Back to Work...

I'm kind of a failure--it's been basically three weeks since I last posted. Here's an update moving backwards...

In eleven hours, I start my second semester at Rhodes...officially. It's certainly a bittersweet feeling. I had a wonderful break full of plenty of busy and restful moments and I'm not sure that I'm ready to get back into the old swing of things. It's a pretty odd social adjustment--coming from six years of friendships built to such an extent that they all literally feel like family to this strange world of "OMG, Hi! How are you?! I missed you!" when really that's mostly a lie. After all, I've only known these people a few months and who knows how many of them came to college either a) trying to figure out who they are or b) trying to re-invent themselves. It'd be cocky to say I was the only freshman not trying so hard, but it would also be a lie to say I wasn't at least mostly comfortable with myself. Strangely, I find myself less at ease now than I did at the start of the year. I just got back into the rhythm of acting exactly how I desired to around my friends--completely disregarding the fact that they might judge me for what I said or did. Now I'm back here...freshmen are frantically scrambling to find their acquaintainces they've hastily already called soulmates and best friends. All the while, upperclassmen are feeling an increasing amount of apathy towards the social situation. Thankfully, this whole party-hopping, let's-make-fools-of-ourselves on the weekends mentality is starting to at least partially slow down in my class...Just today my roommate and I had a discussion regarding our need/desire for true, legitimate friends--not just people to hang out with on the weekend.

Wonderfully enough, I think I've found some of those people in the CODA program. Before I endlessly ramble about the wonders of our recent Chicago trip, I should mention that the other CODA kids are some of the coolest people I've met since I've been at Rhodes. The funny thing is, too, that I feel like that sort of stand out around campus. The girls are the ones wearing the slightly artsier, J Crew-free clothing and occasionally-quirky makeup and the guys are mostly big personality-big ideas. Granted, this is a gross exaggeration and we all blend in well enough in this preppy, Greek-run society, but you can still tell. I haven't had a single weekend night or weeknight that I have been able to just sit and talk and think--hard--about issues I really care about since I've been here. By the time junior and senior year rolled around in high school, I found the friends I could do that with. We'd given up on the awkwardness of football games and spirit parties (because the team didn't win enough to merit the phrase "Victory parties") and started seeing shows, the symphony, the opera, an indie movie, a concert, and then just talking about everything from the superficial to the wonderfully thought provoking...For the first time since I've been here, I did that. Over the past five or so days, I was in Chicago with the CODA crew. Every night, the kids would all pack into our hotel room and start talking. Every night, we had the intention of watching a movie or just "bonding" over silly things, but every night we somehow made it into a deeply personal and interesting arts debate. Though one night's argument got slightly out of control, it was truly the best time I've had in a while. I was thinking again. I was the attorney, the arts advocate, the friend who wanted to express her opinion freely sans-judgement to a peer. I loved it.

Though we're all completely different, we (for the most part) get along marvelously. I kind of wish the school were full of CODA kids ready to strangle each other to get across something they deeply care about in art!! The only problem is...we're all pretty boisterous so there is the slight possibility that we would ACTUALLY kill each other. This would not be good.

Thoughts about the trip:

DCA: I need to intern for these people. I will shine their shoes, be their secretary, personal assistant, whatever--they are brilliant. The thing about Chicago is--it's all the ideas I dreamt of in my wildest, wildest dreams in actuality. These people make it happen.
Millenium Park: Like I said--like stepping into a wonderful dream. The idea of people accepting a multi-million dollar arts park is absolutely mind-boggling to me. www.milleniumpark.org
Neo-futurists Theater: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. Thirty 2-minute sketches in 60 minutes. New plays every week. Briliant actors/writers. Sounds incredible, right? It is. And, really, how can it not be with titles such as: Why Can People Still Make Fun of Gypsies And Not Be Considered Politically Incorrect? Also, we are stealing from you. and The Emoting Larvae Players Present the Abridged Classics. This Week: Love Story
John Bryan's Estate: Crabtree Farms 20 houses filled with every world-renown artist imaginable. And, oh wait, they're basically building a modern museum in their backyard. Not only do these people do wonderful work and have wonderful art, they are incredibly kind and hospitable. We all had a great time at their place...(s)...
Magnificent Mile As magnificent as I remember. Not necessarily artsy, but still awesome.

Those were SOME of the highlights...though there are plenty others...

HOWEVER: Before I leave you all I need to tell you about the most brilliant (I need to stop saying that word in reference to films) collaboration ever: Stephen Sondheim, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, and Johnny Depp. Great scott, Sweeny Todd is absolute bliss. Before all you musical theatre crazies come running at me with pitchforks complaining about the low quality of Bonham Carter and Depp's voices, hear me out. This needed to happen. Not only is this movie appropriately placed between two ridiculously cheesy movie musicals (Hairspray and Mamma Mia--don't even get me started on that one...) but it was also unprecedented in the caliber of its artistry in the recent wave of movie musicals. The color scheme was brilliant, the hoaky gore was comical, the cinematography was eerily brilliant, and the acting of Depp and Carter was (no one can argue with me on this...) flawless. No, their vocals were not great, but did they really need to be? In musical theatre it seems we occasionally forget that the purpose of shows is not necessarily to showcase beautiful voices, but to depict a story through song. That's just what Tim Burton accomplished. Their talk-singing helped make the line between dialogue and voice seamless. Both characters were easy to understand. I've talked to a lot of preachy musical theatrettes about this, and I simply don't care what you all say. I loved Sweeney Todd.

I have about a thousand other things on my mind, so I think I'm going to go...However, I leave you with what is my favorite quote--at least for the time being. One of the most zealous people I know was going on about why he was so passionate about art--why it keeps him going...and mid monologue he said this "I don't really go to church anymore...but I worship art. I take it as a matter of faith--I can't help but believe in it." That's probably a miserable paraphrase, but I still love it. Pretty much the most sense anyone's made all day.