All-over-the-place April

April was the month of rock-bottom and mountain-top. The beginning of this month was the most cynical and negative I’ve been in…ever. Throughout the month though, I started doing this incredible thing called “self-care”. Unfortunately, this concept was completely lost during the insanity and the responsibility of being a Team Leader until about mid-April. I’m going to go out on a whim and say that this is one of those “better late than never” moments.

April started off with the second (and second to last) AmeriCorps transition in Mississippi, my 23^rd birthday, Bayou 6’s re-deployment to Washington, DC, good weather in the Nation’s Capital, and two long-weekend escapes to get the chance to be myself.

AmeriCorps Transition

As mentioned in a previous post, I helped put together a lovely day called “TLTransition”. While I am unbelievably happy for its positive outcome, its wide, grateful acceptance, and the general support it displayed among all members of Team Green…it brought a lot of personal things to light.

Two topics that come up that day were “What do you like about yourself?” and “What way have you changed the most this year?” Back in July and August when I was constantly surrounded and supported by people who wanted (not needed) me to be my best self…I was my best self. I could tell you a million things I loved about myself and I could tell you the many lessons learned and implemented from my experiences leading up to that day. Over transition…I stuttered, struggled, and sat in silence when I was supposed to be obnoxiously tooting my own horn…and the biggest change I saw in myself was CYNICISM. I thought that after a half-a-year of selfless service I would think higher of myself, be happier, or be able to take ownership over positive change—essentially everything that I didn’t feel. While this realization was not particularly pleasant…it helped shape the rest of my month and, really, the rest of my year of service.

I Really Thought I Only Turned 22 This Year…

I started writing this post and thought back on how great my most recent (and 22^nd) birthday was. NOPE. I’m 23. Oops.

I truly believe that I am the luckiest Team Leader because I got to celebrate my birthday over transition in close proximity to all the people that I started loving back in July. That alone made this the best birthday yet. In addition to being with my newest and best(est) friends, I drank coffee, ate delicious food, drank drive-through daiquiris, went to a Mississippi “beach”, and kissed under a train (my favorite two things combined).  I sang loud and obnoxiously at the local bar, laughed until my stomach hurt, and hugged everyone until they peeled me off. I’ll forever be grateful that this transition graciously landed right around my day J

My Love Affair with the National Mall

Washington, DC in the springtime makes me believe that I could actually live in this place. The National Mall and my physical ability to run it are the reasons I am so in awe of this place. Multiple times a week I throw on my running clothes and I run the National Mall. It doesn’t matter what way I turn…I’m always looking at something breath-taking: The Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, The Capital Building, or any of the dozens of Smithsonian Museums. No matter how many times I do it, I remind myself every single time how unique and awesome this place and this opportunity is: I’m working in Washington, DC, making an impression on important people, kicking butt on important projects…and oh yeah, I’m only 23 while I’m doing it. Every time I run the Mall, I am reminded of that feat.

Boston (area) with my Long, Lost Family

Sign in downtown Salem. So funny. 

First of all, I have a friend that I’ve known for 20 years…already. Sounds kind of unbelievable for a 23 year-old right? Wrong. In preschool, our teachers set me and Dan up to be friends. His best friend had just moved away…and I was a loner. It was a match made in heaven. Since our adorable introduction, our families became quite close. After him and his family moved to Massachusetts in 3^rd grade, we became pen pals which gradually turned to email, MySpace, then Facebook. Whenever his family visited California, we would meet up, when Dan was working for AmeriCorps and living in Los Angeles, he visited me up in my college town. Living in DC presented the perfect opportunity for me to visit him and his family, finally.

My Spring Break surrounded Easter Sunday this year. Since this would have been a holiday alone again, Dan and his family opened their arms and home to me for the weekend.  

I spent time with Dan in Salem, moseyed around downtown while he was at work, and met lots of his friends. I also went to Cape Cod to see his parents, brother, and grandmother (who I hadn’t seen in over 5 years) for a beautiful, laughter-filled, and gluten-free—thank you again!—Easter dinner. We watched stand-up comedians, went candle-pin bowling, and ate lots of ham and chocolate—but not together, of course. We went to Easter mass, saw even more family, helped hide the Easter eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt, and played flag football in the street.

This weekend was so busy, fun, and full of love that I hardly had to think about how far away I was from my biological family. I don’t know how I got so lucky…but I still got to spend time with family this Easter. Thank you again for your hospitality. I’m so happy I got to see you all.

Dad’s Last Weekend in Buffalo

Rewind real quick for those who didn’t know—my dad was living part-time in Buffalo, NY for the past two years while he worked a temporary project. Now, fast-forward to mid-April—he’s HOME, full-time! Since I hadn’t seen my parents since Christmas and wasn’t able to afford to go home for Easter, I made an extra special trip to Buffalo, NY while my parents were there packing up my dad’s apartment.

There were (as there always are) lots of chicken wings, perfectly seasoned French fries, mispronunciation of words (grandma), laughter induced tears, snorts (mom), and inappropriate comments made this trip to Buffalo, NY. This is where the majority of my extended family lives…so all of these activities are just the minimum requirement.

Besides the standard activities, my dad and I were able to do a couple extra cool things together. One, my dad took me to a park that he and his older brother Jimmy used to run at when they were teenagers. My uncle passed away when I was very young…so every opportunity my dad takes to share their relationship with me is a memory I will never forget. And two, my dad and I also went on a beautiful hike down to the water at the base of Niagara Falls. Being that close to the white water was as gorgeous as it was terrifying. Pictures will absolutely never do the falls or the speed of the water justice.

The Simple Serendipities

AmeriCorps Got Talent: During transition, a couple of the Support Team Leaders organized a Talent Show for the Corps to perform in and be entertained by. The show was incredible. People sang, danced, performed drag, and were excellent emcees. During the show, I whispered to my roommate about maybe doing an impromptu a cappella song if the opportunity presented itself. Fate played out that night. For some strange reason, her and I were harassed onto stage. Little did they know we were 20 seconds prepared. My beautiful, voice-major roommate and I performed a duet to Adele’s “Someone Like You” while the FEMA Liaison and I performed some interpretive dance. It was fun, carefree, and the happiest I was the entire Transition.

Tumbling Towers aka Jenga: Ever since I joined Take it SLO my sophomore year of college, I have a love for the game of Jenga. Alumni, you know what I’m talking about. Anyways, they had the game at a coffee shop in downtown DC a few weeks ago and I played a couple intense and impressive rounds with this guy. He won twice—damn—but I put up a good fight.

Asking the Right Questions: I have had the pleasure of working under some excellent leadership at FEMA in Washington, DC. One of those leaders does an impeccable job of acknowledging talent and expressing appreciation when he sees fit. This leader paid me a wonderful compliment. He praised my desire to always gain more knowledge and my ability to ask the right questions to get the right answers. He values my role because he rarely sees those qualities in others. What a kind expression of gratitude and acknowledgement from senior leadership to a lowly FEMA Corps Team Leader!