Protest and Prospective

I am not sure if there is controversy with Howard Zinn that makes this quote suspect- but I like the spirit of it. The state of the world bums me out these days. I know that tradegy, inequalities, and social problems have been affecting our world long before now, but as an adult working in Higher Education I see it through many different lenses. I am privy to student thoughts that are not only impacted by what they learn in the classroom, but also the things they disagree with that their peers voice. I get to see visual displays of support for different things and disrespectful disagreeent with some of those thoughts. I see students realize things and learn things from their peers- seeing those different perspectives for the first time. I see programs and speakers that we as an institution fund reach students at new levels. I also see students who cannot see another perspective no matter what the College or their peers try. I see students hurt by hate speech and disrespect for cultures that other students just do not understand. 

My heart breaks for students who cannot find their niche on campus, they cannot find themselves represented in the staff, faculty or other students and that leads them to see their education as not worth the time and they leave. I see students florish in an environment on campus, but come back fom breaks after seeing an unsupportive family and struggle. 

I wish that more humans were worried about the state of humans. We all deserve respect, safety and trust in our law enforcement, enough food to eat, shelter from storm, support, love, basic health care, this list could continue all day long. I wish I could feel confident in our world to think that could be achieved. I wish that I could protect some students from the evil that they experience on campus and off. 

I am fortunate that I work in Higher Education and I can be part of trying to expose students to things. I am glad that I can learn fom them and hopefully they can feel supportive vibes I send their way everyday. I learn something new everyday about another culture, another student struggle, a joy, I get to see them run to my office after being on academic probation and show off their new test scores. I have to try to focus on the good we try to do and those moments that bring a smile to my face to get through the negative parts and the sad days. And I have to remind myself of those students who call four or five years after they graduate to apologize for destroying a drinking fountain or being a pain in the rump while they were students, or to thank me for something they experienced while on campus. Those students learned things while they were in school outside the classroom-they were exposed to things and even if it took a while-they learned. I have to hold on to those moments to get through the low times. 

It is easy when I think about the mircocosm of higher education to represent the bigger picture. It is not as easy to see things when you look at it through a world wide lens. It is hard to see the light when the news is dominated with few stories that describe joy or change that makes a difference. Perspective can be both a help and a hindrance when thinking of the state of the world. I am thankful to be employed, have a home, eat everyday, not worry about clean water, calling the police in an emergency, or health care-but having a global perspective makes hearing of those without those things even harder. 

Blog Challenge-Gear up!

This post is for the faithful. Those of you who have read the blog and often wonder where the energy has gone. I am here to announce a new challenge that I have just proposed to myself. 

I am going to blog EVERYDAY in the month of May. I need something to kick start a regular cycle again and the month that contains the very end of the academic cycle and the start of a residence life professional's short summer seems like the place to start.

I am confident that I can meet this challenge head on and that it will be good for what Gretchen calls the "artistic slice" of that magic wheel that keeps us in balance. 

Other goals for May:

• a new hair do
• a massage by Brandon and none of this crappy massage stuff that I know is more cost effective but just actually not that effective
• hot dogs on the grill
• strip and stain of the table in the spare room
• start the garden

Whew- that is kind of a lot on the list when you consider I will be traveling for some of the month and there are a whole lot of work hours left before the halls are empty once again. But not everything worth doing is easy as pie, eh? Just like those darn relationships where if you do not work at keeping them alive they fizzle. It's hard because it is worth it- or so they say. 

Kjell Bjorn, Elling, and Pork with Gravy

It might not be obvious from my collection, but I love foreign films. Love them. I think there are so many gems of movies from all over the world but I only own a few. Elling is one of those great movies- the title comes from the main character and narrator in the film. It is Norwegian, subtitled, and the subject matter is focused on mental illness and just life. Elling has lived with his mother, never meeting any one else or leaving the house until his mother dies and the State comes to find him, alone and scared. He has incapacitating anxiety that makes him afraid to go outside, talk to others, use the phone, or try anything new. After sometime in an institution, the government has decided that Elling and his roommate from the institution, Kjell Bjorn, are ready for an apartment in Oslo on their own. 

This film has so many humorous moments as Elling and Kjell Bjorn learn about themselves and living on their own for the first time. Kjell Bjorn is obsessed with food and women and not always in that order. Elling learns through the expression of poetry that he is braver than even he knows. They have a unique and beautiful friendship that is so supportive and lovely. They help each other overcome their fears and express emotions. They meet new friends, Kjell falls in love, Elling buys and returns a lot of sauerkraut. Some of my favorite moments are learning how well these two men come to know one another and how perfectly they are paired to venture into the world together. 

It is also interesting how the film changes as time progresses- it starts out kind of scary and I have never noticed in the many times I have seen this movie that the screen tilts when the phone rings or the doorbell sounds. I cannot believe I have not noticed that before!! But it adds to the terror that these men feel about interacting with a world they are very uncomfortable in- that is until they find their own way to enjoy it. As the films ends the screen does not change when the phone rings, the men go on a vacation in an old Studebaker, Kjell even becomes a father, sort of. 

I recommend that you find time to watch this film, I'll let you borrow my copy if you want! If I were an RA and I wanted to program around Elling I think I would focus on the fear of the unknown. It might be a great film to show to college seniors that are transitioning out of college and into a new environment. Conversation could be focused on taking small steps outside of your comfort zone, a step a little farther each day. Students should also know that there are others, in their grad cohort, apartment building, the cubicle next door, who are just as afraid to jump off the ledge into the unknown as well. No one has to do it alone if they do not want to! Attending one poetry reading, one jazz bar jam session, one blush and brush night- can often lead to a new friendship, a new hobby, and just new when you start out in a new place. That makes that new place not so scary.