Tuesday, April 28, 2009

dear facebook

stop eating my brain.

you are now deactivated until the end of finals- g'bye for now.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

fiddytoo rant

I know that I won't be here next semester, but have been feeling extremely emotionally tied to my mod this past couple of weeks. It has been a very strange place this year- not just for me, but for a lot of people. It has also been a very important space for me. I am starting to wonder where we are going wrong, however. Why has it been so hard to fill the space this year? Why is it that people keep leaving the space? Why do I come home to white boys lounging on my my couch, or watch them cook in my kitchen without cleaning up? What does the space even mean anymore?

I've been feeling extremely sentimental about fifty two, especially since an older student put up some old pictures of fifty two on facebook. This space has been one of the oldest people of color spaces this year, but I feel like people are starting to disrespect the space in a very real way. I don't think that it really matters how you ended up living in the space as much as it matters what you've done in the space while living there, and what it starts to mean to you. Anyone can write a good application, but how do they decide to give back to their modmates (and ultimately, their community) while living in this mod?

Maybe people haven't been thinking about it this year. However, I don't think we were always given a fair chance to "prove ourselves" as a mod this year. At the beginning of the year, I mentioned to a Smith student that I had just met that I lived in 52. They gave their companion a knowing look and replied, "I heard that 52 is not the same this year." I remember being really offended by that. But the more that I think about it, the happier I am that our house is constantly changing- as it should be. People of Color mod should change frequently to meet the needs of the students who live there (which should also change). I feel like it is a space that you utilize when you need it, and then move on so that another student who needs the space can enter. However, maybe it has been so hard to continue the space this year because there was such a strong removal of the "old 52" from it. There hasn't been much contact from students who were in 52 for so long, even the ones who are still on campus. But that's a good thing, right? I'm not quite sure. I mean a physical removal, not an emotional one.

This year I have felt so disconnected and abandoned from communities that I was so heavily involved in last year (JB Scholars, 52 S08, even UMOJA). I don't know if it's because people graduate, because people ARE graduating, that people are still emotionally drained from AAW, or for some other reason. But I really haven't felt CONSISTENTLY supported from POC this year other than the ones in my mod. Most of the time. And I am thinking about my need for the space, and wondering if I am alone in that. If maybe no one wants to live in 52 or if it's been hard to sustain this year because it is not currently needed. Because if these houses were needed, then wouldn't the beds get filled? So I am starting to think that maybe we SHOULD lose the house. Just for the grace year, and then fight for it back. This seemed to work for 85. Maybe it will work for 52 as well. Maybe the space needs to be missed by someone. It doesn't seem very appreciated right now, or cared about. And I guess, as things stand, we don't really have any other choice.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

struggling to keep my eyes open

This blog post is a total fritter.

according to very reliable sources (CJJ) a fritter is defined as:

fritter (n): a task that can justifiably be argued as an excuse from important obligations (ie- work) but is still used as a way to procrastinate.

frittering: the act of fulfilling a fritter; procrastinating by keeping busy.


however, according to the dictionary, it means:

fritter verb
he frittered away his inheritance squander, waste, misuse, misspend, dissipate; overspend, spend like water, be prodigal with, run through, get through; informal blow, splurge, pour/throw down the drain. antonym save.


I like my definition better. using verbs as nouns are totally rad.

i am justifying this post because i have been told by numerous sources that i must update this blasted thing. why? i dont know. nothing that exciting happens here. not much that i would want to report here either. except that my leg is bleeding right now. no, really. it is.

ive been feeling pretty good but also worried. about everything. school work, money, friends. mostly friends. i worry about everyone and everything and i constantly feel like i should be doing more for everybody. i know that the one person i should learn to worry about is myself but to be honest that seems like a waste of time. im doing a lot better health wise. or at least i think i am. i talked to my momma on tuesday and it made me feel good. ive been sleeping a lot. way too much. i have this calm feeling, like i dont have any homework to do or anything to worry about or catch up on. i know this is a dirty lie that i keep telling myself and that i need to do better, strive to do more and stop distracting myself. but this year i just dont care.

i also chew on things a lot.

thats a strange confession to make but i feel like its ok to make here. i feel like im teething again, like a baby. its just comforting. i dont know why. i also remembered a part of a dream for the first time in a while. i miss dreams. mine are always so elaborate. i also want poems. i want ppl to write me poems. i feel so dry and ollld. and unproductive. i feel stopped up like im waiting to burst with something good and i cant write or do anything productive until i dont feel so stuck anymore. so give me a poem, give me a prompt, hell give me a letter and i will reciprocate and maybe then i can get something done.

ok now im gonna go take a shower.

do i need to take a shower at this very moment? no.

is this a total fritter on my part? hell yeah.