I didn't expect this to be so hard...

I miss my peeps. I don't think I've ever felt like I was truly alone like this before. I'm in a foreign place withe people that I don't necessarily trust and I just want to be with my family... Which is odd to say because I'm related to basically everyone that I'm here with. I need a distraction so that I stop randomly bursting into tears.

I hope they're having fun in Boston, though!

Beauty in the Stars

So, I'm cleaning my room and packing right now. I shouldn't be online, as I have to leave in less than 3 hours, but I found this poem that I wrote while I should have been taking notes in Astronomy during the first week. So here it is:

Turn your eyes

to the stars

and admire 

their beauty.

Why does such

stark contrast

draw my attention

so?

Long have my dreams

been lifted to

the night sky,

the celestial bodies

that hover there.

One day I will

reach the stars

and find there

my destiny.

Lost will be

the science

of my world, 

all that will 

remain is the

surreal beauty

of the

universe.

One day I will

find myself

in the

night sky.

It's not a masterpiece or anything. It definitely needs work. But since I haven't really written a whole lot of creative stuff lately (though I did write a new train piece last week!) I thought I would share this for anyone who might be interested.

Oh! I'm bringing my copy of Writing Down the Bones on the flight to New Orleans. Expect some kind of writing either when I land or once I am back on Sunday.

Promotion!

This is my new Boondocks shirt. My old shirt was blue because I was simply a crew member. I have been waiting months for a promotion. So when my general manager pulled me into his office today after I clocked out I was sure that he was just going to tell me some more things that I needed to work on before he could promote me. The meeting started out that way, too. He was telling me all of the things that he had noticed during our crazy day that I needed to work on. I agreed with him and let him know that I was working on these things. Then he mentioned, very casually, that they were going to be moving me up to Crew Lead. The way he said it (along with the amount of exhaustion I was facing) made me think that this still wasn't something that was happening right now. 

At the end of our talk, though, he grabbed two new red shirts from a cabinet in the office and sent me on my way. My first stop was back at the kitchen so that I could share my promotion with my friends (who have been waiting for it just as long as I have.) We partied for a moment before I had to let them get back to work and head home.

Now, I just have to say that I love working at Boondocks most of the time. I know I have my moments where I wish I could work in an environment that involved a little more sanity, but doesn't everyone? I even had my moment toward the end of my shift today. I was exhausted and I was sick of working a position that I wasn't being paid for (little did I know that I was being paid for it.) 

Still, I love the people that I work with and I even love the work that I'm doing most of the time. Every day that I work is a day that I am  improving my skills in cooking, cleaning and leadership. It may be really difficult for me to remain sane some days, but I still love it.

Just Keep Swimming...

So, as you can probably tell, my life is still insanely busy. Right now I'm sitting with Carley at Weber and I should be working on my English paper that I have to write for tomorrow. I have to work tonight, so the paper has to get done before I go in at four.

I'm not so sure that I've got this whole college thing figured out yet. I'm still just trying to get through every moment without drowning in it. But I'm doing better. I'm definitely enjoying myself more. I think I've found a way to get through my Astronomy class without losing my scholarship.

I'm also finally getting some time off.

Next week I'm going to New Orleans with my dad and some other family for a conference that he is recording. I'm not really sure what I'm going to be doing, but he's paying me to leave school and work behind for five days. I'm all for it. I get on a plane with my cousin next Wednesday evening. We'll meet my dad and the others at the airport. Then I'm coming home Sunday morning. Once I'm home, I'll have no school and no work until the next day. Isn't it great? One whole day with no school and no work. I had forgotten that such days exist.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in briefly because I haven't written in a while. I'll probably post my paper when I'm done with it, but that might not be until I turn in the final draft next week.