When I graduated high school, I had the honor of travelling in a 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan to California with 4 other people. We started the journey at 3 AM with my sleepy little brother and his friend, reluctantly, close in toe. The trip to California from Little Rock, Arkansas was expected to take 27 hours if you drove straight through. Luckily, we had planned stops along the way, which broke up the 27 hours over a 4 day span. If you don’t know where I-40 goes, it travels through Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and to California. My mother and I had friends that had recently moved to New Mexico, and they had agreed to letting us stay with them while we took a break from driving. I was not prepared for New Mexico. When we arrived in Albuquerque, I was beyond ready to be out of the car, because we had only stopped for gas and restroom breaks. Albuquerque was the first real stop since we left Arkansas. We are looking at 12 hours in the car at this point. It was around 6 o’clock New Mexico time and the sun hadn’t quite set. But when it did, wow. We decided to climb Sandia Mountain as the sun was setting, and while we were walking, the light was getting more pink on the ground. The thing about this sunset, though, was that on one side of your head the sky would be pink, but on the other side, it could be a bright blue. Sprinkle a few rainstorms in the distance and that’s exactly what it looked like. It is simply breathtaking. I could take a picture and then a minute later the sky could be a totally different color, and it happened for 10 minutes. I have never been so amazed. The next day, we went ventured away from Albuquerque and went to Nambe Falls, Chimayo, and Santa Fe. All of which were other worlds to me. It was warm, but not humid, and I experienced my first altitude burn (which is very weird since in Central Arkansas, everything is fairly flat). We spoke with Native Americans who were trading in the Santa Fe market, and I had chili cheese fries. When the woman asked me, “Red or green?” I can only imagine what my face looked like when it twisted up in confusion and I realized she put real chili peppers in her chili. The day consisted of a lot of food and a lot of water, since I had gotten sick from the altitude the moment we got out of the car in Albuquerque. The drive from Santa Fe back to Albuquerque was shocking, because on one side of the highway there was another beautiful New Mexico sunset, and on the other side was a huge lightning storm that we got to watch roll through from the distance. It was such a show, and I remember being tired and irritable when my brother yelled, “BLAMMM!” every time lightning struck somewhere. The whole experience was awe-inspiring. California was surprisingly cold and I was surprisingly relaxed, despite stress back home and missing my boyfriend tremendously. After that trip, I learned that absence truly does make the heart grow fonder, and I have never been more excited for a hug in my life. The trip had numerous memorable aspects, but New Mexico was by far my most favorite place. I often joke with River about if I ever ran away, how he would check in New Mexico first. I often remember how it felt to be there, and miss it more than I expected to, but I appreciate the sunsets, random storms, and that breathtaking walk that consisted of cactus dodging and snake watching, all while missing the world’s most gorgeous sunset behind me.
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Throughout high school, you are told that you will have to write in cursive, have to know all of your multiplication facts, and that inevitably, your parents will cry on move-in day for what feels like forever. But what I will tell you is that no matter what you hear in high school about college, it is normally not what you expect. I have been in college since August, and while I am no professional student, I do see a lot of differences in what my high school teachers told me and what is reality.
Assumed Truths: 1. You will be up all day and all night studying and writing papers. This is absolutely true-- if you are the type of person to put off an hour of work all day until 11 o’clock at night to start on that research paper. It is completely possible to go to bed before 10 o’clock (given that those around you in the dorm are considerate and quiet) every day of the week in college. The problem lies in dragging yourself out of bed to do it. 2.College professors are from the Black Lagoon. Yes, you have some who make you actually do work. But no, they do not scream at you for not doing your assignments or force you to stand when you fall asleep in class. Often times, they think that if you paid to take the class, it’s your priority how much you get out of it. They do not hold your hand, but they don’t throw you to the wolves either. 3. Dress Code applies everywhere. It’s true to a point, but that doesn’t mean people follow it. In my high school, shoulders, holes in your jeans, and leggings were unacceptable, and the principal would not hesitate to write you up. But in college, the showing of the female shoulder and thighs are common sights. In fact, I have seen many people who made me want to wear long sleeved shirts and leggings for the rest of the year (which you can also wear) because they show enough skin for the both of us. I have come to the conclusion that the only way to get ready for college is to wrap up your business at home, pack your things, and do it. It is a wonderful and frightening experience that I think has been a turning point for me. I don’t think it is for everyone, and in the process of preparing to move away and figure out what it meant to be on my own I often questioned if I should even be going to college. But I think it’s like what my yearbook teacher used to say, “It’s hard work, but it’s good work.” One thing that has always been easy for me to talk about is music. I am a firm believer that it is a universal language, and that you do not have to have words to understand what the musician or composer is trying to say. (For example, I personally believe the Game of Thrones theme song is a gorgeous piece of music, regardless of the story behind it.) But music has not only impacted how I feel the world around me, it impacted who I want to spend the rest of my life with. If you did not know the story of me and my significant other, and asked us how we met, we will both simultaneously say “I met her/him through a band shirt.” Which sounds remarkably stupid. Trust me, I know. But that single Sleeping with Sirens band shirt started the first conversation we ever had, and continues to be an interesting talking point for those who meet us. River is my best friend, my support system, and my biggest influence, currently. In this transition from high school to college, River and I chose to go to the same school, (I even changed my school of choice to go to school with him, and for other reasons, after hours and hours of deliberation.) which some would say would be the Kiss of Death for our relationship. But I have to say, it is the best decision I ever made. My days consist of classes in the mornings, and then laughter, homework, and watching Netflix together until we can barely keep our eyes open. I digress. Music. River is a music guru, if you ask me. When we first met, he was a little punk kid who was getting his footing at a new school and I was dabbling in the post hardcore scene. And when I say dabbling, I mean I knew one song from maybe 5 bands at the time of our acquaintance. When we first started talking, he would bring up bands and songs that I had never heard of, which I often looked up on the spot so I could keep the conversation going. Eventually I grew to find myself singing/aggressively humming entire albums while riding the bus to school including but not limited to Bring Me the Horizon’s album, Sempiternal, and Mayday Parade’s A Lesson In Romantics. (Both of which I still recommend.) He opened my eyes to genres like progressive metal, folk-metal, and even the famous pop punk. What all of this useless information leads me to the assertion that you should always find common ground with someone and grow from them. River had a very limited knowledge of 90’s music until I opened his eyes to Boyz II Men and other game-changing artists. We grew together and learned about each other through the music we recommended and listened to. And I believe it made us stronger. We got out of our comfort zones with our music, and I recommend you do the same. Google genres and listen to some of the bands that are listed. Grow in your understanding of yourself. It is a wonderful experience. Wanna talk? Click the links to my social media or
email me at [email protected] When I started brainstorming the ideas for this blog, I didn’t realize that I would (hopefully) be talking to people who do not know me. I find it very hard telling people who I am without showing it. How do you describe a music-loving procrastinator who loves to talk about the world around her? That is the challenge of my day, but I can show you pictures and words at this point, so here we go… post number one. I grew up in a small town in Arkansas. If you don’t know where Arkansas is, it’s probably because it’s right next to some of the biggest attractions in the Southern part of America-- Nashville, Tennessee, Texas, and Louisiana. Arkansas is a state you drive through, not to. But nonetheless, I called Central Arkansas my home for 18 years, living close enough to the city that I could go walk through the River Market on a regular basis, but close enough to the rougher part of South Arkansas that I could get away from the city lights and city drivers. I attended an inner city school from kindergarten to third grade and then transferred to the district I graduated from in May of 2016. I didn’t do as well as I expected myself to, but I succeeded in other areas, which I like to believe mattered more than regurgitating information onto a page in sentence form. I studied journalism in high school, and that’s about it. I had the same journalism teacher for 4 years, learning the “art” of newspaper print my freshman year and then yearbook from sophomore year until senior year. I would make the argument that once you do yearbook for your entire high school career, you do it forever. (I loved designing the blog because it allowed me to show my old design techniques again.) I plan to graduate college in the Spring of 2020 with a degree in Communications and possibly a minor in Political Science. I was a part of the radio show “Teen Talk” on JoyNet Radio on Friday nights, where I often spouted off what I thought about whatever the topic was without any hesitation. That is what I want to do with my life. Without that year of radio, I would not know how great it feels to get my opinion out in the open and have a discussion about everything going on in this world. I love to talk about politics. Growing up in the Conservative town I did, I often argued with many people about how I felt things should be run in the country. But when I attended my American National Government class, I realized that those types of people are not everywhere. And that is a glorious fact that I enjoy knowing. With that being said, I am very outspoken about what I think and what I believe. This forum is no exception. I plan to say what I wish to say, and many of you may dislike that, and many of you may never read my blog again, and that is okay. You have a right to speak against me, just as much as I have a right to speak my opinion. I hope that you stick with me in this journey and realize that I will evolve and change with time, just like you will. My main assertion is “We are all human.” And we are. All of us. At the end of the day, we are still people who think and feel and know and believe. So in this experience, I ask that you remember that. That these conversation pieces are just that-- conversation pieces. Talk about them. Ask questions. Be skeptical. But most importantly, be honest and be you. Above all, be you. Wanna talk? Click the links to my social media or
email me at [email protected]. |
AuthorGabrielle Willingham is a young Arkansan woman who sees the importance of simultaneous cynicism and optimism. Gabrielle is currently working on a MA in Communication with a focus in gender studies and political science. Archives
January 2021
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