Hey all! Welcome back to the blog.

Things have shifted speed. I’m not in Scotland but ~Ad Caledonia~ is more of a mist soaked, coffee stained state of mind anyway (insert peace sign emoji here)

I’ve officially arrived in Colorado for three weeks of Team Leader specific training before an additional two weeks of training when Corps Members arrive. I’ll be deploying for my first (of three) project around the end of October.

For those who haven’t been around for a hot second, I’ll rehash the current life situ. After taking a gap year, I was due to begin the Architectural Conservation MSc back at Edinburgh this September. March happened. Global shutdown. Visa closures. I called the University and got my offer deferred until next year. You get the picture.

But, my life motto is just to keep moving. Snap your fingers and move in a new direction. It’ll be fine.

As Olaf said in Frozen 2, “This is called controlling what you can when things feel out of control.”

From March until now, I entered an extreme creative phase at home and made 16 stained glass windows and wrote a 102,000 word fantasy novel about an anxious stained glass maker in a pseudo-Gaelic city inspired by Edinburgh (more on that later… I’m entering it into Pitch Wars tho!) I was basically sheltering in place because I live with my parents and my grandmother. I read dozens of books, watched the news, and listened to a lot of NPR.

I wanted to do something to help. I needed to do something to help.

Which is why I’m currently serving as a Team Leader for AmeriCorps NCCC. Loosely based on FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930/1940s, I’m currently in training to lead a team of excited young people on various community service projects. I could be trail building, helping with educational programs, fire fighting, or even doing some remote contact tracing. All good stuff that allows me to use my skills to help people. Which is all I’ve ever wanted to do. We have to do what we can and if everyone does something then we all end up in a better place.

Yesterday, I was issued my snazzy green uniform and equipment. Then, I got a swab stuck up my nose for #democracy (jk it was a COVID test). We’re quarantined on campus for 14 days. Today, was the first full day of training and soon I’ll have a first aid course and learn how to drive a fifteen person van. All good skills that will serve me well when I’m back in Edinburgh.

(Maybe next year I’ll be able to drive the Yummick Minibuses and go see all the archaeological sites my lame friends didn’t want to see. lol)