hey.

riding the wave

not too long ago, i had some AmeriCorps wisdom imparted upon me regarding these transition weeks spent in Denver. as it gets to be later and later in your service term, i was told, they’ll only get weirder.

this has turned out to be extremely true — in both fantastic and unfortunate ways.

without going into detail or choosing sides of any persuasion, i’ll say that there’s been some shady activity this past week that has challenged my perception of what both my peers and my leaders are capable of. i have loved this organization, my unit, my team, since the moment i came to know it, them, us, but there has been a lot of emotionally draining bureaucratic bullshit going down this past week that has shaken me up a bit. as a result, our unit lost another corps member and my team has lost Christopher, which is not something i will ever feel good about, but is definitely a stupid series of events that i’m more than ready to move on from.

that being said, thank god for Julia Dykers and her excellent timing entering into this world. her 24th birthday celebration this Thursday was the perfect light at the end of the tunnel to pull Water Unit out of our funk and remind us all how much love we’ve got for each other.

happy birthday, lady. i couldn’t have asked for a better human being to pioneer the NorthWest with this upcoming year

and now,

after all that,

i’m here in Louisiana watching Breaking Bad. i flew in early yesterday morning, just in time to change clothes in the back seat of my dad’s rental car on the way to LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communications graduation ceremony. my big brother’s got a masters degree — what do you know about that. i’m proud.

it’s been a lovely few days (and a much needed getaway) of strong beer, Cajun food, and my beautiful family who i’ve missed so much since i last saw them for Christmas.

it’s been a weird week, but things are looking up again, y’all.

we ship off for Albuquerque on Monday and then on to Sierra Vista by Tuesday for our fourth and final project, which is so unreal, but promises to be an amazing capstone for this incredible year of service.

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an accurate summation of transition week thus far.

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the intro to Kristin’s farewell rap for Water 2.5 (shuffle round is now officially over)

(you knew this was coming)

Arches edition

oh, also

let’s talk about our trip back to Denver.

we drove all day Wednesday until we found ourselves in Moab, Utah, where we set up camp for the night.

we woke up at 5:00 the next morning, reloaded the vans, and headed straight for Arches National Park. driving through the park in that bluish light with the fog still hanging low over the red rocks and canyons was absolutely otherworldly. this planet is crazy. the diversity of ecosystems found just in this country is crazy. it’s so refreshing to find yourself in the midst of a climate that feels so alien and unseen — a reminder of just how vast and varied life can be.

while the majority of the team opted to continue sleeping in the vans, Alli Bell, Megan, Cynthia and i ventured out into the park on the hunt for what’s referred to as the Delicate Arch. while Alli and Megan ran ahead (like the freakishly fit beasts that they are), Cynthia and i hiked our way up the trail.

upon reaching our destination, we saw in front of us, across a giant hole in the ground, two black dots waving their arms and screaming our names. Alli and Megan had scaled the base of the arch and perched themselves on the slope of a rock wall to await our arrival.

now, i don’t know if y’all knew this, because i’m actually not sure that i knew this until that very morning, but i don’t do well with heights — at least not when there are no railings or enclosures involved.

see this photo?

that’s Cynthia, myself, and Megan standing triumphantly inside the arch after having scaled the base of it. not pictured is the aforementioned giant hole in front of us, the immediate dropoff into a canyon not ten feet behind us, or the legitimate freakout i had during said scaling of the arch base.

i mean, look:

this power stance photo took place in the 10 seconds i was even able to stand up straight on my shaky legs. most of time time i was scooting my butt across the floor or, in fleeting flashes of slightly less panic, crab walking. Alli Bell and Megan Walsh are such angels for coaching both myself and Cynthia up and down that arch base. without them, i wouldn’t have these badass photos or bragging rights, only shame and regret.

that’s overdramatic, but really. what a fantastic moment of leadership (a great start for Megan, who’s recently earned a team leader position for the upcoming fall service term — holla!) and also a real bonding moment. i can’t say i’ve ever had a public meltdown like that before, especially not before 8am (yikes).

the epitome of stepping outside of your comfort zone, am i right? this program, i’m telling you.

we spent the rest of the day hiking around the park just soaking in its magnificence (the colors in the SouthWest — good god, y’all), me riding my own personal wave of adrenaline and endorphins post-breakdown, before piling into the vans for the final half of our journey back to campus. it was kinda nuts finding ourselves weaving in and out of red rocks one minute and dodging black ice just a few hours later:

anyway, that’s that. we’ve got our transition week here in Denver before heading south again for Sierra Vista, where we’re sure to melt into puddles in the summer heat. i guess that means this could be my final entry in this here blog (or anywhere at all).

see ya never.