Those Crazy Kids!

The Williams Family holiday card for 2006.
ps. That's not a real gun

God...is that you?

Last week was spring break, and of course my parents felt the need to check in on the progress of my homework. Here's a sign my dad sent me.....

Transition

I’ve heard the term “Quarterlife Crisis” before, and I even own a book by that title, but I feel like I am finally experiencing it. It’s not something that I’ve looked forward to, or even thought possible, but welcome to my world.
I’m not the typical college about-to-be graduate. I’m 26 and finally getting my Bachelor’s degree in May. I took a break from school after my sophomore year and decided to move to Colorado from Wisconsin. In the last four years I’ve worked a full time job, skied more runs than some people do in a lifetime, met some fabulous people and am now finishing college. But with everything that I’ve experienced in this state, nothing makes me more nervous than graduating. I’ve been a student for so many years that the thought of not enrolling in classes in the fall makes me a little anxious. Questions fill my head, “Did I just experience my last spring break? Will I get a job when I graduate? What will I do this summer without an internship?” I haven’t lived the stereotypical college life that includes living in the dorms for at least a year (I only lasted one semester), spring break where my four closest girlfriends and I pack a tiny car with enough luggage to last us a month and head to Florida for the week. I have only been to a few Frat parties and I will regret for the rest of my life not studying abroad for a semester.
But I do have life experience that some of my fellow graduates may not have. I now understand what I’m capable of, what I will not tolerate and what is worth worrying about. I’ve made a life for myself in a state where I didn’t know anybody except the boyfriend I moved out here with. Nothing was more intimidating than my first night in Colorado, standing on my porch overlooking the city and realizing that only one person in the whole city knows my name. I witnessed my mom battle breast cancer and win. I stood by a few friends that I’ve known since elementary school while they got married. I made toasts at their weddings and now I’m standing by one of them again while she struggles with divorce. I’ve corresponded with another friend who is living in Morocco for the Peace Corps and I’ve watched a few of my friends with their newborn children. I’ve also had some great travels for a college student.
Even with all the uncertainty that comes with graduating school, sending out resumes in hopes that someone will hire me, and waiting to discover my next big adventure, I can rest easy with the experiences I’ve had in my life so far. I may not know what I’m doing in four months, but I feel great about where I’ve been in the last four years. If my past is any indication of how I will handle my future, I know that everything will be fine.

Ski Train

Dad came out to visit in the beginning of March. Here are some pics from the ski train on our way home from Winterpark.

Lowry Town Center

My eyes start to glaze over as I approach another cute little community that has popped up in Denver for that young thirty-something who drives a Volkswagen Jetta toting their yellow lab in the back seat. But I’m quickly surprised when I drive through Lowry Town Center and discover the quaint neighborhood nestled just outside of the downtown hustle and bustle. There’s only one Starbuck’s, which is located inside the Albertson’s grocery store, and the only other commercialized businesses I find are Q-doba, Peaberry, Cost Cutters, the Delectable Egg and Pei Wei. The other 31 shops located along the four-block “Main Street” are small, independent businesses that cater to the some 10,000 residents that live within a one-mile radius.
In all the charm of this pedestrian friendly layout, the locals seem to take advantage of a lazy Sunday morning and stroll from shop to shop with a folded Sunday paper under their arm accompanied by a Peaberry coffee cup in one hand and restraining their dog with the other. This quiet community makes me feel like I have just been transformed into the 1950s where Sundays were reserved for meeting with family and friends to catch up on the latest gossip and sit on the front porch and watch the world go by. Some people wave to each other from across the street while others gather on the sidewalk to discuss world news and “the kids”. I feel like an outsider not knowing anyone’s names or being able to recognize the children running into Timbuk Toys.
I’m waiting for some pack of teenagers to speed through the 20 mph zone with their stereo screeching and hysterical laughter bursting from inside the car to disrupt this peaceful morning on this seemingly perfect community, but I am disappointed. Not only do the residents here have everything they need at Lowry Town Center, they also have the perfect playground for their trendy dinner dates, stroller walks with their children and coffee breaks at a table for two big enough for their laptop, newspaper and favorite book.
I interrupt one java guzzling local on the street to question her if my visit to this small city escape is real. She assures me it is with a quick smile and deep breath.
“It’s like a little town,” Karla Schultz, 29, said. “It’s like living in a vacation land. It’s so economically friendly and I don’t have to drive to get all my necessities.”
She tells me that this is her favorite place to live in Denver after a few years of renting apartments and houses in Capital Hill and Washington Park. Since she spends her week working full time downtown, she welcomes this neighborhood with open arms and sighs of relief. She has lived here for three years in the Grand Lowry Lofts, which are conveniently one block away from the heart of “Main Street.”
After my stroll along the street making mental notes of all the shops here, I begin to think of excuses to come back. “Should I bring my bike to Pedal Pushers Cyclery for that much needed fix-up? Are there any upcoming baby showers that would give me a good reason to shop in studio bini? I wonder if the margaritas at Salty Rita's are worth driving across town for on a hot summer night.”
I find my way back to my car and I realize I’m a little hesitant to leave. I don’t want to fight for a parking spot downtown, not to mention all the traffic. I leave wondering when I will be one of those young thirty-something’s driving a Volkswagen Jetta with a yellow lab in the back seat who has just found the easy going life located just far enough outside the city, but not quite in the suburbs.

Mini-mizing

My apartment porch faces the parking lot and while I was hanging out there last night, a Mini Cooper pulls up. A girl gets out of her mini car with her mini dog and it got me thinking about how un-mini our lives are as Americans.

I live in a "big" state....big city, big cars, big scenery, big adventure and big choices. I also live in a country where most of the people living here have a problem with big consumption.

When I saw this car pull into the lot I thought, "What purpose is there for a Mini in Colorado? She can't take it into the mountains, she can't move very much in that car and she certainly can't fit any sporting equipment in the back."

In a land where SUVs, big flat-screen TVs, big homes, big vacations and big credit card bills rule, my mindset is stuck on how much space and material things I can consume. I don't do this consciously, but I still do it. I'm a college student and I don't work so I can concentrate on my homework and internship, so spending large quantities of money on clothes, drinks, accessories, plane tickets, food and fun with friends is absolutely ridiculous, but it still happens.

I also read an article in "People" magazine last night about this woman who gave up all un-necessary consumption for one year. She gave up going out to eat with friends, buying mascara, new socks and even certain items at the grocery store. No new clothes, no gym membership, no new books and no trips to the movies. She did keep olives on the "must have" list--maybe for those emergency martinis she'd need after she realized the insane journey she just embarked on. But after reading the horror list of the things she gave up, she described how much money she saved, how she and her husband didn't argue once about money and how they came to appreciate the "simple things in life".

Then I began to think of all the un-necessary things I have in my life. I don't want to consider myself as someone that is constantly on the track of "what else can I buy?" but I am. I pull out the ads from the Sunday paper and look at all the things I could potentially buy but don't need.

I'm not sure I'll ever go on a year hiatus from buying mascara, but it has made me realize the power of not buying on impulse. There are things that will keep my attention if I don't buy that new DVD or new shirt. After all, I live in a state with big scenery and all I have to do to enjoy it is walk out my door which doesn't cost a thing.

Seventeen magazine

My assignment for a class was to choose a magazine and pitch a story idea to them for a future issue. "Any magazine?" I ask. "Yes, any magazine." I immediately think of writing for Seventeen magazine, a publication which I devoured in high school. I couldn't wait to get home from school and see my new magazine waiting for me in the mailbox. How I loved to flip to the department where a high school was randomly chosen in the U.S. and the students adorned the pages with their trendy clothes, mohawk hair styles and piercings I didn't know existed. Growing up in a small Midwest town, I was not exposed to much variety, especially kids my own age who had the freedom of expression without harassment from others.

So when I ran through the grocery store on my way to school yesterday to buy the latest copy of Seventeen, I was quickly disappointed when I discovered my beloved high school department had been replaced with articles on losing your virginity, the latest make-tips and fashionable clothes that I like (at the age of 26).

Sometime in the last 10 years, teenagers have gone from fairly innocent to sky-rocketing past 16 into their mid 20's. Why is a teen magazine displaying clothes for "The Office"? Why do the ads feature girls with more make-up on to disguise their youthful look and make me believe I'm looking at a girl my age?

I begin to have flashbacks of my teen years, when I went to high school in whatever ratty pair of jeans I could find laying on my floor and the typical oversized sweatshirt and my Old Skool Vans. Then I remember the girls who showed up to school with their high heels click-clacking down the hallway, perfectly matching their mini skirt and tube top.
This makes me realize the girls haven't changed a bit. It's the media that has changed. It seems there's more promotion over beauty than brains. There are more ads featuring make-up and hot clothing designers in Seventeen than articles on "Getting Into College" or "How to Make a Difference in Someone's Life".

I would like to think I am past the impressionable age when I don't compare myself to the emaciated models in the magazines anymore. I'd like to believe that I have more self-esteem than I did in high school. I have wonderful friends, great grades in school and am on my way to a professional career. I have seen and done enough in my short 26 years that I am grateful for who I have become since my lonely teen years. I understand what's important in life and what people don't think twice about.

When my sister started her freshman year at U-Minnesota, I told her not to discount anyone she meets. "Who can't use another friend?" I leave ringing in her ears. Once you get to college, no one cares if you were prom queen or what you wore to class. It's not important that you dated the quarterback or never got asked to a dance. I believe that college is this wonderful transition into the real world in more ways than just cramming for exams or crashing the biggest Frat party.
I'd like to think that my "worldly, mature advice" on the real world would help those girls who are struggling through high school. I'd like to save them time, drama and confusion they are facing with the article I'd like to include in their favorite magazine.

After my class dismissed, I sadly put away my new copy of Seventeen in my bag. I don't know what I'm more disappointed in, the fact that my old love has changed beyond my recognition, or that the advice I'd like to give young girls won't be accepted among the sex stories, celebrity gossip and mini skirt ads.

Music

When I hear a song on the radio, it may evoke certain memories...good, bad, romantic or downright emotional where I get extremely angry or sad (three years later, I still cannot listen to Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Will" after I listened to it repeatedly during the summer my boyfriend and I had a horrendous break-up). But for the most part, I love listening to music that brings back any memory. I enjoy being transformed to a time in my life that I may not normally think of on a daily basis.

The joy of spending so much time in my car is that I get to listen to a lot of music. I have two large books of CDs plus random CD cases strewn about my car from random trips to Best Buy or Second Spin. The trouble with having the extensive variety of music in my car is that I tend to forget about what I own.

So today when I got to my car after my morning class, I decided it was time to change out the discs in my visor. I stumbled upon an old CD that I bought in high school and was instantly taken back to when I was 16, lying on my bed contemplating life. "Automatic for the People" by REM used to be my listening obsession. Of course, my depressive taste in music only fed my depressive state of mind in high school.

Listening to this CD on the way home from school today, I immediately remembered the clothes I used to wear, my crusty pair of Birkenstocks that never left my feet, and the places I used to drive to on Friday nights with my friend Kate. I remember the feelings I had about certain issues that were important in my life when I had no "real world" problems to worry about, days at my job in a hospital kitchen and the food fights that would ensue when our supervisors weren't looking. I would to listen to this CD while driving the 70 short miles to my friend Emily's house to de-stress over the weekend, and I would listen to this CD with my friend Becky when we were making plans to move to New York City the minute we graduated high school.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have the tendancy to push "replay" on any new CD I get. I do this with all my CDs. The minute I open them and put them in my CD player, I have it on repeat for atleast two weeks. If the CD is so wonderful and I haven't gotten sick of it, then it stays in rotation for about three months until I find new music to obsess over. Some of my friends don't understand this weird quirk. Some of them tell me that if I wouldn't keep the same CD on repeat for a month, I wouldn't want to chuck it out the window when I've had my fill. But here's my rationalization; many of us take pictures to remember certain moments in our lives, while others keep a journal (or a blog), but I keep my memories stored in my CDs.

There are times when I put in a CD from my past just to remember how far I've come over the last 10 years of my life. My music has been a constant while the world around me has changed. I have CDs to remember my angry days in high school, my first serious boyfriend, my college days in Milwaukee-living in a house with 12 other people, my two-day moving excursion from Wisconsin to Colorado through a blizzard that shut down the highways. I have CDs to remember the break-up with my first serious boyfriend, the transition in my life from being completely devastated to finding new friends and new joys to think about. I have CDs to remember moving into my own apartment (FINALLY!) and I will have a special new CD to obsess over when I finally graduate college. There will be road trips, exotic vacations, weddings, new relationships and new jobs in my future and for those memories, I can assure you there will be room for more CDs in my car visor.

Update

This blog serves the purpose to update my family and friends on what's going on in my life. Welcome! I'm not sure how often I will get to post something new, but I hope it's enough to keep you interested.

There's been a lot of great news over the last few weeks and thought I would catch everyone up.

At the end of January one of my teachers nominated me for the Damon Runyon scholarship award. So I submitted copies of some of my articles that have been published in the school newspaper to John Ensslin who works at The Denver Post. There were other candidates from my school (Metropolitan State College of Denver) and five other colleges in Colorado that have Journalism programs. Last week John called and informed me that I won the scholarship for Metro (There is a scholarship winner for each school in Colorado). Along with some much needed cash, I also get a membership to the Denver Press Club http://www.denverpressclub.org.
This may not sound exciting to a non-journalist, but having a membership allows me to meet/connect/socialize/network with editors, reporters and publishers from newspapers and magazines nationwide. In fact, on March 25, I am attending a writing conference with the editors and reporters from Time magazine!
I will also be representing Metro State at the Damon Runyon awards banquet on April 7th. I will get to meet the Mayor of Denver (John Hickenlooper....yes, that's his real name) at the VIP reception before the awards ceremony! (No worries, I will have more pictures for you!)

I have also been asked to be a weekly columnist for my community newspaper. It's called "Your Hub" (for Lakewood, CO) and is inserted inside The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News every Thursday. I can write on any subject that comes to mind and is printed with my picture. I have been a regular fixture for the last month.

Spring break is next week (March 20-26), and I will be attending another writing conference with Go World Travel magazine http://www.goworldtravel.com. This is a popular online magazine that has over 100,000 subscribers worldwide. Janna Graber is the founder/editor and she was kind enough to invite me to her house with her staff for an internal writing workship. We will be discussing how to freelance, research and write travel articles. Since this is what I want to do with my degree, I can't wait for this opportunity.

I am still interning for Colorado Homes & Lifestyles magazine http://www.coloradohomesandlifestyles.com. I will have my first article for them coming out in our May issue (to be released in about a month) and you will also be able to read my article online. It's been a great internship so far--making contacts with local businesses/designers/interior decorators and the who's who of really expensive taste in the Denver area. I've nicknamed this magazine "The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in Denver". It's been a lot of fun being able to "play"online and find sleigh beds for $42,000 or chandeliers for $38,000 to publish in the magazine. I don't have a budget when it comes to finding the cool, new trends in home design.

Stay tuned to see pictures from the banquet and read some of my columns that have been featured in the paper.

Take care!

Skiing with Karla

Karla and I went skiing at Winterpark/Mary Jane. She's holding a cracker in her hand--since the birds had no problem flying up and taking food from us!

Nikki and Vail

Nikki came out to visit from Green Bay--went to Vail. She also bonded with Shelby!

Mountains

Car buried in Steamboat....after the unbelievable amount of snow they've gotten this year--over 29 feet!

The rest of the mountain pics are from the drive back to Denver from Steamboat.

Night out with Jill and Karla baby

Not really sure what's going on.....maybe too many drinks and I believe I was trying to see how long I could hold onto the wall after a lot of "encouragement" from Karla.....NICE! This was also the first time using my new digital camera out-and-about in Denver, needless to say, we were really camera-happy!


My two favorite people in Denver, Karla (left) and Jill....CUTE!

(Some) Christmas and New Year's pics!

We were trying to take a family picture, and Katie's suggestion was for all of us to get under the tree! Good job dawg!!
Katie and her roommate Katie. YEAY FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE!
Still not the best, but an improvement over the "under the tree idea".