heroes

Over a span of three days, I have reflected on two people in my life that could be considered heroes.

The first is one of my best friends, Meg Mal. We've been friends since freshmen year of high school, when we met at field hockey camp. I knew we would be friends when I was in the bathroom and she screamed "CAROLIN'S POOPING!". I mean, only true friends can be comfortable talking about bowel movements. We've remained friends through some pretty interesting times....and I will always cherish our "megan and megan nights" we used to have in high school. We went to different colleges, but always remained in contact and visited each other. She's been there for me, she understands me, and she can always make me laugh. She has an attitude of "who cares?". When I'm in a funk, she's the first to say "you know what Carolin? F*$% funks!". During the past year, she made the decision to go into the Navy. She was accepted and has been training, and this morning she left for four months of boot camp. We've been away from each other for four months before, but this was a completely different kind of goodbye. First of all, she has no contact with the outside world except writing letters. No cell phone, no email, she can't even watch tv or listen to the radio. I can't text her, facebook her, anything. Second of all, it's not like she's going away to summer camp. She's going to BOOT CAMP. for the NAVY. I am so damn proud of her. It takes a lot of guts, and she is pushing away all negativity and all people/things telling her "she can't" and she's going to do it. She's always been a hero in my eyes, but going into the Navy just further proves what an amazing, dedicated, strong, confident young woman she is. I'm going to miss her, and I hope you will all join me in praying for her. I love you, Meg Mal. You inspire me. Kick some Navy ass.

The second is a former teacher, who is celebrating his birthday today. Mr Schusterbauer is without a doubt the best teacher I have ever had. He was my English teacher for the class "Lit Into Film" my senior year at Mercy. I'm very sad I was only in his class for one semester, but he taught me more in those five months than I could have ever imagined. He taught me about writing and analyzing films, yes, but more than that, he taught me about life. He taught me how to stand up for myself, how to use humor in any situation. He is kind, positive, and encouraging. Schuste, as we lovingly called him, is now retired and is very active on facebook. He is an incredible writer. I wish there was a better word, because incredible doesn't even begin to describe his writing. I enjoy reading his notes and status updates, to hear his insight on situations. Schuste is the one who got me passionate about writing, and I thank him for his time, energy, and talent.

Spring Break is almost over. Tomorrow I will spend the day with my mom and then head back to Corktown. I have spirituality night with my roomies tomorrow, then on Thursday I am participating in a service project with the kids. Friday we are heading up north for the weekend.

Only 3 more months of MVC left. Where this road will take me, I have no idea...but people like Meg Mal and Schuste inspire me to just keep going.