On things to appreciate and ponder

Spring is here. Sports are coming back in many ways – meaning fans and interaction. At least here in the U.S., COVID-19 vaccinations are available. (A huge shoutout to science and the smart people – thank you for developing this vaccine so fast).

I have been regain being more mindful, now that I don’t have classes every day at the MSU School of Journalism. The real real at the end was we were all burned out. The Zoom life was, well, effectively brain-melting for all. Since the prof never has the luxury of turning the camera off and just ghosting through a class (and ZERO negative vibes to the students who did that, I get it, it is OK), I learned how draining it is to always be on. My eyes were dry, my head pounded and my voice was shot on most days after classes. I downed more coffee and power-chomped more Halls than probably is recommended. I was staring more, taking more, and ergonomically tragic too many times over the past 2 1/2 semesters of online online life. Yay!

I am hopefully done with the live Zoom class world, as fall classes look to be in-person and with HUMANS. Yay HUMANS.

I have learned the small things really do matter, because we are all ultimately in charge of our own joy. A few things I have found to lift me up:

  • BTS. Yes, that BTS. If you laughed, it is because you do not know the deal. (To quote Jin – DO YOU KNOW BTS!?!) They are super talented, straight up chaotically funny, and have found a way to make massive bank by breaking out of a sick K-pop system. I recommend starting with their hip-hop tracks, as that is more my jam, and focus on anything from Suga. He is a savage with words. RM too. And then J-Hope finishes you off. Go look for Ddaeng, Bapsae, Ugh, Tear, and any of the Cyphers (hat tip to C3). I guess what I love about BTS is their flexibility. The hip hop, when they are in a well-arranged song, flows normally. It’s not like a “very special verse” added to a pop song. That being said, they can roll without Halsey, Nikki Minaj and others not adding much to BTS tracks. I am not sure how I feel about Army, their longtime fan group. They are a force to be reckoned with, in many good ways, but when they go rogue or turn bad – look out. And remember, if you see passion in their eyes, it’s just the eyeliner (sage savage Suga).
  • Sports. Yeah. That stuff. I love seeing sports back, and I especially love seeing the elevation of women in the conversation. The WNBA, NCAA women’s championships conditions have been in the news – because people know what is going down. The mirage of the NCAA caring about student athletes (and that term alone is worth a masssssive discussion), is a joke. Bless the athletes and coaches who blew that up real time. My real joy is seeing people doing what they do best, like the Master’s, or French Open (Soon! SOON!), We need those parts of normalcy to reclick into our lives. AND YES – TELEVISE WOMEN’S SPORTS.
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