Reunited

Katie D.

September 26, 2009 - 8:00 PM

Finally, after a year and a half apart, my group of eight best friends is back together again! These seven friends of mine have formed the backbone of my college experience: they are the people I turn to for everything: for fun and for help, for advice and for adventure. Most of us became close friends within the first few weeks of freshman year, united in the dorms. By March of freshman year, we were a cohesive and recognized group. I spent almost every waking moment freshman year with one or more of these people. We traveled together, went to hot springs, took classes together, did homework in the same rooms, gathered for TV nights and family meals, and generally took care of each other. We were a group complete within itself, and although I have added and maintained many other friendships during these college years, these seven friends remain the most central in my life.

 

But our own adventurous spirits conspired against us, and we scattered to the far reaches of the world for various study and travel abroad experiences, beginning with my own adventures in Chile starting March of 2008, and only ending last month, when the last of us returned from her internship in Malaysia. Therefore, although various members of the group were around during junior year, it has been a full eighteen months since we had all been together.

 

We welcomed ourselves back with an adventure, of course. We spent last weekend in a cabin outside of Hood River, isolated from the world and ready to start off a new year filled with great times together.

 

The weekend was fabulous. We did what we do best: talked a lot, hiked around, played in the river, had a party, danced, sang songs, sat around reading and playing board games, and generally enjoyed the free time and isolation provided by that place. Two members of the group constructed a dubious boat, which we sent on a joyful run down the river that resulted in capsizing and general disarray.

 

We had a lot of catching up to do, and a lot of stories to tell. Between us, we had studied in Chile, Argentina, Spain, Singapore, Japan, and Jordan. We had also done internships, volunteered, or worked in Malaysia, India, Mexico, Arizona, Indiana, New Mexico, and NASA. The year and a half had seen enormous personal growth for all of us, and yet we found ourselves right back where we had always been: in the company of our goofy, joyful, and supportive friends.

 

I have created a family here in Eugene, made up of these wonderful people. We take care of each other: we tell each other our secrets and dream up crazy dreams. We share music and books and passions. When our interests don't overlap, we listen anyway, and give each other the support we need.

 

College has been amazing for me, not only because of the growth that I have undergone, but because I accomplish everything within a community. I am never isolated, never without the knowledge of these people around me, helping me out.

 

And now we have added yet another adventure to our list: a weekend in Hood River, exploring the forest and the river, building questionable watercraft, dancing and telling stories, cooking up family meals, and generally reminding ourselves about who we are together.

 

 

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Internship!

Katie D.

September 23, 2009 - 7:00 PM

This academic year I will be doing an internship with the Inside-Out Program and the Clark Honors College. I have been working toward this internship for weeks now, and I got the confirmation yesterday: I will be working with the Assistant National Director of the Inside-Out Program on research and development, as well as working with the Honors College at recruiting and expanding the existing program.

 

I am so, so excited.

 

Ever since I first heard about the Inside-Out Program (please see other blogs) during my freshman year, I have loved the idea of taking college students outside of their normal contexts, and bringing them inside a prison setting for classes. It is an idea that transformed my life and my conceptions about who my peers are and about what my goals and dreams include. Two Inside-Out Classes, a training program, and a thesis plan later, here I am with a chance to really influence the potential for the program in the coming years.

 

The Honors College has been incredibly devoted to this program from the beginning. As you can imagine, it takes a certain degree of bravery to agree to sponsor a class of this variety, but the Honors College was excited about it from the very beginning. Our Dean, David Frank, sees the Inside-Out Program as an excellent example of the power of liberal arts and innovation in education: that Honors College students can step out of their usual contexts to discuss literature with prison inmates, and report back that their experiences have transformed their way of thinking.

 

The Honors College is extending its commitment to the program by funding my internship with Melissa Crabbe, and by creating a leadership position for me within the Honors College, where I will act as an advocate and liaison for the program, recruiting new professors and students, as well as building the network of Inside-Out alumni.

 

Here are the basic plans for my year as an intern:

 

-Help plan and host a meeting for the Northwest Inside-Out Instructors this spring, which will include network building, recruitment, training refreshers, student panels, and hopefully a step toward creating a training center here in the Northwest, including a Think Tank of inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary who would help direct the regional center.

 

-Expand course offerings into new academic disciplines. Most Inside-Out courses are currently offered in sociology and criminal justice, but the program would benefit from a more varied course offering. This would also allow Inside students to be working toward a degree, so I will be researching general education requirements in the hopes that some subjects could be targeted.

 

-Help the Honors College expand course offerings to three Inside-Out classes each year, beginning in the 2010-2011 academic year. These would hopefully be offered in three different disciplines.

 

-Work on evaluations for the Inside-Out Program, focusing on the impacts the program has had on participating universities and correctional facilities.

 

-Involve past participants in an alumni network, events, and fund raising.

 

-Publish student work. We hope to offer Inside students the option of publishing creative pieces in the Clark Honors College Creative Arts Journal in the coming year. Additionally, however, we will be working toward a publication specifically for the Inside-Out Program, that would include writing from both Inside and Outside students, focusing on their experiences in the Program and the research and writing they have done in that context.

 

Could this possibly get any better?

 

I will be supporting to organizations which have been the most influential in my college experience: the Honors College and the Inside-Out Program. I will be working with amazing and dedicated people, and improving the chances of other students to experience this program. If the publication project happens, then I will have the opportunity to help my classmates publish their writing, as well as having the experience of editing and producing a publication!

 

This internship will probably involve roughly 15 hours per week. I imagine that certain times of the year will be absolutely frantic with programing and planning. But I am incredibly honored and excited to be working on this project. It is the dream job for me: combining some of my greatest passions and favorite organizations in a way that will benefit everyone.

 

Wish me luck, friends. And believe me, I'll be keeping you posted!

 

 

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Writing about writing

Katie D.

September 18, 2009 - 5:00 PM

Today I'm going to write about writing.

 

Lots of people do it. Some of my favorite authors have written books about writing: books about characters, about research, narrative strategies, ways of dealing with writer's block. Poets write about poetry, suspense writers write about suspense. But the point is that writers tend to be introspective types, who give a lot of thought to the shape of their actions. I've considered myself to be a writer for many years now, since middle school when a fabulous teacher first told me that I was capable of writing the books I so loved. She helped me learn to write poetry, which is how I expressed myself for years. Two years ago I wrote a novel that remains an unedited monument to what I can accomplish. I've published poems in several venues, including a young poets' contest and three Honors College Creative Arts publications. I've also now worked to publish in the Comparative Literature Program's NOMAD journal twice, freshman year and this past year. And now I write these blogs: two blogs a week, every week, since November of last year.

 

I want to write about writing in general. Maybe sometime I'll go through and write about these individual types of writing I do, because they require different mindsets and motivations. But for now I just want to write a little about writing, about why and how I do it, and about what I think of other people who write regularly.

 

My two favorite books about writing are written by two of my favorite authors: Steven King's On Writing and Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. I remember reading them both for the first time, long after I'd begun writing poems. They both speak to the process of writing as discovering and releasing ideas almost as if they arrive at your fingertips without a great deal of effort or planning. Anne warns of the dire consequences of leaving home without writing material, least your Muse should desert you and go find her instead. They also both advocate a style of writing very different than the ones I've been taught in class. Generally, teachers tell you that the most important part of the essay or short story is in the outline, the pre-writing. By the time you sit to write your piece, you already have the whole thing mapped out with Roman Numerals and sub points.

 

There's no way I can write like that. I don't write my essays that way, and I certainly don't begin poems or short stories with any idea where they'll end up. With blogs, I simply pick a topic and see where the subject will take me. Writing is like telling a friend about a subject you both know well: you simply say it. There's no place for note cards or plot maps in this kind of thinking: you simply walk around with an idea for a couple of days (or wake up to one in the middle of the night, confused and panicky that you'll lose it) and then you sit down and write it out. Steven King advocates book writing in a single fast-paced sprint, that doesn't involve much re-reading or any editing as you go along. You write you piece, put it away for a week or month or two, and then come back to it later to find out what it was you created. Anne Lamott tells us to give ourselves permission to write "shitty first drafts."

 

For both these authors, it seems obvious to me that there was no question as to whether they would be writers. They were meant to write. Everyone knows that Steven King has some dark things inside him, and Anne Lamott has her own difficult realities to work through. They write because they have to. Just like some people have to have adrenaline or new cars or wild parties. Sometimes you pick up a book and know that it demanded itself into being. I'm no great author myself. But I write because I feel like I have to. That if I don't put pen to paper (or now, fingers to keys) that things will go rotten inside of me. I've got so much to say, and folder after folder of Word Documents socked away to prove it. I'm proud of the things I've published, but I'm also proud of the work I've done that no one will ever see. It is not just therapy, it is something I was meant to do, just like some people have obvious talent for athletics or music or computers.

 

Writing this blog has helped immensely in my understanding of myself. I go through my weeks paying attention to what I do, imagining what will make a good blog. I notice more and more that I get more out of my experiences when I know I'll be writing about them. I also know (although this is no great revelation) that I remember things better once my impressions of them have been written down. This blog has also added discipline to my writing. Two blogs a week, every week. That's a pretty high demand to put on myself. But I sit down, give myself permission to mess up, and just go. I write fast, usually under a half an hour, and then I let the blogs sit for a day and then fix them up and send them in.

 

When I wrote my novel, I wrote the whole thing in under a month. I picked up a book about writing, and it turned out to be part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that encourages people to finally face up to their dreams of authorship. I got it on December 8, 2007, and finished my 53,052 word (that's 91 pages, if you're curious) novel before New Year's Eve festivities on December 31st. Maybe I'll write more about that experience sometime. For now, I'll just say that it was the most intense project I have ever undertaken, but that it didn't shut me off from the other things I was doing. Like my blogs and my class essays, I simply lived my normal life, but with the book always in the back of my mind, developing even as I thought about other things.

 

Maybe that's what I've been trying to say this whole time: For me, writing is not so much an action as it is a way of living. It is paying attention, listening for what the world is saying. Poems arise from the view from my window or from a beautiful walk home from school. Novels from short stories from a single snippet of overheard conversation, or a passing thought during a late-night walk. And blogs arise from everything: from classrooms, politics, plans, activities, trips, and the general joys and concerns of life.

 

And when you have the immense honor of being read by strangers, that is when you feel that you are truly arriving at a place when your words matter. So thank you, readers. Hopefully I'll still be writing and you'll still be reading through another year of adventures and ideas, plans and dreams. Anyway, thank you for being an audience for my writing. I don't think you know how important this has become to me.

 

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Senior Year Plans: An Introduction

Katie D.

September 17, 2009 - 5:00 PM

This is the first in a multi-part series detailing my plans for senior year. It's going to be a busy one, folks. I'll be working, studying, writing a thesis, volunteering, rock climbing, maximizing this last year with college friends, traveling, and hopefully doing an internship. I don't think I've ever approached a year with quite this degree of potential, nor the level of commitment I currently am sorting through. I enjoy being busy: it helps me to focus, both on being productive and being very present in the moment with friends and experiences.

 

So let me write a quick introduction to a few of these plans. I'll highlight some later, and report back as the school year progresses. I'm so excited to get started, and somewhat overwhelmed by everything that's coming!

 

Friends
After this year, my beloved college friends will be scattering to the far reaches of the galaxy, off to pursue whatever plans they might have. Probably a fair number of us will go abroad. Others will continue their education immediately. Whatever the case, senior year is going to be my last chance to live in close proximity with all these important people. It had better be good! We'll be gathering for weekly TV and hang out sessions, checking out the night scene in Eugene, hopefully traveling to Bend and Ashland, the coast and the mountains, and also just spending time relaxing together. In the midst of all my other plans, it is incredibly important to me that I always have the space for my friends.

 

Classes
I'll write more about these when I have more details. Class begins Tuesday, September 29th. But here's the quick version of my class list:

 

Comparative Literature 301 Approaches to Comparative Literature
This is an introduction to literary theory and comparative study. I couldn't take this class last year because it conflicted with other classes, but I like the professor and think it will be very interesting.

 

Comparative Literature 415 Capstone Seminar

 

Advanced literary theory and research

including a large research project, undertaken with all senior COLT students, with my COLT advisor Professor Kenneth Calhoon.

 

Spanish 490 Twentieth Century Chilean Literature
Contemporary Chilean authors will be read and studied in Spanish, with an emphasis on the changing nature of the nation and political roles. I am really, really excited about this class.

 

Volunteers in Medicine
I will be returning to Volunteers in Medicine as a Spanish/English translator (please see previous blogs). I have had such wonderful experiences at VIM, I am truly excited to continue. I'll be working Monday mornings, and can't wait to start back with those people and that organization.

 

Teacher's Assistant
I will be working as a Teacher's Assistant for Greg Bothun's Honors College Class "Topics in Global Energy Policy." I took this class during Fall term last year.

 

Rock Climbing
I just purchased my very own rock climbing harness! I hope to climb at the UO gym at least twice a week, and to climb outside at least four times during the coming year.

 

Wesley Center
I'll be continuing my attendance at the Wesley Center this year, which is a campus ministry group of the United Methodist Church. I attend weekly dinner/class activities, in addition to taking part in a writer's group and serving on the directors' board.

 

Internship
I will hopefully be involved in a very exciting internship project during all of senior year. Unfortunately, this has yet to be finalized, so I must remain mysteriously silent for now.

 

Work
Blogging: That means you, beloved reader. Two blogs each week, written just for you.
Honors College tour guiding: Introducing prospective students and their families to the Honors College.

 

AEI tutoring: Working one-on-one with international students, providing language and cultural support, and generally acting as a resource for English Language Learners at the UO.

 

Reading: I have a friend in the Comparative Literature Program who is blind. I'll be working with her as a reader during the academic year.

 

Thesis
This will be the driving force of my year. My thesis has been a consuming part of my summer, involving many hours of research and planning. My current plan is to complete my rough draft by March 21st, the day before my 22nd birthday. Then I would have spring break free of thesis concerns, and return to school with three weeks to edit, revise, print, and submit what will probably be approximately a 50 page research paper by my personal deadline of April 22nd. That will leave me time to enjoy the spring without a huge project hanging over my head. We'll see if I can stick to the schedule! What is certain is that, by graduation in June, I will have completed and defended my thesis project.

 

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All these plans have to balance out in a way that will still leave room for adventures and down time. I might have to eliminate a couple of smaller commitments in order to maintain my sanity. But I was thinking about all of this as I was writing, and discovered that I am incredibly excited for this year! I have so many opportunities this year: I will end college with a huge array of new experiences, added skills and networks, and many memories.

 

It's a little early to say, but right now I feel like this will be the best of the four years. You know I'll keep you posted.

 

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O Canada!

Katie D.

September 15, 2009 - 10:30 PM

Here I am folks, reporting again from the train, southbound from Vancouver, BC en route to Eugene, Oregon. My first trip to Canada! And what a success. During my three and a half day time, I visited my cousin, met up with some friends from the Inside-Out Training Program, toured the city, drove up the coast on the Sea to Sky highway to see harbors, a waterfall, and other gorgeous natural sites, and still found time for some thesis-related research.

 

I had been looking for a chance to visit Canada for years, and now a cousin of mine is living in Vancouver, working on an engineer. I also needed this trip as a sort of mental-health moment. The new school year is about to begin. I've set up some incredible opportunities for volunteering and employment for my senior year. But it's all become very overwhelming somehow. This will be the busiest year of college, and I also want it to be the most joyful and memorable. That's a lot to process. So I got out of town! I'm happiest when I'm traveling, so I purchased the tickets and set off for an adventure. Sounds like a good plan, eh?

 

My journey is book-ended by travel on bus and train. It takes approximately twelve hours (including layovers) to travel from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, Canada. On Friday I set off around 11:00 am, and spent the day reading, writing letters to friends in Chile, and staring out the window. Today, on the train again, I read another book for my thesis, read some articles, talked to some friends on the phone (in the vestibule, away from other passengers!), and wrote these blogs. Train time is productive time.

 

I arrived after midnight, and my gracious hosts picked me up, gave me a late-night city tour, and took me to a funky all-night vegetarian restaurant called Naam. Jane and Fraser also attended the Inside-Out Training Program this August, and are wonderful hosts. I had asked for a place to stay on Friday night, and for some activities with them the following Monday.

 

But first I had a weekend with my cousin. Tony is just two years older than me, already fully launched into adult life, complete with matching furniture and his very own grill set just months after graduating. He's in Vancouver for about three years, working on a road and bridge expansion program. It's so fun to get to know him as an adult!

 

We spent Saturday touring the city. We ate a great meal right next to the inlet, watching sea planes take off and land. I guess it really was the hip place to be: three movie stars, including Reese Witherspoon, were also lunching there.

 

After that, we walked along the waterfront, and then into the historic downtown area of Gasstown. We chatted and window-shopped, and took pictures in front of all the goofiest tourist spots. Then we headed over to Stanley Park, a beautiful natural park right on the edge of downtown. They have a collection of traditional totem poles, which we stopped to admire.

 

Our Sunday was the "Tony's Nature Tour" day. We headed north out of town, along the Sea to Sky highway. The trip was so beautiful: with forests and mountains to our right and an ocean inlet with islands and sailboats to our left. We stopped at Shanon Falls, where we not only hiked, but also scrambled around on the boulders, like we used to when we would hike in Colorado as eight- and ten-year-olds. The perfect "inner child" day! We also went to see The Chief, a massive rock face that dominated an entire mountainside. There were some brave climbers, and it made me want to strap on my harness and start getting back into shape!

 

 

 

We had a late lunch in Horseshoe Bay, at Troll's, which was recommended as our Uncle's favorite fish 'n' chips place. Uncle Pat knows what he's talking about: the meal was fabulous.

 

Our final stop of the day was Mount Cypress, a wintertime ski hill with a glorious view of downtown Vancouver. What a day!

 

My Monday was something else entirely. Jane and Fraser picked me up, and I spent the day discussing the Inside-Out Program with various colleagues of theirs, and also getting a look into the nature of Canadian correctional programs. As you all know from reading my blogs, I can go on and on about the Inside-Out Program. (Please read those old blogs if you haven't had the chance!) So introducing these potential future instructors was a wonderful opportunity! Jane is hoping to pilot the first Canadian Inside-Out class in September of 2010. I had the chance to be part of the introductory process.

 

Then I toured Genesis Halfway House. Canadians have a very different perspective on correctional procedures than the US. Generally, US inmates are released directly back into general populations, with supervision from parole officers, and perhaps some small assistance in finding housing. But the halfway house I visited was a federally funded facility designed to house individuals during their transition from incarceration to full community membership. The house had reasonable (and negotiable) curfew hours, parole officers and social workers for all residents, and programs available to help them reintegrate. Most were employed. The statistics bear out this kind of system as incredibly helpful in removing prior offenders from a cycle of crime. Beyond all this, it was a place like I would never imagine in the states: the house was beautiful, the residents and staff friendly with each other, and a general feeling of optimism and realism that are often absent from US organization in quite that mix of the practical and the hopeful.

 

Monday night I had another new experience. Jane asked me to come to two of her Criminology 201 classes, to present on the Inside-Out Program and my thoughts on the US Criminal Justice System. It was a strange thing to be a guest lecturer in a college class. I was a little nervous (these are my peers, remember!) but the students were engaged and I enjoyed the experience. We watched the Inside-Out video of the UO class, and people responded with interest and questions. I was honored and inspired, and hope to have more opportunities like that in the future.

 

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All this added up to a fabulous trip. In the midst of all my planning for next year, it was wonderful to enact some plan. Classes start September 29th, and there is still so much to be done. I've thought a lot about my plans for fall term (which I'll share later once I've made final commitments). Let's just say that I'm looking at a schedule unlike anything I've ever undertaken before, with coursework, employment, my thesis, volunteering, and personal goals for activities and maintaining friendships. This is the last deep breath before the plunge into senior year.

 

Thank you, Canada! Senior year, here I come.

 

 

 

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