Stop.
You're funny for thinking
I am deaf.
You're blind.
Yet, you accommodate 
Why does curiosity provide me with
life?
What is your life?
Mine is like a cold summer day flurried with forward motion.
Frequency reversed?
Hold on.
Attendance is required.
Don't you dare lecture me.
Where are your ear lobes?
My lenses are bewildered by
your subsequent absence.
Go.

So I'm waiting for the bus after work this afternoon, and I experienced something awesome that I have never experienced (or noticed myself experiencing) before.

First of all, the bus was running late and my blood was starting to boil. I needed to make it back to my apartment and then to the bank by 5pm. It was 4:28 according to my wrist. 

My ipod is my best friend when waiting at bus stops. I can tune out the littered silence of cars driving by and particularly today, all of the freshman (and their families) trying to find a parking spot to move on to the next and very long-awaited phase of life...college. 

So it's hot and I'm tired. Yay. And then, three international students, who must be moving out of temporary housing, cross the street to wait at the same bus stop. They are all rolling suitcases behind them and trying to keep order in this fairly out of context situation. The bus stop...it's on a hill. I go back to my ipod to change a song and pull out my phone to call my dad and complain about my long day. When reaching for my phone, I accidently yank my headphones out of my ears. Then I hear it. 

Laughter.

Gut flexing, knee slapping laughter. I look to my right and see this helpless Asian girl sprinting down the hill after her runaway suitcase. She must have set it down and turned away. In a split second, that suitcase was gone with the wind. I start to laugh out loud along with the others waiting at the stop. Everyone is harmoniously laughing, including the young woman chasing after her target. I forgot I was waiting for a late bus and had errands to run.

She caught the suitcase and made it back up the hill right as the bus pulled up to the curb. We all stepped on and took our seats as usual. The three girls, still giggling, spoke in the language of their respective home country. It hit me.

I had let myself get so frustrated over the past few days with international check-ins. I cannot communicate well with people who cannot communicate well! But you know what is so cool? Emotion. Emotion braids the human race. I could not speak the language of those international students, but we both understand and share the concept of emotion.

No matter what language a person speaks, I can feel the same emotion as him or her. Watching someone chase a suitcase down a sidewalk is hilarious. It is amusing to me, to the mother behind me, to the athlete on the bench, and to the international students experiencing and witnessing the situation transpire. It is so cool. 

That girl chasing the suitcase...we probably would not be very successful speaking to each other. She may not understand very much of my language, and I may not understand very much of hers. But we both experience pain, we both experience sadness, we both experience laughter, and we both can acknowledge each other experiencing those feelings.

I understand you not because I can or cannot speak your language, but because I can empathize with your feelings. I can feel what you feel, and when you're experiencing something, I don't need to hear you speak, I just need to feel with you- that is what connect you and I.

This is such a simple concept and I'm probably stupid for never thinking much about this like most people may, but let me tell you, that was one hell of a cool feeling.

We may not come from the same place, we may not share the same vernacular, but friends known and unknown, will you laugh with me?

Dear you,

I can hear you smiling.
But you're still kidding yourself.

love,
me

Whose America drinks acquiescence?

Plugging out and tuning in

Who do you hear with your corneas?

Now what do you feel?

As all dig deeper.

And push closer.

To the shallow cavities of vanity.

Laws of love play hide and seek.

Space.

Promised freedom flirts with reality.

Divide by two where separation truly lies.

An oath dripped dry.

Does your silhouette weep with mine?

We’ll wake up dreaming.

Look

at Mona Lisa’s smile.

She’s such a liar.

I say I’m grateful,

but I’m not

satisfied.

Time can break my breath;

but my sanity,

that was always broken.

I want you to look at me

before you accuse yourself.

Help me defy the laws of tradition.

Let’s quit talking about the weather

Let’s quit pretending we’re strong.

Let your canvas lean on mine and mine on yours.

The keys are broken and held together by chrome strings.

So plant your own soul and

decorate it with adjectives.

I'm back.

Well my friends, I survived my first lone road trip. I did the first 14 hours without stopping (except for gas, of course), and then had the lovely privilege to stay with my dear friend Rachael Payne in Morton, Illinois. Ya know, everyone always teases poor Iowa for her flatness and abundance of corn, but seriously, Illinois is flatter than Iowa. As a matter of fact, I saw plenty of corn and soybeans when I crossed the Illinois line from Indiana. Oh, and how dare I forget the hog farms. Few things can beat the miasma of a hog farm.

Six states in one day. I drove through six states, by myself, in one day! I feel like maybe I should add a check to my bucket list? I went from 110 degrees in humid North Carolina, to the (in my opinion) perfect 80's of the midwest. I saw mountains, rolling hills, crossed many rivers, enough corn to flood my memory for years, a few big cities (Indianapolis during rush hour...not smart), and flooding in Illinois and Iowa. I guess the midwest has gotten a lot of rain this summer.

I love license plates. They fascinate me. Colorado is a beautiful state, but it also has some beautiful license plates. I saw many of those. And Ohio needs to get rid of that cursive. You can barely read the "Ohio," so what's the point? I wonder why so many midwestern license plates have the county on the plate as well. My license plate doesn't say "Durham" on the bottom of it. Everyone in the midwest also has license plates on the front of the cars. I have yet to see a car without a front license plate. I wonder if that's a law. Only the foreigners like myself have the luxury of choosing our own plates for the front. I should probably check on that.

It's nice to be back. The sunset last night was beautiful. I've missed the midwestern sunset. It's so rich and enthralling. There are no trees to block your view like in North Carolina. There is no searching for the sunset, it is manifestly there, demanding your attention and constantly reminding you of the beauty of God's creation. How refreshing.

So here I am. I move into my first apartment tomorrow morning. I will start my new job. I will start a new semester, a new school year, a new beginning. This year will be very different from the latter.

I cannot wait to watch things unfold.