However, now being out of that scene for 11 years (WOW), I wonder often about what I missed out on. Football games and bonfires? Friday night frat parties? Being on a campus that is virtually secluded from the rest of the city? I wouldn't change my collegiate choice, but there is that part of me that wonders what life would look like if I actually knew what the school's mascot was.
And in the spirit of NOT focusing on the what ifs or if onlys, I decided to do the next best thing and try it out now. Actually, let me rephrase -- LIFE decided to give me a second chance at a "typical" college setting. I'm not quite jumping into a graduate degree just yet (perhaps someday?), but I have been spending a fair amount of time on Vanderbilt's campus recently, in a variety of different settings.
Mixed Media Painting
From one of my blog stumblings, I read about evening art classes in the Sarratt Art Studio and decided to give the mixed media painting class a shot. I've never been much of a painter (as can also be confirmed by the small drippings of paint on the baseboards in my bathroom), but learning this technique is inspiring me to come up with new backgrounds for my Polaroid Image Transfer and Emulsion Lifts. The highlight of Tuesday evenings is walking through Vandy's campus and enjoying the storybook feel of college life.
Meditation
In my ever-developing quest to find spirituality and meaning and simple stillness in my life, whenever I'm in town, I try to attend the Nashville Insight Meditation Group, which meets on Wednesdays at the All Faith Chapel at the Divinity School. It is there where I join others in a 30 minute sitting meditation followed by a 30 minute talk / discussion. No matter what's going on in my life, taking a simple hour to center and breath (and sometimes nap!), I feel rejuvenated and reminded how important it is to be in the present.
Thistle Farms
This one is near and dear to my heart. I do my best to give back to the world; try to make some sort of difference, even if it's something little. I've been looking for my niche -- a group I can really dig into, people I can "do life with," a place I can offer my services to. Through many different sources, I kept hearing of an organization started by Becca Stevens, a Priest at Vanderbilt's St. Augustine's Episcopal Chapel. Turns out THIS was the place I had been looking for all along. The organization, Magdalene, is a two-year residential community for women with a history of prostitution and drug addiction. During their time at Magdalene, the women have opportunities to get clean, get themselves together and receive love that some may have never gotten before.
Thistle Farms is a non-profit business run by the women of Magdalene. They hand make and sell body products (hand lotion, lip balm, salt scrub), candles and room spray. I started going to Thistle Farms once a week to volunteer in whatever capacity was needed and I was fortunate enough to be a part of creating their newest product -- body oils in homemade thistle paper boxes. (Oh yes, I actually help make the thistle paper too!) But the most humbling and empowering time I spend at Thistle Farms is on Wednesday mornings, where I am welcomed into the circle of women (and sometimes men) and check in, taking a moment to talk about our journeys -- be it recovery, challenges, successes and just life in general. Nothing makes me feel more connected and whole and loved than my time with the women of Magdalene.
So after swapping a few business cards and making a mental promise to finally donate to the place I called home for four years, I left my Emerson party, feeling grateful to have the chance to experience college once again.