I remember arriving outside of class, sitting down to get some work done, and Kiel showing up with a bunch of pizza that he wanted me to hide from the janitors. I thought this a reasonable request from my knowledge of janitors, especially ones from BYU. We eventually snuck the goods into the classroom. More goods, these ones inedible, were brought into the room—blankets, lots of them.
I was sort of confused, as I didn’t believe that I would be having anything to do with these blankets, but soon we were instructed, very aptly I might add, by Charla on the art of chalking and cutting blankets for quilt making.
I set to chalking, and soon I was thinking about how to most efficiently and quickly mark a blanket. All interest in conversation waned as carpal tunnel began to sink into my joints, beautifully biting under my skin with every stroke of the chalk(this is, er, poetic exaggeration). I was tossing blankets left and right to eager and awaiting scissor bearers. It felt great to do something that requires some elbow grease, something more tangible, even if on a small scale.
I walked away from that room, blanket slung over shoulder (just kidding), not knowing what might become of those other blankets, but satisfied in having done something. I slept better that night.
Random Media.
ReplyDeleteEmo Teenager Poetry.
Blanket-Cowboy Metaphor.
Calvin & Hobbes Ending.
This post is an epic win.
Word!
ReplyDeleteRyan you should be a children's book author. You are such a good story-teller and have such a good understanding of pertinent/profound visual supplementation. I'm totally serious!
Anyway, I totally agree- it felt really good to be doing something for someone else. I think as college students, we get so tied up in... ourselves. We kind of have to because we are trying to make ourselves competitive and look better than our peers and distinguish ourselves for resumes and grad school and tests and jobs and internships. College students thrive on competition and comparisons and the 'me' complex. I think this goes back to the WAC topic a couple weeks ago about balancing service in with everything else.
I remember asking you to sneak the goods in despite threats from the janitors...do you think we'll be punished one day for dishonesty?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I agree. Chalking and cutting quilts seems like a simple idea, but it really made me feel good. I'm never going to see who gets these and I'll probably not even go with the service committee to drop them off--but deep down inside, it feels good to do something worthwhile.
Thanks for your post Ryan. I totally agree with Emily, you have a talent for writing. Your witty personality just leaks from word to word making it fun to read. I'm glad you had a good experience. It was fun having everyone doing something together. I really enjoyed seeing all the different techniques everyone came up with for the chalking and cutting.
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