It’s officially here on Friday – the end of the best summer of my life. I took a blogging break when I moved to Memphis because I wanted to soak up every single memory possible and not sit in my tiny apartment staring at a computer. Since I moved back to school a couple of weeks ago I have repeatedly been asked, “What did you do this summer?” Well, because I love lists, I decided to compile a little sampling of just what I did and how one summer in a new city forever changed me:
* I interned at one of the most amazingly inspirational places in the world, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Every day was an experience and I tried my best to be a sponge. I learned so much and am forever indebted to the wonderful women I worked with and how much they taught me and the experiences they provided. Along with working, I also had the opportunity to volunteer at St. Jude as a respite volunteer and also as a garden volunteer – St. Jude has it’s own completely volunteer-run garden. Each placement gave me insight into how much people can care and how I can give of myself to others. I realized one afternoon as I held a sleeping toddler in my arms while she received chemotherapy to fight the leukemia invading her tiny body, that I have no real problems. None at all. And since that moment I have been more grateful for my life than ever before.
* I interned at one of the most amazingly inspirational places in the world, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Every day was an experience and I tried my best to be a sponge. I learned so much and am forever indebted to the wonderful women I worked with and how much they taught me and the experiences they provided. Along with working, I also had the opportunity to volunteer at St. Jude as a respite volunteer and also as a garden volunteer – St. Jude has it’s own completely volunteer-run garden. Each placement gave me insight into how much people can care and how I can give of myself to others. I realized one afternoon as I held a sleeping toddler in my arms while she received chemotherapy to fight the leukemia invading her tiny body, that I have no real problems. None at all. And since that moment I have been more grateful for my life than ever before.
* I was lucky enough to have an amazing roommate in Memphis who never once cared when I would yell out, “Gooooood Morrrrrrning!”, who always had coffee ready, and was never too busy to listen, laugh, go on a walk by the river or offer a hug. I’m so happy that we got to build our friendship and I know Miss Margaret will continue to be a happy part of my life for many years to come.
- *We lived right on the Mississippi River and the week we moved in floodwaters kept rising and the muddy water crested at the edge of our road. The 3 miles of flooding made the river look never ending. Even though its water may be brown and people seem to be disgusted by it, I loved living by the river. Every morning I got to drive along it, with the windows down it made me happy in a way I had never expected. And the Memphis sunsets quickly became my favorite part of every day. I relished every single sunset over the river that I got to see after work. I miss walking under the cottonwood trees lining the banks and hearing the gentle rush of water as it moved down stream under the Memphis bridge lights.
- *When I wasn’t at work, I tried my hardest to explore Memphis, and I fell in love with the city. Recently a friend asked how I could like a place so much and without thinking I answered, “You know, it’s that place where you go and nothing bad ever happens and you’re always happy and it just automatically feels like where you should be.” My friend just looked at me and said, “No, I don’t know what that is like.” Obviously I probably have rose-colored glasses on, and I was only there for a little over 3 months, but Memphis has a feeling for me that is hard to shake. A feeling of history, of passion, a little stubborn and a lot Southern, the smell of distinctive city food and the sounds that built American music. In a small bar/pool hall on Beale Street there is a poster that I love that says: “Music is the Magic and the Magic is Memphis.” It’s so true. I loved the feeling of getting goose bumps listening to the stories of a band in a random bar one Sunday night that used to play with Elvis and Johnny Cash. There are so many distinctive places in Memphis that once I visited I felt like I owned, as if I had always been there. I left a little piece of myself there.
- *One night we went to the Orpheum Theatre for a showing of the movie, Walk the Line and they brought out some of the original cast. I can’t explain the feeling I had that night after the movie was over, as I walked into the elaborate theatre bathroom, the walls covered in ornate mirrors. I looked at myself and wondered out loud how I got there, in the old theatre with amazing friends and it was then I realized how far I had fallen in love with Memphis. My experiences of the city are irreplaceable because it is like nowhere else.
- * Memphis is also a place where I grew, not only professionally, but personally. It was such a learning process for me to move somewhere where I only knew one person. I joined a leadership academy for summer interns and met a group of people who I absolutely adore. Together we had many crazy nights that usually ended around 3 or 4 am at either a '70's style disco, or an old dive bar. The bar, until the 1990’s was a brothel rumored to be frequented by Ray Charles. Behind the counter a white-haired old man serves beers and “soul burgers” to a very eclectic group of people. It’s dingy and dark and the jukebox sits in the corner, providing some of the only illumination of the whole room. Up the rickety stairs, sits another secret bar and the old rooms – untouched for the most part- of the brothel. The upstairs bartender is an elderly African American gentleman with some interesting stories if you can pull them out of him. The windows look out over Main Street and it is literally like stepping back in time. On Saturday mornings we always went to Arcade Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in Memphis, and relived our nights. I have never laughed so hard in my life as I did on those Saturdays with crazy hair and smeared mascara over a plate of fried eggs and hash browns with a group of great friends, and I wouldn’t trade those mornings for anything.
This is only a little taste of what my summer was like, but when I got to Memphis, I changed. St. Jude made me a better person and taught me to be thankful for how incredibly lucky I am. My friends taught me that getting out of my comfort zone can be rewarding. Downtown Memphis provided some of the best nights of my life. And the memories I made remind me every day how much I can’t wait to return. This is going to sound crazy, but when I was little my mom had a magnet of Elvis on our refrigerator- I have no idea why. But one night I had a dream that I was a grownup and met Elvis, the same one from the magnet, dressed all in gold. He told me he would take care of me and then proposed to the adult, dream me. It was such a realistic dream that when I woke up I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and to this day I have never forgotten it. Elvis is Memphis, but it is also so much more. So many things this summer just fell into place for me that I have to think there is something bigger working in my life. And I’m happy to just go along with the ride.
“I’m going to Memphis where the beat is tough…Memphis I can’t get enough… It makes you tremble and it makes you weak… It’s in your blood, that Memphis beat…” Jerry Lee Lewis
“I’m going to Memphis where the beat is tough…Memphis I can’t get enough… It makes you tremble and it makes you weak… It’s in your blood, that Memphis beat…” Jerry Lee Lewis
