Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 4:

This is one of those songs that came on my ipod as I was walking down the street, covered by the shade of massive trees overhead. I really wanted to dance in the road, and slowly have neighbors come out and start dancing with me. By the second chorus of the song I expected to turn onto my street with hundreds of people behind me...all dancing!

Alas, only a squirrel followed me home - which I promptly ran from because he was albino and had creepy red eyes.

Anyways, I love the nostalgic 60s sort of introduction to this song. Sometimes I want to listen a tune from a different decade, but can't quite find what I'm looking for in my "Classics" playlist. This band satisfies that craving.

And I love the idea behind this song: What are you doing with your life? Well... you'll figure that out, but you've always got people by your side to help you along the way.

Music By: The Americans

This group consists of six members: Charlie Klarsfeld, Kyle Olson, Sissy Clemens, Corey Dozier, Mass Chef, and John Stanesco. They have an eclectic, full sound with lots of vocal parts to enjoy.

More information about The Americans: http://www.myspace.com/theamericansnyc

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.myspace.com/theamericansnyc

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 3:

I was actually introduced to this song on a cold, winter morning in February. An intern at the church we were working at in Newark, NJ decided to get our team pumped for the day by blaring this song over the sanctuary's sound system.

It has a catchy little melody that started an impromptu dance party, and has always since reminded me of energetic mornings - even when you haven't slept or showered in days. Because at least there's always Daylight. And coffee.

Music By: Matt and Kim

This band is comprised of Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino. Both reside in Brooklyn, New York and have gained some of their popularity through creative YouTube videos and Facebook/MySpace uploads.

More information about Matt and Kim: http://mattandkimmusic.com/

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 2:

You get up in the morning, and this song starts to play. It's poppy-hoppy melody has you gliding down the hall with a smile. The words kick in right as you grab the coffee pot, and by the time you're relaxing in the shade catching up on current events, the chorus of the song begins.

Well at least if my life were a musical, that's how it would be. This song if that quintessential good-morning-summertime tune that starts off your day just right.

Music By: She and Him

You might recognize these voices - yes it's the one and only Zooey Deschanel from "500 Days of Summer" and the indie/folk artist M. Ward. They will be performing together in several upcoming festivals and tours, so keep a look out for this dynamic duo.

More information about She and Him: http://www.sheandhim.com/#

Photo courtesy of: Autumn De Wilde

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 1:

So you're driving back home after you've just graduated college. It's a bittersweet feeling of accomplishment and loss, and you realize that this is the first time you've truly been alone in several weeks.

It's slightly unnerving.

The future lies before you, and there are so many options. Yet you feel "qualified" for nothing, and there's a possibility you may just be an intern your whole life.

And your moving, and your friends are moving, and all of life seems to be moving.

But then you realize, you've done this before. College wasn't once "home." Is was new, scary and exciting. The next place you go will have a similar pattern: new, scary and exciting. Then one day you will wake up, and this future place? It too will be home.

This is what I was thinking as left CNU, for the last time, as a student. Mid-thought, I looked up, and realized I was already home.

Music by: Radical Face

Oh Ben Cooper, how much marvelous music you gave us CNU kids. This song has so many memories - but I found it a most appropriate as I was leaving one home to go to another.

More Information about Radical Face: http://www.radicalface.com/

Blog Facelift

"The Why" has officially switched over to the new Blogger template! I've also added a background picture (Central Park in summer time) and spaced out the sidebars so everything looks a little cleaner.
The colors are also a bit different, and there is a new "email" feature at the bottom of each post. I have to find the new versions for the Twitter and Facebook buttons I had on the old blog, but I need a break from HTLM searching! Hopefully I will be able to update "The Why" in the next several weeks with a few more features and a new post or two.
Happy Summer :)

PS - If all goes according to plan, the next post will include a widget with my "Summer Soundtrack" of a few new and a few old favorite songs for the season.

Searching, Hoping, and Jumping

And I thought going to Ireland for the summer would be difficult.

No, moving to New York is definitely trumping that trip right now. There is no program to call when I have questions and no associate to contact when I arrive in the city. No family will take me in, and no host-mother will cook my dinner for me. Suddenly, Ireland doesn’t seem scary at all.

But moving up north for an undetermined amount of time does.

I’m going to have a hefty rent to maintain and a job (or two) while going to school fulltime. Not to mention I’M LIVING IN NEW YORK. By myself? I need to figure out the subways, and the sketchy streets, and the cheap eats, and the places with the hopping beats, and the cool coffee shops, and where to find the cops, and all the really nifty, non-touristy, New Yorker spots.

Quite a list.

So in June I’ll go up to New York and hopefully find a spot to live. By July I would love to be moved in and August would be the perfect month for the start of a job. In September school starts and by October I hope to be acclimated and moderately content.

Oh if only it were that easy… But that’s the update.

PS – I jumped off of a roof (well dangled and fell off of a roof) the last night of college. A warning to future graduates: I do not regret fulfilling my bucket list YET. But if I have to get an MRI next week, that statement might be retracted. So think twice before you climb the abandoned Hiden Wood Lanes.

Here are some pictures from Graduation I found on my parent's cameras. Note: You will NOT find these pictures on Facebook. This is more of a "behind the scenes" approach...

JR. Wow.

No she didn't... but yes. Those are crocks.

Huh...

All the "Single Ladies." And JR.

Some more of JR's moves. Nices faces in the background.

Being "fun" and "crazzzy."

From just us...

to everyone.

Not really into the ceremony yet...

Lost and lacking friends.

Looks good Grace.

Can you believe we're "adults?"

Beautiful sisters.

And the plans are coming together...

I’ve been bad. There has been a severe lack of blogging in the last several weeks, but my LAST DAYS of college are wrapping up; so busyness must be tolerated.

To all those “what are doing next year” questions that are slug at every graduating senior, I finally have an answer for you. April 12th, 2010 Pace University in New York City accepted me into the Dyson School of Arts to receive my master’s degree in Publishing. Yay!

So if all goes according to plan, mid-summer I’ll be on my way to the Big Apple. And for you blog followers out there, this means you will have something a little bit more interesting to be reading about. I do love you CNU, but the next adventure is calling my name… And an adventure is what I need so I don’t become a sentimental mess as I leave my home of four fabulous years.

So. New York. Get Ready.

PS – Anyone have any tips on how to pay for grad school? Because I’m going to need them. I mean seriously… email me ;)

Current background on my computer

Spring Break 2010 - Newark, NJ - "Community"

“So what do you like about your community?”

If someone were to ask me this question, I would say I love how there are mass amounts of people that surround my everyday life. At 12 and 6pm, I know anywhere from 5 to 25 friends will be eating lunch or dinner in the dining hall on campus. When I enter the Middle House, I know my roommates will be home, ready to discuss the day’s events. Despite recent increases in lack of sleep due to senior projects, I really am happy learning and thriving in an environment where I feel comfortable and safe.

Yes, I am comfortable and safe.

The Middle House girls.

But it’s not hard to feel at ease when you live near the ocean, know your parent’s will still pay for your gas, and are aware that your sole purpose in life right now is to simply “do well” in school. It’s okay to feel content with a situation. Yet, when I visit Newark I am always reminded of the immense amount of blessings in my life… and how agonizing permanent “content-ness” can be.

“So what do you like about your community?” I asked Erica. She was a skinny woman with a mixed ethnicity and a pretty, smooth face. Hanging outside her window in Hyatt Court, she smiled a wide grin, showing her missing teeth.

Two other CNU students and I were down in the projects on our second day in NJ. Our goal was to interview random strangers about what they wanted to see happening in their community. How could Trinity Church help? What were the pros and cons of living in Newark?

My interviewing group with Iain and Kelsey

Erica was the first person that would talk to us. She was the grandmother to a few of the children we knew from the after school program, and was well-respected in Hyatt. But to me, the most prominent feature about Erica were her dazzling green eyes. They looked like pieces of jade marble staring into your mind, and when the sunlight shown on her face I can easily admit they are the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.

“Well our community don’t kill one another like they do up the street,” she said, still talking to us from inside of her first-floor window. A man named Jamal nodded in agreement. “Yeah… there always killing someone.” He stood beside her window, but was outside of the building, positioned near us. He was a mellow man, and persistently nodded throughout the entirety of our conversation.

Erica continued to speak. “But, no… here? We are kinda like family, ya know? Like everyone’s got everyone’s back, you know? You’re not gonna see him killing him and him killing her… No, we got it good in Hyatt. You know, my mother used to manage this place? Yeah, she used to have all these things for the children. Yeah, but it’s hard. But we’re a family.”

I’m not going to lie.

This took me a little bit by surprise. I couldn’t help but egotistically think, “You got it good? You are living in a freaking hellhole! There are rats, and it’s not safe, and maybe you don’t kill each other but there are gangs and sexual abuse…” The list could go on.

But Erica took pride in her home. She went on to talk more about her mother running Hyatt and the renovations that the city had completed. The halls of the projects had been repainted and traps had been set for the rodents. Erica might not have a beach, or a dining hall, but she was proud of what she did have, and found joy in what I would consider squalor.

She reminded me that my socialization is a lucky one and not the standard. She reminded me that my way is not necessarily better and that evil or ignorance can consume any economic class. She reminded me to not only “count my blessings” but be aware of the less desired and marginalized.

And you would think after four years I would remember this. Fail.

I looked into her sparkling green eyes. Tears were forming and she began to profusely thank us for coming to Newark and asking about her community.

“We need you guys. We NEED you,” she kept saying. “Oh… oh we need you,” a fat tear rolled down her face.

Not really sure what to do next, we finished the interview and asked if we could pray for her. Now, if the situation had been different, I would have laughed out loud. Imagine: three white suburban kids, standing in the middle of the projects, holding the hands of a women who is leaning as far out of a window as she can to grab our hands. Not only are we all stretched in odd positions, but it almost looks as if we are pulling Erica out of her window.

“Thank you… thank you. Thank you for coming,” she said, oblivious of the humorous circumstance.

Well green-eyed Erica. I should thank you for the reminder to continue to broaden my perspectives and extend a hand to those who are not “comfortable” or “safe.” I should remember to be happy where I am, knowledgeable and proactive about others' inequalities, and not dread what is to come. Besides, I've always enjoyed a good adventure...

With the future so unsure as graduation approaches, I hope to be as joyful as Erica in any situation thrown my way.

What will I like about my future community?

One thing I do know: I really do not like rats. Can my future please avoid small rodents of any kind? Thanks...

Lovely squalor, isn't it?