no place like home
Well I'm back in Sugar Land. Meh. It was an awful trip. Graduation weekend had its ups and downs.
James got in on Thursday night, which was awesome. We had a great time together on Thursday and Friday and Saturday morning (Saturday we had brunch with Heather and Matt and her sister and her sister's boyfriend). Then my parents got in Saturday afternoon, and we showed them around Cornell. The time with my parents was characterized by them being cranky and determinedly underwhelmed. I was hoping they would be excited and happy by Cornell. Instead they acted like it was pretty boring. My mom kept saying that it looks just like University of Oregon. Give me a break. I guess it was sad because I've been there so long and I've had some of the best times of my life there. It's like my second home. I wanted them to take an interest, but for the most part they were completely apathetic. My mom complained the whole time about how terrible "yankees" are, how she couldn't wait to get back to the Bible belt, and how disgusting all the gay people were. It was awful. It hurt me because I wanted them to be like, "wow, this is where Ashleigh has been, this is the place she loves, look at how beautiful and grand it is." It was even weirder considering how excited they used to get about Emory and Emory isn't half as cool as Cornell.
Sunday was commencement, which was incredible. I met up with Heather, Cameron, and Shannon for the long march (go English majors!). It was so beautiful when we walked through a gauntlet of the professors, decked out in their regalia, and they applauded us. *tear* I loved the pomp and circumstance. I'm so proud of my school, my B.A., my incredible liberal arts education, and especially my English department. =) If my parents seem to have only the slightest inkling of pride, fine, it just means I have to make up for it. Then of course, they were poopy for the rest of the day. We went to Skaneateles, and my mom was of course determined not to be impressed, which sorta hurt James and me. Dinner was ok, but everyone, meaning mom and dad of course, was angry about my low-cut top.
On Monday we had to move me out and it was insane. My parents hardly did anything to help, I would've never have gotten out on time if my sweet James hadn't worked really really hard and done more than anyone. Then we had to say goodbye and I had to say goodbye to my fair Cornell and it was so hard. I returned my last library book and I think my heart broke a little. My parents had told me we could stay till Tuesday but, like completely insensitive asses, they yelled at me when I raised the issue. They were not even remotely interested in seeing any other part of my life. They were chaffing at the bit to get back into the Bible belt.
And that's what I had to deal with for a week, all the way home. It was terrible. I'm not even going to repeat some of the things my mom said in her backward redneck defensive moments because I don't want to make people hate her. Everything I said was, of course, attributed directly to the evil liberal establishment (in spite of the fact that I'm not a liberal), and I was derided for being quiet and not particularly chipper. Imagine that. I hated it so much. The only upside was Tender is the Night. I had to return Beautiful and Damned to the library, so I tried to buy a copy. The first bookstore didn't have anything by Fitzgerald!! The second one didn't have Beautiful and Damned, but it had Tender is the Night so I got it based on Shoda's reccommendation. It was amazing. Definitely one of the most beautiful books I've ever read, I couldn't put it down. Everyone should read it.
So now I'm here and it feels weird. Everyone is fighting with each other. I miss James and I miss the cool Ithaca breezes. It's hard. sigh. I just have to find a job as soon as possible.
James got in on Thursday night, which was awesome. We had a great time together on Thursday and Friday and Saturday morning (Saturday we had brunch with Heather and Matt and her sister and her sister's boyfriend). Then my parents got in Saturday afternoon, and we showed them around Cornell. The time with my parents was characterized by them being cranky and determinedly underwhelmed. I was hoping they would be excited and happy by Cornell. Instead they acted like it was pretty boring. My mom kept saying that it looks just like University of Oregon. Give me a break. I guess it was sad because I've been there so long and I've had some of the best times of my life there. It's like my second home. I wanted them to take an interest, but for the most part they were completely apathetic. My mom complained the whole time about how terrible "yankees" are, how she couldn't wait to get back to the Bible belt, and how disgusting all the gay people were. It was awful. It hurt me because I wanted them to be like, "wow, this is where Ashleigh has been, this is the place she loves, look at how beautiful and grand it is." It was even weirder considering how excited they used to get about Emory and Emory isn't half as cool as Cornell.
Sunday was commencement, which was incredible. I met up with Heather, Cameron, and Shannon for the long march (go English majors!). It was so beautiful when we walked through a gauntlet of the professors, decked out in their regalia, and they applauded us. *tear* I loved the pomp and circumstance. I'm so proud of my school, my B.A., my incredible liberal arts education, and especially my English department. =) If my parents seem to have only the slightest inkling of pride, fine, it just means I have to make up for it. Then of course, they were poopy for the rest of the day. We went to Skaneateles, and my mom was of course determined not to be impressed, which sorta hurt James and me. Dinner was ok, but everyone, meaning mom and dad of course, was angry about my low-cut top.
On Monday we had to move me out and it was insane. My parents hardly did anything to help, I would've never have gotten out on time if my sweet James hadn't worked really really hard and done more than anyone. Then we had to say goodbye and I had to say goodbye to my fair Cornell and it was so hard. I returned my last library book and I think my heart broke a little. My parents had told me we could stay till Tuesday but, like completely insensitive asses, they yelled at me when I raised the issue. They were not even remotely interested in seeing any other part of my life. They were chaffing at the bit to get back into the Bible belt.
And that's what I had to deal with for a week, all the way home. It was terrible. I'm not even going to repeat some of the things my mom said in her backward redneck defensive moments because I don't want to make people hate her. Everything I said was, of course, attributed directly to the evil liberal establishment (in spite of the fact that I'm not a liberal), and I was derided for being quiet and not particularly chipper. Imagine that. I hated it so much. The only upside was Tender is the Night. I had to return Beautiful and Damned to the library, so I tried to buy a copy. The first bookstore didn't have anything by Fitzgerald!! The second one didn't have Beautiful and Damned, but it had Tender is the Night so I got it based on Shoda's reccommendation. It was amazing. Definitely one of the most beautiful books I've ever read, I couldn't put it down. Everyone should read it.
So now I'm here and it feels weird. Everyone is fighting with each other. I miss James and I miss the cool Ithaca breezes. It's hard. sigh. I just have to find a job as soon as possible.