“we fall but our souls are flying”

I AM VERY EXCITED BECAUSE I GOT A LIBRARY RESEARCH GRANT! And not only that, but my roommate got one as well! Go Elena Yamamoto! Wooh!

What are the library research grants, you ask me? Friends of Murray Library offers Messiah students the chance to earn awards of up to $750 to go somewhere and research something near and dear to their hearts every year.

For me, the research relates directly to my senior honors project in English. I’ll be going to Vassar College to view Elizabeth Bishop’s poem manuscripts and travel journals. I want to study her revision practices, particularly the patience she displayed in completing poems. One poem, “The Moose,” took her 20 years to complete. If I can, I want to see how she made decisions about what should be kept, what should be scrapped, and when a poem was complete. I’ve never been to any part of New York that isn’t New York City, so I’m pretty psyched. Yeah adventure!

Elena is going to fly out to LA to see Japanese textiles for her senior honors project as well. She’s studying textiles in the Edo period. Did you know that in the Japanese weaving industry, as an apprentice, you are not even allowed to touch the loom for years? How amazing is that? By the time you got to the actual weaving process, it would seem like such a privilege.

Also, in other news related to fun campus happenings, there was an impromptu rave at exactly 12:12 in Lottie Nelson Dining Hall today. And by “rave,” I mean that someone snuck into the sound system and put on rave music, switched off all the lights, and about three people stood up and started dancing.

Still, massively entertaining. My entire table burst out laughing and didn’t stop for an entire five minutes. I like living in an apartment, but I sort of miss Lottie, just because there’s so much amazing group interaction that takes place there. Against all odds, Lottie Nelson is a cool hangout. Who knew?

Filed under general, humor, housemates, travels, raves, lottie nelson | Comments (2)