Rookie

Dylan

March was kind of a harsh month. Between getting attacked on the street, the situation with Crush Boy, the conflict with Crush Boy’s friend, and the faltering health of my dog (and best friend), I didn’t have the time of my life. But last week, things started to turn around. It was my first week back at school after a very busy spring break, and I kind of killed it. By last Friday, I was riding high on my own successes, having received an A on a paper and two surprisingly successful critiques that I had predicted would blow up in my face. One of the projects was for my mentorship class. It’s our only studio assignment all semester, so I felt pressure to produce the ~ultimate~ piece about who I am. It was called West Coast Social Suicide, and it combined my personal writing with hand-drawn typography in a large-format print exposing my feelings of social anxiety. I must have started it 10 different times, but I got a ton of positive feedback that I didn’t expect, which was a confidence boost to help me prepare for April, also known as “Holy shit, finals are starting!?!” month.

I was sleep deprived but totally beside myself with excitement when my friend from home came to visit. Jo arrived just when I was starting to miss Seattle. We had a fun few days, cruising on bikes to find vintage stores, dancing at our friend’s hair-metal night, and talking shit over brunch. To add to the good times, our friends’ band from Seattle rolled through town, so there was an extra burst of familiar faces. That’s just the PINNACLE of happiness for me—the convergence of my Seattle and Bay Area social lives makes me feel like life is whole and beautiful.

But speaking of convergence, at the show, I spotted pretty much the only two people in my life that are complicated to run into: my ex-best friend and the dude I got in a fight with last week. Jo and I said hi to the girl I used to be friends with. I tried to have a conversation with her, but she interrupted and talked over me a lot, which reminded me that, yeah, she does that. I don’t like it! Then, after a couple of bands and a significant period of awkward avoidance, Crush Boy’s friend came up to me and apologized. Of course that made me feel like a total winner, but that’s not so wrong, is it? The guy still sketches me out, but at least he admitted his mistake.

All of this happened over the birthday weekend of a certain former Crush Boy, which I purposely neglected. Again, small victories, but they give me a sense of satisfaction.

The week was full of positive little turns, which I appreciate now more than ever. I explored sadness in March, but maybe this signals a transformation in April (copyright Rookie, 2012). I’m trying really hard to keep up that momentum and glide into spring like a sugar glider, flyin’ through the sunshine.

A sugar glider

WOOO, here I come. WHOA, there I go. ♦