Mud Puddle Days

This one is going to be a little more on the emotional end compared to my commenting on Red Cross happenings and terrible reality television. This weekend brought full closure to my undergraduate experience at the University of Alabama. From the time that I was a freshman, I have been looking forward to that moment when I would get my Senior Goodbye and Guerrilla with the rest of my class. It is by far one of the best things that Alpha Psi Omega does each year. I was prepared for that very emotional weekend. I was writing letters for everyone in the organization. I had picked and practised my material for my performance, but I never got to do it. Instead on 27 April 2011, tornadoes tore across the state of Alabama, and as the majority of us huddled together in Rowand Johnson, our theatre building, we had no clue that it was the last time all of us would be together.

School was cancelled, and we all went home eventually. I was in Hoover for a short time and spent of few days helping my grandparents move out of their mostly destroyed home in Phil Campbell. I got offered a job on my first day there, which would have been during our senior roast time. This job at the Red Cross has provided me with so much when it comes to moving on from the tornado, but the one thing it couldn't do was give me closure to my senior year.

I had hoped graduation would serve this purpose, but it still seemed incomplete. A few people came back to town for it, but that experience wasn't personal enough. Being in Tuscaloosa this semester made it all the weirder. Everyone I came into contact with was able to put last year behind them. Some even felt like the tornado had no effect on them. The only people who could understand were scattered across the country, and I didn't even think I needed them until now.

Saturday morning we met to plan our roasts of one another. Only five other seniors were able to come back, so it still wasn't complete. It was exactly what I needed. We had a great time laughing at ourselves and one another and sharing with each other what our friendships meant. So much can happen in four years, and it was so much fun to share some of those memories. More and more have surfaced since then, and I hate I didn't remember to share them.

That night we all gave our final performances joined by two seniors graduating this weekend, and it was by far my favorite guerrilla of all four years. I don't know if it was actually the best one I saw, but it's emotional value will always make it stand out. None of us took the opportunity just to showcase our talent for others to see. Instead, we picked things that were meaningful to us that we wanted others to experience so that people can learn the importance of family, taking advantage of every little moment, words, humor, accepting yourself regardless of others, following your dreams, and never forgetting those people that truly matter to you.

I was happy to share the song my dad wrote for me when I was four-years-old and the scene from Torch Song Trilogy. I owe so much to Eryn and my dad for being a part of that with me. One day as a young child, my mother was trying to get me out the door on a rainy day so that she could get to work. I was so sleepy until I saw the rain. Then I ran outside declaring it a "Mud Puddle Day." My dad thought it was cute and wrote an equally cute folk song about the experience. I don't know how many people know this, but my mother was diagnosed with Lupus while I was in college. It has since caused her to stop working. I often remember this song and use it to remind me not to get down. That was a message I thought everyone could use including my mother. Things get tough, but if you try to view things from a positive light it's amazing what you can get yourself through.

It may be a while before I see those seniors again. We may never all be in the same place at the same time in our lives. That's why I somehow managed to stay up until 3AM. I thought Saturday would be a goodbye, but it wasn't. It was more of an assurance than anything that I will stay in touch with these people for the rest of my life. It may not be constant or always in person, but I will stay in touch. The odd thing is that if the tornado didn't happen I don't know if that would still be true. It pulled us together more than any class, show, or party ever could. I guess tragedy does that to people. That's just the "Mud Puddle" side of things. Now we can move on to better things, and I am excited to see what those things are. Thanks University of Alabama, Wesley Foundation, and Alpha Psi Omega for everything. It was a beautiful four years, and not even a tornado can take that away from me.