learned...

So I just finished my first full week of classes here in le desert and I think it's probably a good idea to take stock of the things I've learned, not just in the past week, but in the (exactly) two weeks since I left the Twin Cities.

In no particular order. Well, maybe chronologically, but not really.

First, driving across the country is a mostly horrifying experience. I'm sure most of the states we drove through have redeeming qualities, they just didn't reveal themselves to us at that particular time. Upside, it never felt so good to just be able to get up and walk after TWENTY-SIX HOURS.

Second, the act of moving to a new place may be one of the most traumatic things I've ever experienced. That might give you a clue to the fact that I haven't had very many devastating things happen in my life, but in all seriousness, moving is quite frightening. For a long time, the whole AZ seemed like a far-off plan, and then suddenly I was in a car with my sister and all my things and I was driving through the panhandle of Oklahoma. Needless to say, I was not mentally prepared to make this transition. The last year of my life has been blissful and I had no intention of halting that experience, but alas, I promised myself that I would follow through this time, so here we go.

Third, the act of moving is EXPENSIVE. Good God. Have you seen the gas prices? It's also not to my advantage that when I finished college, I discovered that many of the fancy decor that I had invested in over the last 4 years was either neon, stained with something (thankfully) unrecognizable, or advertising Budweiser. Needless to say, I'm not currently living in a frat house, so all that stuff needed to go. I mean, I could have easily survived with just the amenities of a table, bed, chair, etc……but what can I say? I need my place of residence to feel like it is mine. So that means curtains, lamps, dressers, wall art, candles. I can now recognize almost all the employees at the local Target by department. Someone should take away my credit cards. Seriously. Don't even get me started on how much internet costs. Ugh. Woof.

Fourth, I miss my support system. I'm not one to really take things for granted that often, but it's shocking to be in a huge metropolitan area, at one of the biggest universities in the country, to be surrounded by people, and still feel so incredibly alone. I liken it to anytime I'm in New York. So much hustle and bustle, but the amount of anonymity is overwhelming. I miss being able to come home and talk with my parents or harass my sister. I miss working every day with the colleagues that I have built relationships with over the past 15 months. I miss meeting up with my college friends around town to catch up on things and grab dinner and drinks. I miss ramming around the city, or even just hanging out with the boy person. To be honest, I miss people in general. This isn't like my undergrad experience where there were forced personal interactions for the freshmen. You know, the ones where they make you take a random number of sheets of toilet paper and then you have to say that many things about yourself to the group? Awful, I know. But alas, I could certainly use one of those activities right about now. The people here are certainly friendly, but it's definitely a challenge to be one of the only new students entering the program. Stay tuned on this one; I'm hoping it will remedy itself sooner rather than later.

Fifth, the thing where they say that small-college professors are so much more personable than big-university professors is completely untrue, at least from what I've experienced so far. The professors here at ASU are wonderful. Each one of them has shown an unsolicited personal investment in my well being, and that reminds me so much of why I had such a great undergrad experience. I'm so excited to learn from these new people, and so far, this program seems to be exactly what I need in order to take the next step, both personally and professionally.

Sixth, I am not outdoorsy. I can certainly do my fair share of playing when it's Minnesota or Iowa style outdoors, but Arizona outdoors is a whole other thang. There's literally a cactus in my front yard. I really want to touch it to see if it hurts as much as they say it does. Is that bad to do do do do do…..? YES. YES, IT IS. I had my second failed attempt at commuting out here earlier this week when I decided to purchase a bike. I figured that while the 3-mile trip to school is not suitable for walking, it would definitely be doable on a bike. Right? Right.

WRONG.

Well, it would have been fine, had both foot pedals fallen off about halfway to campus. The first one fell off, and I couldn't screw it back on, so I continued to pedal with just one foot, which is awkward enough without being in the middle of a busy road with mostly college students judging the crap out of you. (This is where the anonymity is to my benefit.) Then, without warning, the other pedal fell off. Awesome. Exasperated, I took shelter from the 114 degree heat (wish I was exaggerating) in the shade of a Taco Bell. No, I did not get a chicken gordita supreme, even though I could hear it taunting me through the drive-in window. I tried to fix the other pedal, but to no avail. Thus, I spent the next mile of my journey sitting on my bike and propelling it forward with my feet. I did this until I saw myself in the reflection of a store-front window and decided that if I was planning on making any friends during my time in Phoenix, I had better stop tooling around town on my broke-down bicycle and just walk it the rest of the way. And this incident was the second time that I was convinced I was going to die from heat exhaustion. True story. Wish it wasn't.

Seventh, I'm in the right career path. Every time I go to class to learn about acting or dancing or singing or history or acoustics or whatever it may be, I can't stop smiling like a giddy child. I'm so excited to be able to wake up every day and go learn about the things that I'm passionate about. This week, I've had the opportunity to perform and watch my colleagues do the same and I'm so grateful to be surrounded by individuals who care so deeply about their craft. One of my professors pulled me aside after class on Wednesday and told me that he could tell that I was a total musical theater nerd and how excited he was to work with me. Heartwarming. Because it's true.

I thought that I had grown up a lot in the year since graduating from Luther. Here, I'm finding that I have a whole different set of challenges to deal with. It's daunting, but it's comforting to know that there is already a light at the end of the tunnel. It's very small, but it's there.

"It may feel like quite a ride, but it's turning out to be life going just perfectly." Or something like that.

Best,

A