Sam Dozier

My apologies for the long absence.  It is my senior year.  Things have gotten quite insane, snowballing into yesterday. Which I will detail for you:

I woke up pretty much in terror.  I had to give my practice senior seminar presentation at  9 AM. At noon, I had to give my presentation over my final paper in my film class.  And then, at 7 PM, I had to give a speech in front of 150 people, including the president and deans of our university, for our Leadership Recognition Program.  And my bangs were literally sticking straight up from my head.  On the ONE day of the semester that I really needed to look nice. Awesome.

I thought I was probably going to die (yes, I tend to be overdramatic…)

Fixed the bang situation. Got through the senior sem talk.  Got through the film presentation. All with the wonderful support and encouragement of people who were probably tired of hearing me complain (I love you guys).

Showered. Put on my nice dress and the cowboy boots (heels are for people who actually know how to walk. Which, in case you’ve never tried to walk next to me, I cannot).  Hand-wrote my speech out (of course my printer would die right before I printed it out…) Hairspray. Chap-stick. Deep breath.

The rest of the night is kind of a blur.  When my name was called to give my speech pretty early in the night, the whole not-being-able-to-walk thing really set in.  My knees were shaking terribly.  I just kept thinking “do not trip and fall onto someone important”.  I got up in front of all those people, and saw the big, scary people, but I also saw the faces of my best friends.  My CKs, my co-workers and bosses at the MAC, and some of my MLK committee.  I could do this.

I gave the speech.  I looked down at my paper a lot, and I stumbled over my words.  But I am really proud of what I said.  Because I truly believe it: serving others makes you a better leader and a better human.

When I was finished, they all clapped. I think Jaronda yelled a little bit, and I love her a lot for that  My heart smiled, and there were tears in my eyes.  Because this, one of my biggest accomplishments, kind of signified the beginning of the end.  I’ve been a senior for about a year now, but this really felt like the end.

I got back to my seat.  My beautiful sisters smiled huge at me, and I just felt so blessed to be surrounded by such supportive, beautiful women, who show me every day the kind of love and encouragement that I only hope that I can give back to them.  Many of those girls would go on to be nominated for and win awards that night.  I think that I’ve got some pretty awesome friends

And then, a complete surprise.  My amazing boss, Kati, had nominated me for an award: Outstanding Student Worker.  And I won.  The presenter was reading some things Kati had written about me and I was overwhelmed with love and gratitude for my job at the MAC.  I’ve only been there since August, but that place has literally changed me SO much.  I know that I am a better person for having experienced the things I’ve been able to experinece there.  Planning a large-scale, campus-wide day of service.  Writing the MAC weekly e-mail every week.  Meeting and loving Kati, Jaronda, Bertha, and all of the other lovely people there that make me laugh like a crazy person all of the time.  Learning more about people who have sacrificed so that allpeople could be treated equally.  Being inspired by people who fight, every day, for equality, love, justice, and peace.  I am in tears right now thinking about all I have learned from this place.  And I don’t want to leave it, ever.  I want to work in Kati’s office every single day for the rest of my life.  I want to learn and grow more.

After the ceremony, all the speeches, all the deserving winners receiving their awards, all the raspberries and blackberries I consumed (best. fruit platter. EVER.), I just could not believe the sense of contentment that I had.  Yes, it was almost over.  I have a month left.  But I know so deep down in my heart that I will be leaving Truman State University a better person than I was when I came here.  I have met and been inspired by so many people here.  I’ve been trusted with things I would have never imagined I could do in a million years.  I have been loved fully and deeply and I have loved fully and deeply in return.

To all of my amazing and inspiring friends from tonight, and in my life here at Truman, thank you all so very much.  I love you all and will keep you in my heart forever.

Things going on in my life, currently:

-Cardinal Key Rush:

This week, sophomore and junior girls are taking part in CK’s week-long rush.  This week always strikes bitter-sweet chords in me, because I TOTALLY remember sitting in the seats of the rushees just two short years ago, but I realize now that I am, essentially, picking my replacement

Cardinal Key has truly changed my life.  Before getting into CK, I had ultimately no service opportunities in my life, no tight-knit group of girl friends at Truman, and I was not confident in my ability to be a leader.  Now, I am leaving Truman with all three of those strongly in tact.  If it weren’t for Cardinal Key, I would not have accomplished 90% of the things I have at Truman.

So, wish us luck as we make the really tough decision and welcome new girls into our little circle!

-Senior Seminar Project:

I am a nerd.  I’ll just throw that out there right now.  Each senior English major has to take our “Senior Seminar” class in which we spend an entire semester researching a topic, and then present it to students, faculty, and staff at the end of April.  The topic for my class is “Niche Literature,” which essentially means we are looking at texts outside of the “canon” which people read because of an extracurricular interest in the subject.  So, I have decided to do my research project on the literature of one of my favorite television shows, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

So, for the past few weeks, I’ve submerged myself into the “Buffyverse,” reading comic books, short stories, YA novels, fan fiction, critical essays, and more, all dealing with the Buffy TV show and lore.  I must admit, I am thoroughly loving it.  And I’m hoping that I will be able to say some really neat things not just about Buffy, but about the idea of “literature” in our society and how that differs (or is the same as) our idea of “culture.”

-Tony LaRussa

IS. COMING. TO. TRUMAN. As a Cards fan, this just made my life.  He will be here on March 16th as our guest speaker for the semester. CAN’T WAIT!

-Spring Break is so soon! I’m leaving a week from Thursday! That means this semester is just about half way over *cue massive amounts of freaking out*

I gave blood yesterday, for only the third time in my life.  I think I’ve pretty much got it down now- I know pretty much exactly what to expect, which arm typically works best for me (my right), to look away while they put the needle in  (otherwise I get a bit woozy…), etc.  It all went off pretty much without a hitch this time!

But the best part of the whole experience was talking to the old married couple that were working the snack station in the back of the room.  The woman was a Cardinal Key alum, from St. Louis, that had gone to Truman back in the day when it was Northeast Missouri State Teacher’s College (that was Truman’s name from 1918-1968).  We got to talking about how when she was in school, there were only about eight people from St. Louis there at the time, which is crazy to think of now that about twelve kids just from my graduating class in high school came here!

We also talked about why we both love this school so much- because of the warm, friendly people here.  It was absolutely amazing to be able to talk to someone who went to school here 50-ish years ago, and have pretty much the exact same opinion and experience as I do with our school.  It was just so wonderful to experience that level of connection with someone I hardly even know, but have so much in common with.

Before I left, she wished me luck with all my endeavors in the future.  And I knew that she meant it.  And that just made all of the difference yesterday.

I must apologize for my lack of presence on this site as of late.  Getting back into the swing of things this semester has been kind of difficult.  The week we got back, my life was consumed by the MLK Challenge, and then the week after that was consumed with the MLK Read-In (Both of which went AMAZINGLY, by the way).  And now, this week is full of playing catch-up

And now, for those of you who care, an update on how the MLK Challenge went: On January 16th, 170 students were able to complete 16 different “challenges” around Kirksville and the surrounding community (everything from collecting food for the local food banks, cleaning and organizing the buildings of different community non-for-profit organizations, providing childcare, making home-made dog treats, and building bookshelves for the public library, and MORE!)  It is absolutely crazy how much work these students did- in many cases, they accomplished something in a few hours that would have taken the employees of that office MONTHS to do on their own.  I really hope that this event fostered a love for service in the volunteers, and a desire to do even more with all that they have.  I know it has influenced me– opened my eyes to the selflessness and love of this campus and community, and encouraged me to give more of myself to others.

I would encourage all Truman students, faculty, and staff that want to make service a bigger part of their lives to take a look at TruService ( http://serve.truman.edu/TruService.asp), which is a GREAT way to connect yourself with service opportunities on campus and in Kirksville.

And for all of you who aren’t a Truman student (yet! ), find a service organization at your school, church, or community center that can hook you up with opportunities you may not think of on your own!

I will leave you with this, my favorite quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Live and Love, my friends! Until next time…

Sam

So, I’m home for the holidays (and yes, I’m still writing my blog.  I love it, you guys.  It’s one of my favorite hobbies).  It has been pretty nice- lots of time with friends, family, and puppies- and I’ve been working a lot at the bakery I work at here- it is a pretty crazy time for us over the holidays so I’ve been putting in quite a few hours.

I’m currently sitting by the fireplace, my little brother is watching  movie (though I believe he should be studying for finals… haha, high school kids! Suckas!), and I’m thinking about Christmas-time and the gifts I still have to make for some people.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Christmas gifts, actually.  You see, as a broke college kid, giving gifts is often tricky.  I have a pretty big family and a large group of friends, so usually I just get them all something pretty small (if I get them anything at all) in order to still have money to pay for rent, gas, and groceries.  But this year, I’m doing things a little bit differently.

Sometimes, I think that the amount of money some people spend on gifts is just ridiculous.  I’ve already mentioned Advent Conspiracy on this blog before, but I’ll reiterate some of that now, because I feel that it is really important, especially four days before Christmas.  There are so many people in need around the world that sometimes I just can’t justify spending hundreds of dollars on stuff people may or may not use in the next few months.  So, this year, I’ve made it my mission to spend less on Christmas presents in order to give more of myself to my friends, family, and the world around me.  And this is how:

1. Utilizing Woot and Groupon.

Duuuuuuude can you get deals here.  I’ve been checking them both since October-ish, and got one of my brothers his present as well as my dad.  Also ended up getting my parents their 25th wedding anniversary gift.

Go here: woot.com and groupon.com

2. The Truman Bookstore

You can never go wrong with those “Truman Mom” “Truman Dad” “Truman Grandma/pa” t-shirts, my friends. And typically the bookstore runs sales every year, so keep your eyes out!

Go here: http://www.bkstr.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&demoKey=d&storeId=213405

3. PINTREST

I will refrain from explaining my obsession with this website, but let’s just say there are really great ideas for homemade crafts, recipes, and anything else your creative little heart desires.  Even if you think you aren’t so crafty, I can tell you first-hand that you can find at least one thing on Pintrest that you are good at.

Go here: pintrest.com

4. Charities!!!

Here’s where I get all deep on you.  So far this holiday season, the greatest gift I’ve given is a $10 gift card to Living Water International.  My dear friend and sister, Kirsten, who’s name I drew for secret Santa in Cardinal Key, was the recipient of this gift.  I was a little nervous to give this to her instead of a “real present,” but the second I explained what her gift was, I knew (as I should have all along- my beautiful friend has the biggest heart on the face of this planet and I adore her for that) that it was more than okay with her.  She is able to go online and designate where that $10 will go to- what country, what town, what project.

Giving to others really is such a powerful thing to do.  In a world like ours, where poverty, disease, and famine are sweeping the globe and claiming so many victims, it just doesn’t sit right with me to spend so much money on video games, gift cards, and sweaters that the person will just return when you could give the gift of life to someone else.  And allowing another person to take part in that process will make them feel fulfilled as well.

Just think about it.  That’s all I really ask.

Go here: water.cc or gifts.rescue.org or really any charity or non-profit org that speaks to you! Just make sure they are reliable and do what they say they will!

Alright guys. That is my pre-holiday spiel.  If you are reading this post-holidays, keep this in mind for next year.

Merry Christmas/ Happy Hanukkah/ Happy Kwanzaa/ Happy New Year/ Happy Winter/ YAY!

Sam

Man, you guys. This past weekend was SO wonderful.  I’m still in denial that it is not the weekend anymore (on Thursday night…), and here’s why I wanna go back to it:

The Cardinal Keys and Blue Keys teamed up on Friday night to have an unexpectedly AMAZING night babysitting for the KCOM (the med school in town) formal.  The night was full of crazy, hyper children, Capri Suns, choo-choo train rides, and I finally learned how to make a decent paper airplane.  Just goes to show how fun service can really be!

SATURDAYYYY! Five of my wonderful, lovely, amazing friends from all over came to visit and they had an amazing time in Kirksville (I’m looking at you, KB).  We went to LaPa AND Pickler’s Famous (as you will recall, two of my favorite places in K-Vegas), participated in the wonderful Big Lebowski festival (which was SO much fun, thanks to Todd and all those at Pickler’s Famous!), and… wait for it….

MET DONALD GLOVER.

Yep. That guy from Community.  Mystery Team. The writer from 30 Rock.  AKA Childish Gambino.  Him.  He came over to my house (long story) and it was quite an exciting evening.  In nowhere but Kirksville can I ever even envision that happening.  I still kind of can’t believe it did…

Sunday. My friends left me to get back to their own lives But that evening, I got to have some quality time with my Cardinal Key loves, and met some girls who were interested in rushing! Yay!  CK is something that  is VERY near and dear to my heart, so it makes me happy to see that there are other girls that are interested in dedicating their time and effort into serving others and loving on their friends.

I didn’t get a whole lot of homework done this weekend, but it was totally worth it.  This week has been pretty easy up until this point (I now have ALL of my final assignments, so I should probably start working on them…… I guess…..) so I’ve been able to carry on a little bit of the awesomeness of the weekend with me.

I know that this week is really tough for a lot of people, so I am certainly sending motivational thoughts and positivity in your direction.  Hang in there… in a few short days we’ll all be home with our families, friends, pets, etc.  Just get through this week and the next.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Sam

PS- Truman students, faculty, and staff– don’t forget to sign up for the MLK Challenge!  If you have read this blog at all, you know that this is my big project of the year, and I am very excited to see it come to fruition.  Sign-ups are now LIVE through TruService, and there are only 175 spots open, so sign up quick!  For more information, you can visit the MAC website (mac.truman.edu), or check out the MLK Collegiate Challenge 2012 Facebook page!  Alright.  That is my shameless plug for this post

Thanksgiving Break DEFINITELY ended up being the reprieve that I needed.  I was able to catch up on a lot of things: sleep, the lives of my friends (and the newest addition to our group, little Isabella, Tricia’s adorable puppy!), family time, and even a little bit of homework.  After a treacherous drive back up highway 70 on Sunday, I made it safe and sound back to the Bird’s Nest (the name Jenna came up with for our apartments up the stairs).  And so far, it has been a pretty good week!

There are a couple of things coming up in the next few weeks that have me totally stoked.  They include, but are not exactly limited to:

-The Big Lebowski Blowout that is happening this Saturday at my favorite place in Kirskville, Pickler’s Famous.  I. AM. SO. PUMPED. FOR. THIS.  I looooove the movie (for those of you that haven’t yet seen it- GO. Now. Seriously.), there’s going to be Wii bowling, trivia, a costume contest, and more.  Plus, a few of my friends from Columbia are driving up for it (see, it’s not just Kirksville kids travelling down to CoMo for entertainment… they come up here, too!) and I’m really excited to see them and show them around my wonderful town!

-Cardinal Key Girl’s Night is on Sunday… The Cardinal Keys and any other girls (especially those interested in rushing in the spring) are going to be hanging out in Ryle Hall main lounge pretty much all night, talking, homework-ing, maybe watching some movies… just spending some quality time together before the massive stress of pre-finals week starts in.

-Participating in Advent Conspiracy.  My church at home, a few years ago, started this movement in which we maybe think about not spending so much money during Christmas-time, but instead, giving our PRESENCE, ourselves to those around us.  And with the money that we don’t spend buying people often useless gifts, maybe donating that to a charity or a worthy cause.  I’ve already told my mom that the only thing I really want for Christmas is a donation gift card from Living Water International this year.  Here’s a pretty crazy fact: did you know that Americans spend $450 billion on Christmas each year and the estimated cost to make clean water available for everyone each year is $10 billion? INSANE.

-Finishing up this semester of classes (who knew 13 hours could be so difficult?) and starting next semester’s– I’m thinking I came up with a way to have no Wednesday/Friday classes… sooooo… hopefully that works out for me

I hope there are many, many things in your life that have you just as excited as I am!  Have a wonderful week, friends! Until next time.

-Sam

Thanksgiving week is oh so close.  I can’t wait to go home… I miss my family and my friends from home and my bed and my X-box Kinect and my puppies.  Life in Kirskville is wonderful right now, but when the last time you saw your family was for a little over 24 hours a month ago, you can’t help but feel a bit homesick.

I’m super missing my mom right now.  Whenever life gets crazy (like this week has), or whenever I’m feeling down, all I have to do is call my mom, and she ALWAYS has words of wisdom or encouragement for me.  I can’t wait to go home so that we can spend some quality time together– going to eat brunch at First Watch, getting our hair done, and maybe going to the Fox to see Mamma Mia!

But up here, I have plenty to be grateful for.  I found out yesterday that Missouri Campus Compact accepted our grant for the MLK Challenge, which is really exciting!  I started meeting with my committee a few weeks ago, and everything seems to be falling right into place.  Come January, Kirksville is not going to know what hit it when 200 college students take an entire day to serve their community!

I also must be thankful for my wonderful, beautiful, amazing blessings that I call my friends.  Whether it is BFD (best friend date) with my Jenna, sitting in a circle on Wednesday for Cardinal Key meeting, or hanging out in the Admission Office with my dear Kate (PS- You should read her blog too!!!), my friends give me the strength to get through the tough times.  And they make me laugh.  Which is, sometimes, all I need in life.

I am doubly blessed– I have really beautiful aspects of my life both at home in St. Louis and up here in Kirksville.  No matter how many papers I have due this week, or how discouraged I get with grad school applications, I must remember how thankful I am that I have gotten this far in life with so many wonderful people and things that I can count on.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving, everyone.  And count your blessings.  I know that sounds kind of cliche and stupid, but honestly, in just writing this blog I feel so much more encouraged and positive.  Life is good, friends.

-Sam

“But for now we are young.  Let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see.” -Neutral Milk Hotel

I am feeling quite nostalgic, already.  I don’t want to leave this place.  And I’m not even gone yet.  But here are the top five things I will miss about Kirksville when I leave.  In no particular order.

Sidenote: I do realize that most of these places involve food.  The more you learn about me, the less surprising this detail will become.  

1. Pickler’s Famous

This is the greatest place in Kirksville, and maybe the universe. Seriously. The main floor is a “mom and pop” type restaurant.  They’ve got all kinds of food-stuffs: sandwiches, hot dogs, sweets.  The best, though, is their home-made ice cream.  YUM.  Jenna (my neighbor/best friend) and I tend to end up at “Pick’s” once or twice a week getting milkshakes (lately: carrot cake for her, coffee for me).

And then, if it couldn’t get any better, upstairs, there is a (gasp) independent movie theatre.  Yes.  In the middle of Kirksville you can go see such gems as Midnight in Paris, Life in a Day, or Miral, for FIVE DOLLARS.  In St. Louis, I’d be shelling out almost twice that to catch these films.  I almost want to cry thinking about how much I love this aspect of my town.

2. Thousand Hills State Park

Okay, I must admit, I am not the most outdoors-y person in the universe.  I really wish I were one of those cool girls that liked to run trials, swim in the lake, whatever, but I don’t.  I blame that on the fact that I am fantasy-prone, so I like to stay home with my books and movies or what have you.

But even I can appreciate the beauty of this amazing park.  It literally has everything: a beach, trails, a lake, bbq pits, grassy knolls, and I’m sure a lot more that I have yet to discover due to my lack of an adventurous spirit.  I enjoy going out here in the spring and summer and soaking up the sun with my friends.  It is so relaxing.

3. La Pachanga

There are few things in life I enjoy more than Mexican food.  Seriously.  Give me all of the quesadillas, chimichangas, nachos, margaritas, and white cheese dip.  I will find room for them in my stomach.  And La Pa has all of these delicious things for very cheap.  I get so spoiled here in Kirksville that when I go back home to St. Louis I am always disappointed by the not-as-good Mexican for way more money.  My little brother, Eli, and I have a long-standing feud over the best Mexican we’ve ever had, and I will always stand by my La Pa until the day that I die.

4. Greek Corner Gyros

I’ve never had Greek food until I came to Kirksville (who would have thought I’d ever write that sentence???)  Boy, am I glad that this place exists.  I am constantly craving the gyros, greek fries (with feta and rosemary… HOLY CRAP YUM), and the iced coffee from this little hole-in-the-wall joint.  Plus, the people that work here are super nice, and always willing to give you a little taste of what they’ve got cooking in the back

5. Pickler Memorial Library

Lame, you may think. Well, THINK AGAIN. I could go on and on and on (and on and on….) about all of the amazing things Truman State University’s library has to offer.  From the natural light, to the interior brick facade, to the cafe, to the media library, to the nooks and crannies you can go to study, to the mini-art gallery where you can check out artwork to hang in your room… the only way to truly understand how stunning this place is to come visit it… SO PLEASE DO.

I will probably change my mind about this list quite soon; I have assuredly miss quite a few things.  But for now, these are the things you need to check out in K-Vegas, if you have not yet before.

-Sam

Dear friends, I must confess something to you.  Baseball postseason is kind of killing my motivation at the moment.  I keep telling myself that as long as my dear Cardinals win the game I’m watching, it was worth skipping out on my homework for it.  I know this is probably not the best or most logical reasoning, but how often do you get to root your team onto victory in the World Series? Or maybe this is just another manifestation of the dreaded senoritis

This is becoming more and more of an issue because this week is constantly reminding me that I will be graduating in May and I kind of need to figure out what’s going to happen after that.  Ah, Career Week.  I love you, you help me so much, but yet you scare me to death.  You constantly remind me of how different life is after college– I will have to dress nicely to work (no more sweatpants every day??? Excuse me, what???), I have to show up to work every day (no more of this “treat yourself and skip class” thing?), and my parents won’t keep paying my bills (and I have to be financially responsible and not buy stuff I don’t technically need online all of the time???).

I say these things partially in jest.  I am super excited for the future.  There is so much to do and see and live and love.  I’m going to miss college, campus, and Kirksville A WHOLE LOT, but I honestly feel prepared to go out in the world based on what I’ve learned here.  I know that this school has fostered my development as a person, and I know I am a better person for having gone here.  This place has given me the opportunity to break out of my little comfortable bubble that I was in in high school, and has made me develop from just a follower to a leader with strong convictions and passions.

But this doesn’t mean I want to leave here, yet.

This is my advice to you, friends.  Find a place that challenges you to become a better person.  Don’t just settle for comfort, mediocrity, and routine.  Do something you love.  Take responsibility for something and get it done.  Plan for the future by becoming the you you have always wanted to be.

And go to all those events the Career Center plans for you.  They are seriously helpful.

Until next week. Let’s all be motivated and productive. AND GO CARDS!