Graduation!

I graduate in 15 hours. I think that's pretty nifty. All the more so that I am finally getting to do one of the big life steps before my older brother (who decided to join the military and be a hero/awesome guy instead, and is graduating only 1 year after me.... but that's beside the point!). It's strange to think that after four long/short years, and another 13 years in public school before this, I finally am finished with formal education (unless, of course, I decide to go to graduate school).

I get to wear a cool teal honor cord for Sociology/Anthropology, too. I mean, I'm sure there will be a lot of people with cords, and even the same cord as me, but I didn't think I'd get one, so I'm pleased. I also got a women's studies pin, but all senior majors did (all the same, that's like 7 of us out of 696 so it's still pretty cool).

I'm mostly glad to be leaving. I feel like St. Olaf wants me to enjoy St. Olaf they way they want me to. The things I am supposed to appreciate are not the things I actually appreciate. Not a huge fan of the choir, or God, or being Norwegian, or the extensive legacy my family has at St. Olaf (none of which apply to me...), like a good little Ole should.

Instead, I appreciate the people who work in the caf, who all signed cards for the supervisors. I appreciate the beauty of campus, despite the artificial landscaping that happens right before people with money come to campus. I appreciate the professors who actually know the students. I appreciate the activism at St. Olaf, whether that's volunteerism or student organizations, especially when it's not handed to them on a platter by SGA or the church. I appreciate the diversity at St. Olaf, especially the student body, because it seems that once we graduate, only the white, straight Lutheran Norwegians with money get asked to come back and be a part of the campus life. Maybe that will change with increasing diversity of the students, but it still pisses me off now.

Overall, I love Olaf. I love the Olaf I know, not the Olaf they want to present to alumni. I really don't like that Olaf. It's not the Olaf I have seen or experienced.

But, graduation! Yay!

Awesome Day

Today was a good day. I got a job with Wells Fargo, which isn't the best job, but it pays well, promotes well, and gives me free time to volunteer to fight the Marriage Amendment!

And, I applied to live in an awesome duplex in Cedar Riverside. I will probably get it. There is someone else who wants to upgrade to that duplex, but I applied before her so I will likely get it.

Yay! I have a future!

Odd to think

In 9 days, I graduate from college. It's strange to think about it. I've already finished two of my finals, so I am officially a Women's Studies and Sociology/Anthropology major. Now I only have to turn in two more assignments, and I will have a Political Science major as well.

I am going to apply to live in a duplex in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. I went to visit it yesterday. They are renovating the kitchen and bathroom, and replacing the carpet and refinishing the floors, so it looks a hot mess right now, but it's a lot of space and near the light rail and several bus lines, with a park in the backyard and they said I can garden if I want to!

It's strange to think that "real life" is going to happen soon. I hope it goes all right. I'm sure it will!

Prize

So last month I applied for distinction in the women's studies department. I didn't get it, but they did award me the Viola Rossing Prize instead, which is a $100 award for exemplary work in the Women's Studies department.

While it isn't distinction, a $100 prize is not a bad thing to win!

Something I will miss after graduation.

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

They are so good! I can't get over it! I have memorized the schedule for when they're available in the Cage (2pm every Mon, Wed, Fri), to the point where I know that they will be gone by 2:45 because everyone loves them.

It's gotten to the point where they don't put them on their own platter any more. They just put them all in bags because the line starts at 1:50 for them.

They're so delicious and they feel (remember the synesthesia post) amazing! They feel like cornbread batter (not to most people) and taste like heaven. Light and chunky and sweet with a hint of banana (because they're vegan).

These cookies cannot be beat. They're the absolute best cookies I have ever eaten.

BECAUSE

The BECAUSE conference was this weekend. It's a MN conference about Bi/Pan/Queer/Trans/Genderqueer/Poly issues. It was a lot of fun, and exciting to see all the queers who care about bi issues and not just gay and lesbian issues.

Instead of talking about all the amazing workshops and speakers I attended (which I could go on and on about), here are 8 ways to be a Bi-Ally, from the Bisexual Resource Center in Boston.

1) Believe that I exist. Despite ongoing scientific research that seems so determined to disprove the existence of bisexuality plus the general lack of interest by the greater gay and lesbian community in acknowledging us, we really do exist.

2) When I tell you I'm bisexual, please don't try to talk me into redefining my identity into something more comfortable for you. Please don't tell me that if I haven't been sexual with more than one sex in the last three, five, or ten years that I am no longer bisexual.

3) Celebrate bisexual culture along with me. We have a vibrant and rich cultural history within the bi community. Not only do we have fabulous examples of cultural communities that accepted and practiced bisexual living/loving--Bloomsbury Group, Greenwich Village, Harlem Renaissance--but from Sappho to Walt Whitman to Virginia Woolf to James Baldwin to June Jordan, we have many daring voices that have expressed love beyond the monosexual confines.

4) Please don't try to convince me that people who lived bisexual lives in the past would have been gay if they had lived today. You don't know that, I don't know that, and your insistence that it is true says that you believe that people were bisexual only out of necessity, not by desire. I believe there have always been bisexual people just as you may believe there have always been gay and lesbian people.

5) Validate my frustration with the gay and lesbian community when they ignore or exclude bisexuals. Please don't try and defend an action such as a keynote speaker who is addressing a GLBT audience but consistently says "gay and lesbian" when referring to all of us. It bothers me, so even if you don't think it's that important yourself, please don't try and talk me out of my feelings.

6) Ask me, if appropriate, about my other-sex relationships and my same-sex relationships. Bisexuals live our lives in multiple ways. Some of us are monogamous and we would like to discuss that relationship openly with the people in our lives, no matter whom it is with. Some of us have more than one relationship going on and we'd like to be able to share that with others without feeling judgment.

7) If there is some sort of bisexual scandal in the news, don't use it as an opportunity to make derisive remarks about bisexuals generally. As we know, all communities have examples of "bad behavior," and painting everyone with the same brush doesn't create much understanding between us.

8) When I'm not around, or any other bisexual, speak up when bisexual people are being defamed or excluded. It's great when we can witness your support, but I'd love to know you are helping us even when we are not looking. You'll be the best ally possible!