Leaping Off the Boundary

"...We are challenged to Realize our participation in Be-ing in the Widest, Wildest Sense. This happens when we confront and transform the specific circumstances in which we find ourSelves" - Mary Daly

First of all let me start by saying this is not another April Fool's joke. I promise I'm not crying wolf; that will have to wait for another 11 months. ;-)

Our story starts back on the morning of February 8, 2008. I woke up that morning horribly dissatisfied with where I was and the direction things were heading. Partially in a desperate attempt to save a quickly sinking long distance relationship and partially to try and find a graduate program where I could focus on the things I wanted to focus on, I called up the graduate director at Missouri State University in Springfield.

One week later, I found myself (sans the relationship) in Springfield in the office of Dr. Mark Given. I left my meeting with him absolutely elated about the prospect of joining the program. The classes they offer and the faculty's area of expertise were right up my alley, not to mention how surprised I was when the director of the whole Religious Studies program actually knew my name and that I was currently at KU!

I found out over the next few weeks that not only was I accepted to the Religious Studies program, but I had also won a competitive, full-ride graduate assistantship. I sat on all this for a few weeks, revealing a little bit of my secret here and there before finally telling my parents in March.

My lease here in Lawrence is up at the end of May, so June will find me moving to Springfield to share an apartment with my old/new roomie Veronica! And just in case you were worried that the Pier 1 pirate adventures on my blog might be coming to an end, you can relax...I'll be transferring to the one in Springfield.

August will find me beginning my job as a GA at MSU, working with Martha Finch and her two Religion in America sections. Words can't even describe how excited I am to start!

I don't regret my time here at KU, as I've made some great friends, met some interesting characters and learned plenty of lessons. Moving back to Springfield will be an interesting experience in and of itself, but I look forward to reconnecting with old friends and making plenty of new ones. I feel really good about everything going on in my life right now, and I'm very excited to see where this new adventure takes me.

Since "Lindsey in Lawrence" won't really be applicable any more, I'm switching to a new blog. If you'd like to follow along with my new journey you can join me shortly at-

http://letitbelindsey.blogspot.com

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor, especially all my girlfriends...I am so grateful and thankful for you all!

"So if you care to find me, look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately: "Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free.
To those who'd ground me, take a message back from me:
Tell them how I am defying gravity! " -Wicked

Fourth of July

When in the course of scholastic events it becomes necessary for one person to dissolve the academic bands which have connected them with an educational institution and to assume among the powers of the earth, the enrollment in a separate and equal program to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation…

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all students are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of a full ride. Whenever any Form of Educational Institution becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to leave or to transfer from it, and to attend new a Educational Institution.

The history of the present Religious Studies Department of The University of Kansas is a history of repeated ignorance and with-holdance of funds, all having in direct object the establishment of absolute academic misery over this student. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

They have refused to learn the name of this particular student, forcing Lindsey to introduce herself to her advisor on at least three separate occasions.

They have refused to offer any substantial financial aid, failing to acknowledge the ability of Lindsey to be a successful GTA.

They have neglected to offer the sorts of classes that will allow Lindsey to receive the education she feels will fully prepare her for her desired career.

They have attracted and retained a group of graduate students lacking in diversity of belief, worldview and opinions.

They have established their Educational Institution in a town full of dread-locked hippies that reek of patchouli. Ew..just kidding! I love hippies!

In every stage of these Oppressions Lindsey has Petitioned for acknowledgment and applied for GTA positions in the most humble terms: Her repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. An Educational Institution, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define it as not worth Lindsey’s time, is unfit to be the school she attends.

I, Lindsey, therefore solemnly publish and declare, that I will no longer be attending the University of Kansas. Instead, next semester will find me holding a full-ride Graduate Assistant position at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, I pledge to do my best to better my Life, Fortune and sacred Honor.

Long Time, No Post

(Photo Credit: Marko Polo)

So apparently I made my Labor Day weekend last a week. Eh. I needed it.

My weekend spent with Mark and his family was great, especially in retrospect after having spent this weekend hanging out at the Pier...1 that is.

Last night at work was pretty awesome. I was the closing manager and the other associate on duty had never worked a real shift before. I became the goddess of my Pier 1 universe- selling things over the phone, training the new associate and keeping my customers happy. What an awesome experience! I was on top of my game and loving it. These are the nights I live for.

But the comfort and enthusiasm were short lived. Having left my little Pier 1 bubble where I "freakin' rule", I hit a wall when I came home and the panic quickly set in.

My life feels bigger than I can handle. There are only so many situations I'll face in my time at Pier 1 and I've been trained to know the answers.

Life, on the other hand, doesn't really come with that sort of training.
I have several important decisions to make in the next couple of years, and right now it's rather daunting.

So I'll take a deep breath, and take it 10 minutes at a time.

First decision to make (and trust me, this won't be easy) is what I should do my MA "area of competency" in...eeeek!

Religion in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean
Religion in Asia
Religion in the Middle East and North Africa
Religion in Europe
Religion in the USA
Religious Ethics
Jewish Studies
Islamic Studies
Theories and Methods of Studying Religion

The possibilities seem endless. I'm leaning toward Religion in the USA or Asia but really I want put my emphasis in gender studies... Now if only I can figure out a way to roll all 3 of those into one. :-D

I'll keep you posted.

I want to write my words on the face of today.

Thank you to all of you who responded to my last post. I appreciate your understanding and sharing while I work through this spiritual stumbling block.


I messed up my first graduate school assignment.

Yup. It's true.


I misunderstood what the professor requested of me, and after sending the assignment to him in an email, I received a response from him about 20 minutes before I left for class informing me of my mistake.
Oops.

At that moment time froze for me and the words of a very wise young man echoed in my head-

I can't control this situation. The only thing I can control is my reaction to it.

I took a deep breath.
No need to get upset, it was too late to fix it and this wasn't going to cause me to fail the class or anything.
I smiled, fired off a response telling Prof. to go ahead and make an example out of me (I'll take one for the team!) and popped in my headphones as I strolled out the door. It felt so good to have actually handled what could have been an anxiety-inducing situation well. I sang on the way to class I felt so relieved. I'm sure the people on 15th street thought I was crazy. ;-)

Sometimes all we need is a deep breath.

On different note- my graduate classes are amazing!
Religion in Modern Japan is currently blowing my mind. Shinto and all it's various kami and Japanese Buddhist practices like Sudden Death temples are just so...foreign!
Expect a post later once I process all this new information...
I love this stuff!

My new favorite thing about KU: The soap dispensers. The ones in the Union are automatic and have shiny silver soap. It's the little things that bring me joy!

Growing up means...

Growing up means you have to pack your own dinner to take to class with you, and it also means that you'll look like a bit of an alcoholic when the only brown paper bags you had once had bottles of Riesling in them. ;-)

Today my other two classes met for the first time. Let me just say, Wednesdays are going to be mentally exhausting. I have class from 2:30-8:30, so if you try to talk to me after, please don't expect too much out of me. ;-)

My first class of the day is "Approaches to the Study of Religion"- aka "The Required Course That Will Quickly Become the Bane of Your Existence After You Are Hopelessly Buried Under the 200 Pages of Reading You Have Every Week". Yay.

My other class is a seminar on Religion on Modern Japan...which is going to be awesome. Well, minus the fact that we're reading a text book pretty much every week. Hey...welcome to grad school.

Ugh my brain is dead. Sorry. Wine and strawberry bundt cake it is!
I'll try to be more interesting next time...

So I realized that I've been posting cute pictures of myself in the entries so far, but I'm a little afraid that this might be false advertising. Ladies and gentlemen, here's the honest truth- This is what I usually look like when I'm blogging. Lovely.

A Day In the Life

My first day of graduate school...my first day at the University of Kansas.

At 8:45 this morning I locked the door to my apartment and turned on my iPod. The Beatles' "new" Love album was my soundtrack of choice. To the tune of "Get Back" I embarked on my journey.

At 9:00 this morning I was cursing the sun with every sweaty bone in my body. My water bottle was half gone and I was only half way to class. Sunburn was imminent.

At 9:20 I arrived at Smith Hall, my home for the next 2 years, drenched in sweat and excited to start my Religious Perspectives on War and Peace class.

At 10:30 my professor had already dropped the "n" word, I'd met 20 great students who I look forward discussing the course matter with, and my four hours of sleep was catching up with me.

At 10:50 I strolled out the door of the beautiful icebox that is Smith and met Gabriel and we proceeded to walk back towards my apartment as I stripped down to my tank-top on the way. It was too damn hot.

At 8:45 this evening, 12 hours later, with a successful Pier 1 shift almost behind me I sat in an "Easy Rattan Chair" facing the window watching a gorgeous storm roll in to Lawrence as the rain poured down. Life is beautiful.

Who Has to Know?

Our scene: The crowded, bustling bookstore at the Kansas University Student Union.

Enter: Our heroine, Lindsey, dressed in her khakis, "Life is Buddhaful" tank top, underwear inside out (unintentionally of course) and aviator shades perched on her head.

She takes a deep breath as she steps into the chaos...


I'll be the first to admit it, I'm not used to a school as large as KU; William Woods and Drury both had less than 5000 students. So to be surrounded by something like 28,000 students is a little bit mind-blowing.

But as I sit here now reflecting back on the bookstore situation (carton of Orange and Vanilla Swirl Rice Dream in hand) I can't help but wonder if I'll actually enjoy the anonymity. I mean sure I'll get to know the students in the Religious Studies program and I'll find my academic community there, but maybe it will be nice to zone out as I enjoy my 30 minute walk to class and not have to worry about who I'm going to see or how I look (which will be sweaty because it's still abhorrently hot here) because chances are I will never get to know these people. I get to sink into the comfort of being unknown.

Who am I kidding? I can't do that.
I long for a way to be connected to those around me. I love the interconnectedness I feel in large groups of people. I'm just like my brother, it's in my nature to become overly-involved and to make people know who I am and to love every minute of it.

I will find a way to enjoy being a medium fish in a large pond. No...wrong metaphor. Ew.
I will find a way to connect.
Watch out KU. ;-)

And on a completely different note- I miss real ice cream.

110 Degrees in the Shade

It is too damn hot.
Silly mid-west humidity.
It's lay under the ceiling fan in your underwear drinking iced tea hot.

But with classes starting on Thursday, I had to put clothes on and venture over the the KU Student Union. Needless to say...it was a little crazy. I bravely strolled through the crowds, got my ID card and with a little help from TheMindtaker, found my books at the bookstore.

I'm very excited for my schedule-
Approaches to Study of Religion
Religious Perspectives On War & Peace
Religion & Society in Asia: Modern Japan

It's going to be a great semester and you can look forward to plenty of blog entries about these subjects and more. :-)

See? It's official.
(Yes I wore purple and white to get my photo taken. I'm still a Wildcat at heart!)

Well, I'm so tired of crying...

but I'm out on the road again. I'm on the road again.

So I'm going to give this blog thing another try. You know what they say- Third time's a charm.

This blog should be different than the last two. No teenage angst or obscure references to boys, but rather a documentation of my journey towards my M.A. in Religious Studies at the University of Kansas. Thoughts, rants, insights, enlightenment, funny stories...you name it, it'll probably make it on here.

I'm not officially in Lawrence yet, so I thought I'd kick this new blog off with a few entries from my senior sem "Spiritual Autobiography"...which I have yet to finish completely...so stay tuned! :-)

To steal a line from Voltaire (and Travis' blog) "If we don't find something interesting...at least we shall find something new"