Austin ~ Austen

This summer as I was writing The Failures, I liked to say that it was extra motivating because it was writing the same advice for my characters that I needed to take myself. If  I kept writing encouragement and telling them to take risks, then I had to do it, too. Over this winter break—while I’ve had way too much time to think—I’ve been reminded to think this way again. Watching the video recording of the production yesterday made me realize that this advice is still applicable, even though I’ve moved on to other writing projects and theatre productions for the spring semester:

A: It sounds like you’re just as delusionally driven as the rest of us.

D: Hey.

A: It’s not a bad thing. How else are we supposed to get there? Ignoring all the reasons why it might not work out is a very effective strategy. It just needs to be … . focused carefully.

I can be wise … when I’m writing for other characters. Hopefully I can channel this into the rest of my senior thesis. Speaking of which, I have less than 48 hours before I head back to Rice. Time to get writing again.

Happy New Year! May we all be a little “delusional” in 2013.

Hello everyone!  I’m posting from my new apartment in Houston, Texas.  I am partially moved in.  I’m still waiting on a bed and my parents are bringing the rest of my things this weekend.  Being back at Rice is great in some ways because I love going to class again, I love seeing my friends here, and I’m excited to return to the Rice Players and other extracurriculars.  On the other hand, it’s weird not living on campus.  Martel is still home, but I have to leave every night.  I can’t just walk over to my friends’ rooms and hang out with them; I have to plan time to see them.  It makes coming back from abroad even more of an adjustment, but I’m trying to remember how I coped last semester.  I lived fifteen minutes away from Hertford College, but I ended up spending a majority of my time there instead of at my flat.

Since I have been back, many many many people have been asking me how my study abroad semester went.  I tried to tell them to go look at this blog but most of them said that I wrote way too much.  Some of my friends told me I should make my posts shorter even before I left for the UK, but I couldn’t help it.  Now that I’m back in the US and having adventures that are a little less exciting, I am actually going to make the effort to make snappier posts.  It’s not a New Year’s Resolution.  I don’t like the concept of New Year’s Resolutions because I feel like most people break them.  Plus I believe New Year’s is an arbitrary moment to choose as a threshold or a transition.  I think people change when it’s right, not just because one or two numbers change on the calendar.  And finally, I hate the date change because I swear it makes me write the wrong number at the top of every assignment for at least a month.

To all my friends going back to Hertford in the next few days, I’m so jealous.  I didn’t know how much I would miss you all until I got back here.  And Hertford College Boat Club, I miss your workouts.  Using the erg machine by myself is not the same.

It’s been a great winter break.  I enjoyed vegging out on my couch for the first two days, sort of fighting and sort of enjoying the effects of jet lag.  It was the first time I’d ever really experienced jet lag.  I don’t think that sitting on the runway for two extra hours after landing in San Antonio helped …  Going to cheer on my high school at their fifth state championship football game was fun, too.  Mostly I enjoyed comparing the Texan culture that I’ve known for over half my life with the British and European cultures I’d been experiencing for the past three months.  Although, I must say the Texas accent grated on me for a while.  I loved hanging out with my family for Christmas.  Because this was the first fall where both my sister and I had been away, my mom went crazy with the decorations in our house.  I walked into my bedroom to find it covered with snowflakes.  We made out with some cool Christmas loot like coffee makers and Toms, but I must say hanging out with the family definitely meant more this year.  I’m glad that I went bowling in Belgium because it made me slightly more prepared for the family showdown on Christmas day.

My New Year’s celebration definitely helped start off 2012 on the right foot.  Mostly, I spent at least four hours on New Year’s Eve playing either The Michael Jackson Experience or Just Dance on the Wii.  And that helped me work off the rest of the Belgian desserts … Just after the ball dropped, I watched Captain America with my friends.  I suppose that also helped me set the tone for the New Year.  Sadly, my wallet probably isn’t going to allow for much more world traveling this year so I should get into the American spirit again.

For now I’m thankful for all the life experiences and friends I found while abroad, but I am also excited to reunite with my friends at Rice and truly see how Oxford changed me.