As promised, here I am giving you some of the rest of my AmeriCorps experience. To be honest, sitting down to write this was like pulling teeth. It’s like when I get behind on my journal, and the mere thought of back-writing causes me to be productive in nearly every other area of my life in an attempt to avoid… Read more →
I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Chicago winters. I miss the snow and biting wind, bundling up and scraping the ice off your car in the morning. I miss the possibility of snow days and the rare Polar Vortex. I’ve only ever lived in cold Midwestern climates, from Chicago to St. Louis, and AmeriCorps has now driven… Read more →
Imagine driving from Northern California to Louisiana. Imagine driving 10 hours a day for five days. Now imagine you have to do it packed into one van like sardines with 11 other people. If there is a hell on Earth, I suppose it would be something like the experience I just described. It’s just downright uncomfortable. I arrived in Baton… Read more →
Before coming to AmeriCorps, I had never been to California for any length of time. However, pretty much all I had seen up until a week ago was campus and the Walmart next to campus. So when they announced that our “mini spike” was in San Luis Obispo, a small town on the coast of central California, I was beyond… Read more →
After waiting patiently, or not so patiently, for 6 months to find out my first project location, I finally have some answers. Not all the answers, because that just wouldn’t be the AmeriCorps way. There’s always got to be a little room for ambiguity. Instead of just telling us, most of the AmeriCorps teams had a cute reveal, not unlike… Read more →
I’m forcing myself to write this post, enticing myself with the promise of a few episodes of 30 Rock on Netflix if I finish. I never have a problem reliving a vacation through my writing. I am usually happy to peruse my mental catalog of the dishes I ate and the views I meticulously photographed. But this trip ended with… Read more →
And so it ended where it started…at my kitchen table. I wrote the very first Pre-Departure blog post at my kitchen table, and now 6 months later I’m hovered over it again attempting to put into words everything that I’ve gone through in this time. Surely, I would have had a life changing experience regardless, but my father passing away… Read more →
My number one most listened to song of all time is “Can’t Take It In” by Imogen Heap. It’s track #14 on the Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack. I know this because when I was in Ireland nine years ago, I brought the CD and it became the soundtrack to our trip. To this day, it makes my heart beat a… Read more →
Pretty much since I knew what a bucket list was, traveling somewhere completely alone has been on it. Cheryl Strayed did it in Wild and even before that Elizabeth Gilbert did it in Eat Pray Love. I’m continuously fascinated by strong single women who don’t just travel but seem to journey, for a trip alone is not a vacation it… Read more →
I know the hipsters are going to disagree with me about this, but I’ll say it anyways. I think if possible everyone should take a guided tour when visiting a new city, because it connects what you’re seeing with history, literature, and culture. Instead of seeing just a castle, you see the years it took to gather the materials and… Read more →