Ketchup and Coping Mechanisms

Some people dislike when an audience gives a movie a round of applause.
Some people dislike when someone writes questions in a letter.
Some people dislike when one fails to update his/her blog on a regular basis.

None of these are my pet peeves, but I engage in all three of the potential annoyances. For our voyeuristic society, and the limited number of people who read my blog, I feel I should attempt to catch everyone up on the happenings in the past month(s) of my life. Let's start with the biggies:

1. I'm back for fall term at NYU, student teaching at an elementary school (preschool through 3rd grade) in the South Bronx.
2. My grandfather passed away a week after my birthday.
3. Summer love turned into heartache.

What an emotional summer it was, and I am really struggling to return to my usual self. I know there are people who are far worse off than I am, I just feel the need to share with how I am coping with loss and my current existential crises.

Student teaching brought me back to the world of children, and it never ceases to amaze me how they put a smile on my face. It is unfortunate that education is not my ideal career path; however, I'm learning how to interact with children and people on a much different level. And what a wonderful learning experience that is. Being there three times a week is tiring, but seeing their smiling faces makes me want to come back the next day. Thank Jesus for weekends, though...

The loss of my grandfather and the severing of my summer fling have been rough. I think I've almost come to terms with the passing of Grandpa, but not so much for the latter. My friend Katie spoke to moving on from my relationship as "withdrawal from addiction." And, honestly, I cannot think of a better way to frame this situation. Now I'm filling my time with new things and old friends, movies, music, and books. Here are some highlights:

Coping Mechanism Number 1: Bare -- Annie Lennox.
I rediscovered Annie Lennox's music this summer thanks to PCiv and friends' recommendations, but I didn't download this particular album until the beginning of this month. It's beautifully tragic, filled with elegant melodic line I'm certainly not used to hearing on the radio anymore.

Coping Mechanism Number 2: The Twilight Saga -- Stephenie Meyer.
Just wow. Entertaining books with extremely likable characters. My free time is now spent obsessing over vampires, and my dreams are now including hott vampires who want to spend their eternal lives with me. How romantic!!

Coping Mechanism Number 3: TV.
Gossip Girl... True Blood (again with the vampires)... the impending new seasons of The Office and Heroes... Need I write more?

Coping Mechanism Number 4: PostSecret.com.
Why is it that reading other people's secrets makes me so happy? I think it's knowing that I'm not alone and so many individuals share the same thoughts and feelings as I do. If you're not familiar with the project, click on my link in the sidebar.

Coping Mechanism Number 5: My Friends.
I know, cliché, but in all honesty, they make my day brighter than I could ever imagine. Shakira has a song lyric that goes, "There's nothing like your smile made of sun," and that's all I need from them to pull me out of my spells of self-loathing.

All five of these things seem superficial, but in the long run, I know they will help me swim in calm waters again. In addition to them, singing has really brought me to a different place in life. I really can't even begin to express what a joy it is to have found my voice and share it. Music isn't something I merely engage in externally, it's internal as well. My instrument is something I came to treasure that lives inside me.

Here's hoping for another update soon. I forgot how much I enjoy writing these blog entries...