India Journal Beginning

Hallo Readers! So been very busy here in Ohio, I could blabber for ever, but instead I have a grand plan. I was going to save it for November, but I can't wait. This November 11, 2012 with be my third year anniversary of going to India. Tonight as I lay in bed thinking about sleep, before giving up, I got India sick. Not actually sick, but like homesick for India. I couldn't find my India pictures anywhere and so I went to my bookshelf and pulled out my largest journal. The one I kept when I was in India, and so starting tonight I have decided to share my Journal with you dear readers, passage by passage, and let you re-experience India with me.

Eve of the Trip 

Tuesday November 10, 2009 10:59 pm

     I am writing this on the eve of what I am confident will turn out to be the three most amazing, important, and wonderful years of my life. In easy to understand words the night before my departure for India! I am going to be there for three months with my mom doing a program called LBE or Life Bliss Engineering. As of now I am still not exactly sure what we will do in the program, but I will find out soon enough. I have my main larger suitcase all packed and ready except for a pair of sandals I will slip in tomorrow morning. Plus a purse and carry on. Packed with as much DECENT entertainment a 14 year old individual American can fit into her largest backpack and sensible handbag. I will tell more about everything tomorrow, but my dear mother is threatening me NOT to go to school tomorrow, and I do want to say "good bye," so I had better behave my dear little self. OK I will definitely write tomorrow, 

         -Ursula Brogan

 Veteran's Day/ Our Departure

Wednesday November 11, 2009 9:00 am

     So I went to school today almost as usual even though I did not bring a backpack or lunch and that felt strange. Before leaving the bus I hugged my bus driver and then walked to the building, joining up with my best friend Naima. Today at school was not going to be a normal one anyway so the hundreds of teenagers walking around hallways and calling out to each other seemed more hyper then usual. Me and Naima went to our lockers, then checked in with gym (first period teacher) then off to the band room where we gathered our instruments and then went off to the gym, where we were having a Veteran's day assembly. The assembaly went well, although it was boring. Ten minutes before it ended I hugged my teachers, friends, and other important people, to me. Then I packed up my flute, wrote Naima a quick good bye note as I did not truly get to say good bye. 

10:40 am

     We are waiting at the gate for out 11:25 flight. It is pretty boring, there is a bar, and a newsstand, and a gift shop, and that's all. So now I am writing, when we said good bye it was a much better ordeal then the last time mom and I went (to India) in the summer of 2008. When we said good bye last time mom and I both burst into tears. But anyway, so I am only going to be writing in the times and dates of the places we are going to be in in the next few hours, when we are in Chicago it will be like we are going back in time. 

11:42 am (Chicago time)

     So after a pretty nice flight we arrived in O'Hare airport.  Flying over Ohio was eerie. I say this because it looked like a patchwork quilt with all the fields, houses, towns, lakes, and ponds, and patches of woods. Now we are sitting in the airport and have to go take a train to the other side of it. 

Sometime

    We made an almost large mistake, actually we made a mistake, just not as bad as it could be. Basically we where in an area with lots of shops, then mom thought we should go to terminal five, the International terminal. So we took a train all the way there. It was there that we found out our next flight didn't leave for five hours. Then we were in trouble, see right before you go into the terminal all there is are McDonald's. a sandwich shop, a bar, an ice cream stand, and two souvenir shops. I know that seems like a lot, but five hours! We got some lunch at the sandwich shop, then mom just sat and talked on her cell to various people while I looked at the two shops. Nothing of interest though.  We still have about four hours to go. Alright I am going to write about something that I am very proud of myself. Ok so for this program I made a goal to pay for my $1,270 plane ticket. Well I called people and asked if they would help me out. Well believe it or not I called 35 people, for about half an hour, and I did not suggest a price.  Well by the end I got exactly $1,207. So I feel like this is truly the right thing to do. Mom tried the same thing but she only got $125.00. One last thing, my shoulders are killing me from the weight of my backpack. Here is everything I have packed in my backpack: 1 Spanish (very large) text book, my Spanish workbook,  this large subject notebook, my Living Enlightenment book (huge), yarn and knitting needles, purse with stuff, camera, extra clothing, and a few other things. Ok I'll write later!

A Random Entry

I have a lot to say and little time to say it so here is today's blog:

It was just a cute picture. Had to add it in!

1. Practice this week was not easy, in Band, the opposite in fact. It was harder then ever and yet, we seem to have diminished in talent rather then grown. Tonight's football game was a complete disaster, OK yes there was rain which distracted people but our band seriously needs to learn the art of perseverance. Thankfully we where saved by lightning and didn't have to preform, instead we sat inside the band room feeling like horrible people after a well deserved yelling by the director. When it was all over and done with we had a senior meeting. While I can't say what was said (leadership this leadership that etc. etc. etc.) The reason I wanted to write this is for the first time ever at that meeting I spoke up, had my opinion be heard and I actually felt like a senior. That was wonderful.

2. Went to Yellow Springs again today. The YS Highschool was off for the day so my closest childhood friends and I made plans to meet and spend the day at our elementry school, where the young kids did not have the day off. To many of you this may seem strange, but it is an age old practice at Antioch. The grads coming back. First it's just fun because all the little kids simply adore you because you are a grad, and therefore holy in their eyes, second who doesn't want a day off school and pretend they are ten again? Well we did. We made fun of it to, playing during "free time" and participating in singing time, although we where as off tune as three teenagers could get. No one cared though. it was Antioch.

3. Adding on to the previous point, this is something I have wanted to write about for a while, but haven't had time to. Friends, my whole life I wanted them, but my whole life I have been known as the bossy girl, I like to be in charge, end. of. story. This makes getting friends sort of difficult, and I was a person who always wanted a best friend someone to always be there. Now first I have no trouble making friends, that I am phenomenal at, my trouble comes at keeping them.  All throughout my years at Antioch despite being in a class of only 12 people my friendships waxed and waned. I never had the same friends for more then a few years, I hated that, but now years later and looking back those many friendships have solidified into stone. I know I could go to at least six of those 12 people for anything. Hanging out with them today feeling more comfortable with them then family Although then it seemed like nothing I now know I have amazing friends, and not just them. Basically what I am trying to say is after waiting many years, a little impatiently I suppose, things worked out and now I have an amazing group of friends located all over not just in YS, but truly all over, whom I love to death and I'm so grateful for that. 

4. My dad told me I had to write this in and so I am. In reference to something he said early he goes "Well I mean you read all those trashy books." and I say "what trashy books are you talking about?!" and he says "you know, they're all the same." to which I reply "They are not! It's always a different heroine, in a different magical kingdom!" So there we go. And FYI the current book I am reading has a male main character, so HA!

Superior

At first she didn't trust him nor like him. He was just 22 years old, barely a college graduate. The year progressed, at first slowly, each day of hot sweaty band camp feeling like a year. Yes he had changed traditions, made the group do breathing exercises, but something was happening to the Delaware Hayes Grand Pacer Marching band. Something that hadn't happened in a long time. They where becoming good. Really good. The year continued, and the girl had always tried to have excellent marching, which she mostly did, but had some issues, but had never liked music, memorizing and playing that is. Something shifted in her as well, she wanted to learn the music, be a part of all of the band, and she did, she memorized the music a feat she didn't know was possible. Three football games came and went, the third song was learned late in the season, yes the band was better now. They clearly sounded better, they where doing marching techniques they didn't know they could do, but they did them without question, and few complaints and things came together. Then the first contest came along. The girl personally thought it was way to soon. Scheduled in only the second week of competition, September 15, 2012. As the weeks went by leading up to it things came together, almost magically, it just ... happened. But it wasn't magic, it wasn't luck. Something had shifted, old Hayes could do this, they could go to a contest early in the season. No problem. Some where still doubtful, but on the given date they went. They went after the most relaxed pre-contest rehearsal in the world, plus a nap. After a two hour bus ride the band arrived in Cambridge Ohio, they got off the buses, and got ready slowly getting serious and into the mood. Pulling on a taping gloves, velcro-ing gauntlets, taking deep breaths. They practiced and warmed up, then followed the helpers on a long walk to the stadium. The girl spent the walk collecting her thoughts, she slowly breathed and enjoyed the scenery as the band crossed a wooden covered bride, and marched along a beautiful pond. She could do this contest and well if she wanted to, and she did. Things where different at this contest then they had ever been. As the band stood on the sidelines there wasn't any nervous excitement, maybe a little, but the overall theme was one of calm assurances.

      "be undeniable" Their director had said earlier, and they decided to be just that. They walked onto the field and did the show, on the part of the girl it was her best ever. On the part of the band they two had their best ever, because on September 15, 2012, the Delaware Hayes Grand Pacer Marching band received a Superior rating or a one, at their very first contest leading them on to the state finals. Although told to contain their personal feeling the band could barely do it they where shaking with joy and shock squeezing each others hands and grinning the biggest smiles a teenager could have. That is the end of my story. Obviously the girl is me. Thanks for reading! Check back in soon, there might be more.

Pooja phobia

It's almost like a phobia. Over the past two years my temple volunteering has started to center more and more on video and photographs and as I started just being on the sidelines of events capturing their precious moments, I started doing less and less temple activities. Then I started not wanting to do events. I held onto my cameras like a life float not wanting to do any activities. It's been like this for a while but I didn't realize till today. We had a bunch of people come and had two homas and a small abishekum. as usual I recorded the events, but when ever someone suggested I do anything like carry a kalaasha, hold a flower for the Pooja, and so fourth I would skurm my way out of it. Looking at myself it's like I don't want the gods to notice me. Which is ridiculous I realize, but that's it.