Today I don’t feel like doing anything
-Bruno Mars
I just wanna lay in my bed
Don’t feel like picking up my phone
So leave a message at the tone
‘Cause today I swear I’m not doing anything
I had no idea that watching “MTV Spring Break” as a child would set me up for such emotional disrepair during freshman and sophomore spring breaks. I did not get the fun parties, beach travels or the “wild relaxation” or “go wild” mentality for that matter. Instead of the beaches of Florida, Mexico, or any other tropical location, I stayed in good ole’ Des Moines.
My residence hall, usually filled with noise, stressed business, STEM majors, and the occasional door alarm sounding was eerily quiet. Everyone was gone. Well, not everyone. Maybe 10 to 12 students remained, but the quiet was just what I needed.
The quiet floor made for lots of silly dance parties in my room, binging new series, and lots of sleep. While I didn’t have the beach parties of my childhood dreams, I still had a wonderfully silly and restful break.
CFUM
“Ms. Candace, you look like you work at Taco Bell.”
CFUM Kindergarten student last week
During my freshman year, I was a year-long intern at a local Des Moines nonprofit Children and Family Urban Movement. Here, I served over 300 hours working on social media, youth development, and non-profit management. While I do not work there this year, I try to go back and volunteer as often as possible. Drake’s and Des Moines Public Schools’ spring breaks lined up, which allowed me to volunteer all week. I got to work with the kindergarten and first-grade section where we did lots of crafts, went on field trips, sang silly songs, and played new games I teach at camp. CFUM will always have a special place in my heart and I was so glad to spend it with some awesome kids.
Swarm
This show has consumed my life in the very best way. I have been a fan of multi-hyphenate Donald Glover/Childish Gambino for years, and I was beyond excited to hear about his newest project SWARM. The Amazon Prime series follows protagonist/anti-hero “Dre“, a superfan of a Beyonce-like figure named Ni’Jah and the murderous lengths she takes to display her love and loyalty to the R&B star. The show is meant to resemble Beyonce, her fanbase the “BeyHive” and the obsessiveness of stan culture. The show is eerie, funny, scary, and mildly empowering for the potential and diversity of Black-female-centered stories.
“Who’s your favorite artist?” *murderous stare*
Dre
