Summer is going FAST! What have I LEARNED?!
bear spray =/= bug spray
don’t trust Super 8s, ever
outdoor jacuzzis > indoor jacuzzis
etc. etc.
What have I not learned?!
how to create a healthy schedule, probably.
I’ve gone straight from the effervescent Fresh Inc. Festival to a tour with the Grand Valley State University Ensemble and tomorrow I leave for a week backpacking in the Porkies, at which point I’m hoping to FINALLY have some time to digest what I’ve been up to this summer, but we just can’t be certain.
I hear backpacking takes effort.
I’m struggling to retain and catalog the most precious moments of the summer–the messy soundchecks, the hot sauce spilled on burgers, the endless hours of roadtrip banter. Photos won’t hold onto those memories for me, but for good reason: so much has been happening, which is rad, terrifying, delightful, etc. I’ve been taken in by new music ensembles and festivals, marching bands, a backpacking crew, and a graduate program, and couldn’t be more happy to be along for the ride. I can’t imagine a better way to be way too busy.
The most gratifying aspect of this summer has been the people I’ve gotten to know–a certain bond forms once the car smell has reached two weeks of BO and spilled food. That extends to Fresh Inc as well (the gratification, not the BO). I’m especially grateful to have been able to work with the hextapus trio–a group of delightful performers and people–to realize a new work:
I’m not sure if grad school is the right time to try to set aside more time to digest, percolate, and let the garden grow, but we’d better try, damn it.
Niko D. Schroeder 