Flyover States

I hate flying. Weird, I know, but I get super sick on takeoff and landing and freak myself out being in airports by myself. But right about now, flying is sounding real good.

Over the past week, I have been in a car for approximately 32 hours. That's not counting cab rides or subways that took me to and from my various destinations around New York City. I pity my family who all have to drive another 16+ hours to get back to the great state of Minnesota starting on Thursday.

To make the trip bearable, there have been a variety of solutions.

1. Family games. These range anywhere from talking in accents and tickle wars to keeping track of state license plates. So far on the trip, we've seen all but 15 (two of which are Alaska and Hawaii, so really we've seen all but 13).

2. Lots of reading. I've been rereading the Harry Potter series and managed to burn my way through Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows since leaving home. Unfortunately, I read the last few chapters of the latter last night which completes the series. So now I'm bookless for the last leg of the journey.

3. Movies! I've actually only watched one, but Annika used the computer to entertain herself quite a few times. Ocean's 11 was a welcome break from the road.

4. Writing... Or editing, more aptly. The Legend of Harthore is slowly coming along, but I really need to sit my butt down and actually finish it.

5. Naps!!! I can't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep on this trip - on trains, in our car - in a variety of different positions which have left me in various levels of soreness, and on three (soon to be four) different beds.

That all being said, complaining is not entirely the point of this post. Entitled "Flyover States", I have to admit that flying over Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York is sounding better and better. But I don't believe God created them as flyover states, so I decided to use this post to find the reasons why each state is worth driving through - even if it does force me to spend about as much time in the car as out of it.

1. Minnesota. Which is home, obviously, so there's that. More to the point, there are 10,000+ lakes. Which seems normal but is actually insane. MN has more "coastline" than any other state.

2. Wisconsin. The state of the cheese heads! But in all seriousness, three of my good friends from high school live in Wisconsin (Claire, Julian, and Mick). Plus they do have some gorgeous cliff formations and awesome biking trails.

3. Illinois. Corn and farmers! And my cousins, who are incredible. Plus there's Chicago where I had my audition for The Voice. Basically, Illinois has a bunch of awesome memories.

4. Indiana. Which holds Notre Dame, the school that I literally think half of the Trinity Class of 2013 applied to. Plus there's Trinity School at Green Lawn, sister school number 1.

5. Ohio. This one was hard because I know little to nothing about OH. But driving through it was pretty gorgeous with all of the hills and trees.

6. Pennsylvania. Which (obviously) is the home of Grove City!! I can't wait to get started with whatever crazy adventure God has planned for me there - whether it lasts 4 years or 1!

7. New Jersey. Again, a harder one. But my friends aunt and uncle live there, and they were super charitable to host Bessie the Van for three days while we were in New York City!

8. New York. While the city is totally insane, polluted, and - yes - at moments terrifying, it really grew on me over the course of our time there. Yes, stairs to a fifth floor apartment were awful. And yes, the subway was creepy. And no, I don't know if I'll be visiting Staten Island any time soon after a creepy encounter with a homeless man. But Broadway is incredible, and the hustle and bustle keeps up a fast pace that I just love. Outdoor cafes are incredible, Central Park is gorgeous, and the way the city lights up at night is riveting. 

NYC is (in my humble opinion) the true cultural center of the United States. And while that's terrifying in some ways, seeing two headlining Broadway stars who are truly incredible, strong, Christian men (Corey Cott and Zachary Levi - and that's not just from the tabloids) is inspiring. I want to make a difference like that - using gifts that God has given me, and just loving people around me and being clear about my faith.

That all to say that Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York are hardly flyover. Each of them has a lot of worth, and each of the people there needs the love of Christ shown to them. Through me, my friends, or a few guys on Broadway.

I Move in on Friday!

On Friday, August 23, 2013, I will be officially moved in to University of Northwestern St. Paul. Even as I write that, I have a hard time believing it’s finally happening. Sure, I’ve already been at the school for a year doing PSEO, but actually living on campus is a whole other story. All in all, I am pretty excited, but I am honestly more terrified than anything else.

But first, some of the good things:

1. I will see this lovely lady again.

This is Heather, my good friend and one of my roommates. I met her last fall at orientation and together we braved Math for the Liberal Arts and Economics.  She is super artsy and probably one of the sweetest people I know

 

2. I will see this other lovely lady.

Because she’s been away to England, piano camp, and now Germany, I haven’t really had a chance to catch up with my wonderful sister all summer. Fortunately, neither of us have morning classes, and I have a huge meal plan to spend. I predict a smattering of breakfast dates over the course of this semester.

3. And this one, too.

This is Kelsey, my dear friend and accountability partner. She just celebrated her 20^th birthday on Sunday! I still can’t believe how awesome it is that we have ended up at the same school.

4. Because I have already been to Northwestern, I know where everything is – like the tunnels, the good places to study (the library), and the good places to scare people (basement of Naz).  And thanks to my classes last semester, I have almost figured out how to not get lost in Nazareth hall.

5. Other than philosophy, I have all of my generals done, so I can focus in on the “fun” classes that have to do with my major. I’m actually rather excited about Honors Old Testament, Drawing, Intro to Layout, Intro to Design, and Honors Art Appreciation. I’m also planning to take violin lessons and participate in orchestra.

And for now the things I’m less than thrilled about.

1.  I have been feeling sicker this summer.  Particularly during the month of July, I was having days where I wouldn’t feel awake until 7:00 in the evening. Sometimes I’d even fall asleep once or twice during the day, which usually only happens if I have a fever or stayed up for over 24 hours. And then there’s the stomach pain and headaches and joint pain that all but drive me insane.

 

2. This lovely lady leaving me for Pennsylvania.

Granted, she will be having the time of her life studying English and theatre, but I shall thoroughly miss our quarterly meetings. Thank goodness for the Internet and texting because I highly doubt I could survive without her sweet encouragement. She is probably the best friend a girl could ask for.

 

3. And this one is leaving me for Crookston.

Anna is also one of my best friends. Coincidently, she went to Pennsylvania for school last year. Fortunately, she’s closer now, so I might even be able to see her on some weekends.

4. I am dreading orientation activities. For some reason, there are five whole days of them. I already know people. I don’t feel good. I have no desire to purposefully embarrass myself. Unfortunately, it’s all required. Heather and I joked that we could just be hipsters and consider orientation activities too mainstream to participate in them.

5. I will have to buy my own gas for my car. Enough said.

Note to Self: God is God and You are Not

I am very much a planner, and while I do enjoy the benefits of relatively few all-nighters due to unfinished homework projects, I’m also predisposed to anxiety when things don’t go as planned. See, as much as I’d like to be control, I’m not. God is, and I am unfortunately quite talented at forgetting this rather important fact. So, with some help from InDesign, my printer, and a couple pieces of tape, I decided to make this sign and stick it to my door:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some knitting to do…

If I were a Superhero…

It is very fortunate for Marvel that superheroes are now (apparently) cool.  Now, I would not consider myself to be a particularly big fan of this genre, but I’ve actually seen the most superhero movies out of all my family members.

First, there was Spiderman.

Or at least the first fifteen minutes. Brie and I got coupons for the IMAX at the Minnesota Zoo and decided we might as well go. Unfortunately, we went in July. Even though it wasn’t particularly hot, we were left in the dark after a loud pop. Apparently, the the movie projector had overheated. Fortunately, we got a refund.

I ended up finishing the movie in November at a friend’s surprise birthday party. I liked it, but had a hard time taking it seriously. Spiderman does spend most of the movie in patriotic spandex. It didn’t help either, that one of the other girls was in love with Andrew Garfield, who (at least in this movie) has the exact same hair as my brother.

Next, came Thor.

We got this movie from Redbox. It was good, but I was more excited to show my family Inception, which I had purchased a few days before. After we had seen both movies, I asked my dad what he thought. A quick fact about my dad: he is of the opinion that amusement is aptly named. When broken down into the Greek, you get a and muse, which literally means “to not think.” The word amusement, however, does not come from ancient Greek. Rather, it originates from the Old French word amuser, which means “entertain” or “deceive.” But my dad prefers to look to the Greeks, and because of this I thought he would be a big fan of Inception. Nope. When I asked him what he thought, his immediate reaction was “I liked Thor better.” I guess we’re all full of surprised. I, myself, would choose Inception any day, but that has a lot to do with the fact that I love pretty much everything but Christopher Nolan, which bring me to my next superhero movie.

Batman Begins.

I’ve seen this movie twice and loved it both times. I like the music. I like the plot. I like the acting. I liked that Christian Bale can pull off wearing tights and a helmet with ears. I think it helps that it’s all in black.

If there were a contest on the superhero movie I’ve seen the most, though, the grand prize would have to go to Captain America.

This was one of the movies the hospital had on queue, so I had the most access to it. I watched it by myself. I watched it with Chris. I watched it with Chris, my mom, and my dad. Later that summer, I watched it again with my sister. Fortunately, I at least like it, primarily because it takes place during WWII, a time period that I have been rather obsessed with since junior high.

Captain America also starred in The Avengers, which I have to say is probably my least favorite.

Yes, Tom Hiddleston is awesome. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. is funny. But, my reaction to watching this still goes something along the lines of “meh.”

That saves the best for last.

The Dark Knight                                                               

             And The Dark Knight Rises.

                                                                  

The Joker is probably one of the best villains I have ever seen, mostly because he is terribly unpredictable, but he’s only in one of the movies. I think the reason why I like this superhero is because I can relate to him. It helps that we have the same Meyers-Briggs personality type:

I think it mostly has to do with the whole theme of people’s pasts. Granted, my parents weren’t shot in front of me, but I understand the internal struggle that comes from facing a traumatic situation. It’s really, really hard to not define yourself by what has happened to you. I’m not saying that the past has no influence over the present; it just doesn’t have to become the domineering power. When something bad happens, I don’t have to follow Harvey Dent and turn evil from bitterness. Bad memories are like fire. If you keep them inside you, you’ll get burned. But they can also be the fuel for change.

The Art of Dance

Dance. Particularly swing - definitely ballroom. There's something exhilarating and contagiously joyful about twirling around a dance floor, bumping into all of the other pairs, laughing when you slip, and trying to hold a conversation even though it's nearly impossible over the din of the music, clicking shoes, and other voices all around.

I decided recently that I wish I had been born to live in the nineteen-forties. At first I thought it was simply because I love the music and dance of that era (which is certainly still true), but as I've been considering it, there are so many reasons besides that.

1) The fashion. 

Because, honestly, modest is hottest. And somehow the forties ladies manage to look flirty, gorgeous, modest, and put together in something as simple as a skirt and blouse. Plus, there's those high waisted shorts which (though they might not be super popular) are darling and super slimming if you know how to wear them. That, combined with the hairstyles and shoes, is just perfectly classy. If I could wear something like that every day and not get odd looks from people, I would do it.

2) The films.

Because the 1940s were the years of the classics. The two movies that are still considered the most classic today came out in the 40s - Casablanca and Citizen Kane - both of which are excellent. On top of that, there's It's a Wonderful Life, Meet Me in St. Louis, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Dumbo, and Oliver Twist. I hope at least some of these movies are familiar, but if they're not, make an effort to see at least one or two of them sometime in the next few months.

3) The war.

Because (although it might seem like a strange reason), I really adore the idea of being the girl waiting for her soldier to come home. Military history is so inspiring and intriguing - and none more to me than World War II.

4) The romance.

Because dating is overrated. This probably comes (in many ways) from the part of me that is a hopeless romantic at heart, but I want something like that. I want to be so in love that months and years apart can't come between us. And (I repeat) dating is overrated. It's been so trivialized, that it seems like it's not even a step toward marriage. I'd much rather be courted.

5) The dance.

Because this is where my heart and soul lies when it comes to the nineteen forties. Enough of this modern "moshing" and "grinding". I could go swing dancing every night and not get sick of it. And I like it for a few reasons. Firstly, swing dance is fun. Just, purely, innocently fun. Secondly, it's social. You go dancing with friends. You talk (mostly when you're catching your breath), you laugh (often for no real reason), and you dance with a bunch of different partners (even some you've never met before). And thirdly, swing dance is good for anyone. The basic step is so easy, literally anyone can do it. But then, once you've been dancing for a while, you can be more advanced. In no time, you can do spins and lifts that you wouldn't have been able to dream of the day you started. I've been dancing - I mean, really dancing - for about a year, and I can already do some crazy stuff if my partner knows what he's doing, too.

So, yes, I wish I was a forties girl. But I also know that God gave me a twenty-first century life for a very good reason. I might never know what that reason is, but I'm excited to keep dancing through life to figure it out. And who knows? Maybe the nineteen forties are making a comeback.