Good Thing, Bad Thing

The awesome children's theatre troupe I was a part of at Tufts University (Traveling Treasure Trunk) had a great way of starting each rehearsal where we would go around and say one good thing and one bad thing from our day. So in that spirit, here is my good thing bad thing for the week.

BAD Thing:
So after having a great day registering 23 voters yesterday at Bryant and Stratton College, today I was back in Brooklyn, OH stationed outside of a Walmart. I had huge reservations about canvassing in that type of location but apparently we were given permission by the manager to be there. Well, I lasted about 30 minutes before I was like, get me out of here! First of all, it was a really cold and windy day and I'm a total baby about being cold. Second of all, it's really challenging to try to talk to people as they are on their way to or from shopping, and thirdly and most unfortunately, most of these people were really unpleasant! On a given day canvassing for 5 hours, I usually have 1 maybe 2 people whose response to voting is a flat out "No. I don't vote." I got 5 or 6 of those responses in half an hour- I was floored, totally dejected, and ended up coming home early. Here's a well written article from a few years ago about the dangers of Walmart.

Ok now for my
GOOD Thing:
My boyfriend was recently here visiting from New York (obviously GOOD thing) and we went to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, which was mostly memorabilia, but all in all, a pretty good time. Nestled in the basement level, though, was a small artifact that blew my mind and instantly made the entire museum worthwhile: a handwritten four page letter that Madonna wrote in 1977 during the fall of her freshman year at the University of Michigan to her good friend that was in college in Montreal. She wrote something like- I know my dad is going to be disappointed but I'm planning on dropping out after this semester- I just have to get to New York- She already seemed so sure of herself and what she wanted. Say what you want about Madonna, but the woman knows how to go after her dreams, and on days when I'm feeling uncertain about life, she's all I need for a little boost.