Lookin Back Pt. 2

(one thing I learned in journalism school, people like things in small portions. So I Broke this entry up into parts. They're really not two separate entries at all! Fooled ya )

SO AS FAR AS REFLECTIONS GO...

I think I've learned a thing or two while traveling. The first being that I can stay quiet for a very..very long time. I've always felt like there are two very different sides to me, and which one you see feels like it's out of my hands. There's the quiet, reserved, "normal" version, that selectively speaks and is pretty calm. And then there's the real side that comes out around people I've known for a good while...saying ridiculous things, being silly, chatty, not afraid to say stupid things. But that side needs a little encouraging I guess, and I thought it would take over at some point, but the quiet persisted. And it felt tiring not to feel like yourself completely. Maybe that shyness, as much as I despise it, is a bigger part of who I am than I thought.. BUT after a week being home with everyone, I think the tour was kinda what I needed. The quiet's gone away some and its nice to feel free from it.

Secondly -- America is BIG. And you don't realize how huge it is until you try to drive across it. Highways are amazing. On the way home, we were discussing the newness of highways, and wondering what traveling was like before them. Alex mentioned how they were built for military reasons, but we can't even imagine getting to places without them. I wonder if the country seemed even larger before they connected us. But, they were definitely cooler before someone thought up toll roads.

Third- I really do love Texas. I've always wanted to run from this state. I thought I was tired of it. I wanted to escape to California somewhere. I wanted to get away from out flat boring landscapes and go play in the mountains, or go live in the east and escape our heat. But after weeks of shivering, of the biting cold rising from the snow and through my shoes, of running for the door to encounter some warmth, I am grateful for the Texas heat. I was so excited when I got back not to need my jacket for the first time in forever! I was glad to see green fields instead of dead iced over grass. It was good to see the sun and to spend a day walking downtown. I appreciate Texas SO much more now.

Fourth---This tour has shown me the vastness of the kindness of people. In a world where bad news is the only news on the television screen, and we're taught to be wary of strangers, its easy to forget that there are good people everywhere. People we hardy knew were quick to welcome us into their homes, cook us meals and help us out. Chris Callis of the Callis Palace made dinner for ALL the touring bands! A few bands along the road let us take over their living rooms to sleep for the night. The 11:11 tea house gave out baked goods for free and a place in Chicago throws shows and gives all the money to the musicians. A couple in Omaha gave us their house for the weekend and free reign over their pantry. People were gracious. Hospitality abounded. It was a good reminder that for all the bad things that happen every day, there's a lot of love around.

I feel like I've just been plopped back into my life in Austin, sort of right where I left off, as though time stopped here waiting for our return. I'm trying to remember what I used to do with my days. And I've got this big feeling of wondering what to do next that's resting on my shoulders. I took the semester off to do this tour and it's crazy that it's actually happened. It's done. And for all the sitting around I'm doing, for the summer classes I'm gonna have to take, I can still easily say that it was definitely worth it.