Since it has been close to an eternity since I've given any love to this blog, I surmise that a general update is in order. The starting place feels much longer ago than a mere three weeks- so much has happened!
On December 22, I turned in my final paper (Ethics on "How to Live a Good Life"-- what a topic, eh?) and I moved out of my campus apartment. Not surprisingly, it was a pretty emotional week. While I had (have) so much to celebrate, I told Jared it was St. Ben's was "breaking up with me." My internal dialogue echoed something along the lines of,
"Olivia, it's been a great four years together, but I feel that it's time to go our separate ways. It's not you, it's me. This is best for the both of us."
"St. Ben's, no! We can make it work!"
Yep. I love that place that much. I really look forward to articulating exactly what The College of Saint Benedict was for me - especially when my reflections are so fresh.
So as a graduate in December, I would certainly note an element of awkwardness in the aftermath. Most of your peers are dying to leave, while you're silently holding on to every moment on the friggin Link. However, the holidays were a real stabilizer. When you're thrust out into the "real world" to find yourself directly in the company of family, food, and merriment, well- it is a tangible reminder that life just gets better and better. Life doesn't slow down, and it surely doesn't stop. So when you feel like you are not in control of your timeline (like I felt as I walked off campus) go back to home base. Thanks to many, I regrouped.
Christmas was short, but wonderful. We made the trip up north, and I can't remember the last time we all had so much fun together. Of course, whenever we are all together, it's always the time we feel our losses the most. The remedy? Be together as much as possible. It's quite hilarious actually. Stacy brought over an ugly Christmas sweater for everyone, which we wore straight through dinner. They even survivded the hilarious white elephant exchange, where popular gifts included the meatloaf pan, pajama jeans, and the Make A Deal ZONK box of matches. But soon, due to a four-hour stint of Running Charades, we were down to long underwear and rosy cheeks. After our brains started short-circuiting from the over stimuli of charade gestures, we literally moved every piece of furniture into the living room. We watched movies until all eyelids were too heavy to keep open. It wasn't traditional, but traditional doesn't really fit us anymore. It was our quirky little Christmas.
When I count my blessings, I always feel so grateful for my second family: The Sherlocks. Jared's family has taken me as their own since the day I met them (truly, even before then. Our beginnings as a couple are set to be a second future blog, and apparently, they had me pegged ;). I no more than unpacked my bag from Christmas before I was excitedly repacking for my stay in the Sherlock Happy Place for an extended week of snowboarding, Dexter (season 4- WHOA), beautiful dinners, visits from Jared's best friend, New Years Eve fireworks on the mountain, and so much more. Like I said, these people are my family, and it was so comforting to be with them after moving on from school.
PHEW! And that's three weeks for you, folks! In other news, I'm waiting to hear back on an apartment I applied for in Roseville- just outside of Minneapolis. Fingers crossed, I will be moving in toward the end of January. I am currently interning at both Hennepin Teatre Trust and The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts. As I see it I am pursuing arts administration at full speed! It's funny, because at every twist and turn of the application process I found myself narrowing in on the Minneapolis theatre scene. It wasn't a clear goal, but as I've gotten both offers, I think I definitely need to tune-in to what my parents, peers, and previous employers have always told me: You'll always work in theatre.
Never a shortage of things to celebrate and look forward to. January has been very kind, and I'm very thankful to be loving my life like I do-- let's be real. My internship with HTT just let me sit in during the broadway touring production of The Lion King's final dress rehearsal. I can die happy now.
