My Plans Moving Forward…

May 21, 2013 in Adventures! with 2 Comments

Since I walked in my masters commencement ceremony at the beginning of May, I have had a number of people ask me what my plans are next, if I have a job, and etcetera.

I am moving to Portland, Oregon.

I visited Portland over winter break, after having heard about the city for years. Years ago, maybe around age 6 or 7, I visited with my mother. I remember little from that trip besides the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. I flew back to California from a visit to my aunt in Washington via an airplane that left Portland. But this trip over winter break 2012-13 was the first time in my adult life I had a chance to experience and explore Portland. My best friends and I visited their sister and her husband, who showed took us on a walking tour of pretty much everything outstanding and important in the city. It was incredible to see such a relaxed city, a city devoted to art, sustainability, coffee and so much more. I had heard stories from friends, read Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller, and seen pictures. But nothing prepared me for how I would feel being in Portland.

Within hours of seeing the city, I knew it was where I wanted to be in a near-future step of my life. As the semester progressed, I felt a number of signs in my life pointing me to Portland. My job search has been focused on the West Coast because I miss the West Coast culture and environment. I miss being within reasonable distance of family and friends, and I miss being near the ocean.

Last summer I had a conversation with my cousin about how I want to be in a young city where I do not need a car, where I can purchase organic, locally grown food from a farmers market and where people are friendly. Being in Portland, I realized so many of these are regular parts of life for the community. After two years of commuting an hour each way, I am ready to not have to worry about gas or car insurance or maintenence. More importantly, I am ready to reduce my impact on the environment, to take care of my health by walking place I need to be and eating good food.And after struggling in my social life to make significant connections while maintaining a commuters life, I am ready to be in one place, in one neighborhood even, and make strong social connections.

After my experience at The Placement Exchange I had a conversation with the Director of the office my GA position was in and, with her help, came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to just pick a point to move to. At this point, I had already considered just moving to Portland and making things work, but thought it was crazy-talk. After this conversation and an email from a former supervisor that stated “you must do what you love,” I realized that people sometimes move to places they want to be and as long as they make it work, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be in a specific place.

So I have a one-way ticket to Seattle on May 30. I have an aunt who lives just outside of Seattle who, like many of my family and friends, is incredibly supportive of me taking this leap. I currently do not have a job or place to live in Portland, but I know just being back on the West Coast will help me move forward in a positive direction with acquiring both. I am regularly checking job posting sites of universities in that area, as well as general job posting sites.

I have heard so many stories of people who traveled to one place with just a suitcase or two and made a life out of it. I want that to be part of my story. I want to take control of my life and continue to put myself in new and unique situations. I know it will help create me as a person, and it will give me plenty to write about as well as, hopefully, opportunities to write. Because I miss writing. My plan is to regularly blog about my adventures, my progress and what the transition is like. This is both so I can share with friends and family what is happening regularly and so I can have a record of my growth and the changes in my life.

Thanks so much to everyone who has been and is supportive of me in this transition!

10 Things I Have Learned at UCO

May 10, 2013 in Memories, Student Affairs, Thoughts with 2 Comments

During the past two academic years, as I have pursued my masters degree at Oklahoma State University, I have had a graduate assistantship about 50 miles down the road at the University of Central Oklahoma. Today is my last day at UCO. Which is all weird and terrifying and stuff.

At the beginning, I was working in the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, but in mid-October of my first year I began to shift over to the Department of Campus Activities. I have worked with a number of amazing and incredible students, professionals and faculty. As part of my reflection, I wanted to create a “Top Ten” list of things I have learned for my professional career at UCO. Though I guess it is not really a top ten list, more of a “Ten-Fun-Things-I-Want-To-Share” list. I would like to note that these items are in no particular order – I have learned that these are all equally important.

Wear Your Name Tag on the Right – This lesson, learned from the Director of my department, is so incredibly simple. Over time I have learned how important it is, and it is incredible to see how well this sinks in for our students. I am surprised it took my until grad school to learn this. One is always supposed to wear their name tag on their right side. This makes it easier to identify an individual when you meet them. Reach out, shake their hand, and boom, their name tag is right there.

Never Run – This lesson is from our Coordinator of Parent and Family Programs. The idea is that one is never supposed to run during a program. It looks unprofessional and can make people thing something is wrong, thus drawing concern. It is pretty simple, and undergrad Nathanial could have used this lesson a lot. Especially sophomore year.

The Backwards Calendar – This helps minimalize the occurrence of last minute issues. It helps to put yourself in the mental space of “today is the program, what do I need right now?” Then to go the day before and thing of what you need then. Then the week before, the month before, etcetera. It is an incredibly useful planning tool, especially when working with large programs and balancing lots of things.

Conferences are Important – As much as regional/national conferences and organizations are important for getting undergrads involved in something bigger than themselves, they are important for professionals to stay connected with each other, to learn from each other, and to meet each other. The experience I had with conferences as an undergrad got me involved in the student affairs field, the experiences I have had with conferences as a graduate student have taught me how to be a better professional.

Commuting Sucks – Driving 100 miles a day across the open flatness of Oklahoma is a unique way to familiarize oneself with a new place. Quickly. My first year I commuted a lot more than I did my second (upwards of four times a week, compared to maybe twice a week). I became very good friends with my car. But that does not mean I necessarily enjoyed it. Sure, there was lots of time to think and process, but less time spent doing other, more productive things.

Take Risks – Toward the end of my first year, I was looking at buying a car. I was close, but absolutely terrified. I sat down with our Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and we were talking about it, and he reminded me of a few things I will never forget. He reminded me that there is no perfect time for any major life choice. There is always an excuse or reason to not do something. But some things, like buying a car or going to grad school or getting married are things that generally turn out to be good life choices. Sometimes you just have to jump. Get over your fear and anxiety and make the choices that are in front of you, with strong decisiveness and certainty for the future.

Wear a Real Bow-Tie – In the words of Doctor Who, “bowties are cool.” That being said, you will never see The Doctor wearing a clip-on bowtie. Likewise, you will never see me wearing a clip-on bowtie again. Because anywhere I might wear a bowtie is a place I would probably be photographed wearing a bowtie, and I know the Assistant VP of Student Affairs would definitely call me out for it, since he has before.

Hard Decisions/Conversations Suck – Nevertheless, decisions still need to be made. Conversations that might upset need to be had. As someone who wants everyone to be happy and feel good and leave with positive feelings, sometimes that is a thing that is not possible. This is something that breaks my heart, but is necessary, especially in Student Affairs. As a Student Affairs professional, one is not always going to be a bearer of bad news. In fact, if we are, we are doing our job wrong. Having challenging conversations is an area I have grown tremendously in this year, and look forward to growing in more over the course of my professional career.

Never Underestimate the Impact you Make on Another Persons Life – Sometimes I do this. I think, I am just another person getting by, doing what I need to do. NO. WRONG. FALSE. I am an influence on the lives of those around me. The actions I make and the things I choose to do determine what kind of influence I have on those around me. Because of this, I am reminded to always perform at the best I can on any given day.

Details are Important – In my undergraduate experience, I feel like it was always just a matter of making things happen. I was attentive to details, but because they were part of what I was trained to look for. In my role at UCO, I have had to look more for details than I ever have before, and I have learned a lot about when (and how) to improvise and when to plan ahead and look out for details. For example; planning an event that involves tables? Better have a thematically appropriate centerpiece!

My Last Semester as an #SAgrad

May 3, 2013 in Events, Student Affairs, Thoughts with 0 Comments

Spring 2013 started quickly and with fury, as I returned to Oklahoma from a fast-paced winter break in California (and Portland, Oregon). The morning after returning from a trip to DisneyLand and a game of Killer Bunnies with the twins, I caught a flight back to Oklahoma. The entire week following that was spent studying for my comprehensive exams, which I rocked the Saturday after being in DisneyLand.

The forecast was bleak and cold for the next couple of weeks – there was an anticipation for temperatures far below the normal range. It ended up not getting below 10 degrees, but was still frightfully cold. Actually, even to this point, this spring has been colder than normal, and keeps breaking all kinds of records for coldness.

From there it was uphill with preparation for Big Pink Volleyball and the beginning of my job search. A desire to make my resume absolutely perfect kept me from beginning until later than I would have liked, but I had the resume of my dreams. Well-organized, concise, detailed and good enough that when I have shown it to resume help since (especially at TPE) there are rarely changes suggested.

The first weekend in February, I flew out to the Puget Sound area to visit my Aunt and help her celebrate her birthday. Being on the ferry across the bay to Seattle reminded me of all the times I have visited her over the years, and really struck me that I am the age of many of the daily commuters. It struck me that my life is my own, and that (with God’s guidance) I make the decisions for where I want to be and what I want to do.

February rolled on, Big Pink was an incredible experience – I truly love this tournament and what it does nationally and for individual communities and people. Big Pink is something that I can connect with because it is my choice to, not because when I was young I was forced to like it.

A mid-March flight to Orlando took me to TPE, which quickly became NASPA, which quickly ended. It was an incredible experience to be able to experience a space and visit with people I knew or had met or connected with via Twitter, to have very real and honest conversations. Two of the things I love about Student Affairs are getting the opportunity to travel to new and different places, and being able to meet new and different people.

After TPE and NASPA, I was a bit dazed and confused. Some conversations to clarify my path and desires helped organize my thoughts, and after a conversation with my department head I made some pretty significant decisions which helped me organize a plan.

The winter was cold, and the spring continued that trend. The sun will peak out for a few days, then burrow back into clouds and coldness before returning. I am hopeful that these last couple of weeks in Oklahoma will be filled with sunshine and warmth, but who knows what may happen.

And the semester kept going, like a speeding train zipping to its end destination.

Here I am, today is the last stop on the Train Ride that was the Spring 2013 semester. After a couple early summer classes, I will have my last projects done and I will have finally earned my graduate degree.

This afternoon, a couple hours after this post is queued to post, I will be walking across a stage and being given an empty diploma holder.

A few more weeks, and I am done with graduate school.

Now… maybe I should consider further education?

Defiantly Derivative

May 1, 2013 in Entertainment, Thoughts with 1 Comment

I recently watched the premiere episode of Defiance, the new Monday-night SyFy Channel TV show. I decided to watch it because, hey, anytime SyFy wants to try making Science Fiction, I am more than happy to give it a chance.

My initial reaction to the show was boredom and disappointment. The show feels a lot like Farscape on Earth with better special effects, more fighting and no Ben Browder. TV reviewer Ellen Grey calls it “Farscape meets West Side Story,” a comment which I would say is relatively accurate. Amidst a Romeo and Juliet-esque love story, we have the fear of the potential destruction of the city they live in, the rogue out-of-towner who becomes Sheriff (think Eureka, Once Upon a Time or even Star Wars’ Han Solo) and aliens with crashing spaceships.

Overall, I was not impressed with the first episode. After I conversation with a mentor, I have decided to give it the chance of a second week. Maybe even a third. He reminded me that there are no new ideas. When I see something that is derivitive – which almost everything is in Science Fiction now – instead of looking at it for being “less than” because it is derivative, I need to see what it is and how it is changed and derived.

The other thing my mentor mentioned I should consider are the relationships of the characters, and watching how those grow.

So I am going to watch Defiance until the fifth episode, just to give it the fair chance it deserves. Because plenty of fantastic shows had challenging first seasons.

I’m lookin’ at you, Deep Space Nine.

A Small Field – Journal Excerpt

April 30, 2013 in Education, Student Affairs, Thoughts with 0 Comments

So for my internship course, I have to write bi-weekly journal entries. As I was going through them this morning to prepare to submit them, I decided to share this small excerpt from way back in January.

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It is interesting to think about transitions at universities. This is something I thought about a lot at ACPA last year. Institutions of higher education are an interesting little section of the world where people are constantly coming and going. Students, faculty and staff members. One individual can connect potentially dozens of institutions at some point in their career, just from their own experiences – not even including the network and connections they have. For example of how network can spread, when I was in the ACUHO-I STARS program summer before my senior year of college I met a number of other undergrads interested in Student Affairs. We met up at ACPA and people brought friends from their grad programs. I was able to connect with a few and talk to them pretty regularly. As they go through their search process they will be at a new university in a few months and my network will expand to that institution, as I will undoubtedly meet their new friends at a conference at some point. We are all examples of our institutions and hold our experiences as a representation of what those institutions can produce. Institutions of higher education are not just teaching students – they are teaching faculty and staff how to be better people, how to connect with constantly changing generations of students. I think if we remain frozen in our ways and locations of practice we will eventually become stagnant.

–

What are your thoughts?

Figuring out Locutus

April 29, 2013 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

It is my belief that the Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 cliffhanger and season 4 premier “The Best of Both Worlds” changed Star Trek forever.

At this point, turning Captain Picard into Locutus of Borg was the boldest, most outstanding things this show had ever done. It left the entire fandom in a shock for the entire summer, waiting to see what was next.

Except, as it turns out, the viewers of the show were not the only people waiting to see what happens. According to the interviews shown with the Best of Both Worlds theatrical screening on April 25, 2013, the actors, writers and crew had no idea what was going to happen either.

Seeing this fun trivia combined with some of my favorite episodes of my favorite television show on the big screen is delightful. It gives me a chance to reflect on my childhood in a grander scale, to understand the things that have meaning, and what they mean in the context of the world at large.

What I heard from the interviews shown with the screening was that even fully-grown adults with secure-ish jobs have no idea what they are doing – sometimes they just make it up day by day. I always thought that by the time I am the age I am now, I would have my life together, I would be organized. I do, to some extent. But there are still things about my life that I am just beginning to figure out. Whatever that means.

And I guess that is really the purpose of life, right?

What about you? What do you think “figuring things out” means? Have you gotten “there?”

Sunday Song – April 28

April 28, 2013 in Entertainment with 0 Comments

Honestly, I have always thought this video is a little weird (TERRIFYING CLOWN WARNING). But this song is such a classic. I remember it came out when I was in like 8th or 9th grade, and one of the older guys who could drive had a very nice sound system. I remember one day after church a bunch of us drove somewhere and this song was on repeat because it was loud and rockin’ and awesome. When I moved to Hanna Boys Center, this is one of the 20 albums I took with me and had during my first two months, so I kinda listened to it a lot.

Picture of the Week – April 27

April 27, 2013 in Events, Student Affairs with 0 Comments

There were two pretty notable and outstanding things that happened this week. I mean, there were a lot more than that. But there were two recorded by photograph.

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I got to hang out with my fabulous cohort this week! It was such great fun, especially since we are all graduating next week and who knows when we will all be together again. There is one more of us, but she had to move away for a job. This group of people has essentially been like a family the past couple years. We all have such broad, different backgrounds, passions, desires and geographic points of origin. Getting to know them has been fantastic, and I am so excited to see where we all go with our lives.

UCO from a Hot Air Balloon

I got to ride a hot air balloon! At work! This is the campus I work on currently. That sunset actually turned out to be quite beautiful. So glad to have such an incredible position with such incredible supervisors and students. I am very sad to be leaving.

We Can Change the World

April 24, 2013 in Education, Thoughts with 0 Comments

I have been thinking a lot about the internet the past couple days.

By the past couple days, I mean weeks.

By weeks I mean months.

Look at what this internet has turned us into. A comedian once quipped “that we have access to all the knowledge in the world, and we go online to look at a satellite picture of our house.” A tweet I saw a few weeks ago stated something like, “I have a device in my pocket that is more powerful than the computer humans landed on the moon with. I use it to throw animated birds at green pigs hiding in houses.”

And as this New Yorker article states, we continue to develop new, unique ways of looking at the world. A more powerful cell phone, a set of glasses that can access the entirety of the internet in the blink of an eye. Our memory is no longer in our heads, it is in a device.

The news we receive comes through Twitter or Facebook links to longer articles that a friend interested in this or that posts – mostly focusing on one subject at a time. This week our focus is Kony, next week it is Chik-Fil-A, the week after it is a shooting. And we focus all of our energy on these few things for a couple days, changing our Facebook pictures, our statuses, the image of what we are putting out. Because this issue is important.

And it is. We live in a world burdened with issues, and discussion, and awareness. And our slacktivism goes on and on. Next week it will be blogs about the latest news story that changes the world.

I want to pose a question.

What if we actually did something about this?

I mean, besides change our Facebook cover photo and slap a sticker on our water bottle. Those things are effective, but what if we walked the walk. What if, instead of a world where we post a blog by our favorite author, we went to the homeless shelter and served a meal? What if we donated those nice shirts we have not worn in a month and a half to a place that will give them to people who can use them?

What if we stopped saying what we believe, and started living what we believe

Sure, there will be critics and people who are certain that it will not make a difference, but one person who took action is the only thing that has ever made a difference in the world (or so says Margaret Mead).

As time moves on, my generation – and those after me – become increasingly responsible for taking care of the world we live in. Because it is our world, and the decisions we make with our time and money shape the world we live in.

What kind of world do you want to live in?

My Arc Reactor

April 23, 2013 in Student Affairs, Thoughts with 1 Comment

While browsing my Twitter feed the other day, I came across a post by Joe Ginese – one of the #sachat colleagues I follow – titled “My Arc Reactor.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda nerdy, I’ll read this,” I thought to myself. He wrote about Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor being the thing that keeps him going. It literally becomes his heartbeat and he is so dependent on it, that he cannot live without it. Ginese wrote about every person has a metaphorical Arc Reactor and described his.

As I thought about that, I thought about my reflection on the past few years.

My Arc Reactor is stories. So much of human connection and relationship happens through stories. We meet, I tell you a story about this or that thing. You think it is funny/terrible/scary/inspiring/awesome in some way. Perhaps you are reminded of a story of your own, or one your friend told you, or something you heard on the radio, or a book, TV show, movie that you somehow came across.

I believe in the power of stories. Our lives are stories, and the way we live them determines what happens next. We have the stories of others who have lived before us, we have fiction, we have hundreds of thousands of examples.

What will your story tell?

And more importantly, what is your arc reactor?

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