Tal En Route

Introduction: Hello, I’m Natalia Wieczorek from Denver, Colorado. This lesson is for Week 2 of Intro to Music Production at coursera.org, and I will be explaining the analog to digital conversion process.

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Growing up is weird.

Well. Trying to grow up is weird.

The hole left after graduation is just bizarre. I now have a college degree, and can use it to get a better job, but I am completely perplexed as to which direction to take it. Do I try to jump back into school and get a Masters immediately (in something a little more useful this time)? Do I get an internship at Business X and start networking? Do I run off to NYC and just see what happens? AH.

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My goodness.

I just took a brief look at the last few posts I made on Tumblr, the most recent one about 5 months ago. How quickly, and how drastically, plans can change.

At first, I thought that by now, I would be living in Paris. Then, that changed to Bordeaux. Then, that changed to London. And finally, I ended up right back in Kentucky. Ouch.

The good news is, I am managing to graduate on time (Dec. 13th, so close!), AND we’re moving to Colorado a few days after I walk. The bad news is… I’m graduating on time. And I have no idea (surprise!) what I want to do. I’m tagging along with my parents to Colorado because 1) I’ve heard so many good things about the Coloradan lifestyle, and 2) I don’t have another plan. 

It is equally liberating, overwhelming, wonderful, and terrifying, that I am graduating college in a few days. On the one hand, it’s something that I have been working on for four years, but on the other hand, I can literally go ANYWHERE and do ANYTHING now. That sounds like a horrible thing to complain about, but honestly, the amount of options I have at this moment is scary. 

The current plan is to take it easy for a few months. I have quite a few travel plans set until June, so, as much as I would love to find a real, professional job with my shiny new degree, it seems smarter to find something with a bit more flexibility… right? 

Bleaahhrrgghh. Brain. So much going on. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Time for a beer.

My second favorite excerpt of poetry, ever:

“My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,

And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;

Where can we find two better hemispheres,

Without sharp North, without declining West?

Whatever dies was not mixed equally;

If our two loves be one, or thou and I

Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die.”

I’m currently staying with some wonderful old family friends in Mannheim, Germany, on my way from Zielona Gora, Poland to Montpellier, France. This trip has reminded me so much of the amazing hospitality that you can find in people — Kiran hosted me in London, Maura in Paris, my family in Poland, and now these wonderful friends in Germany. 

We went for a walk today in Heidelberg, a nearby town. It was everything I love about Europe — cobblestone streets, a gorgeous cathedral, a large main square, and dozens of small streets winding away from the centre, filled with people sitting outside of cafes, eating ice cream and drinking coffee. It still hasn’t hit me that I’m not going back to Kentucky any time soon, that I’ll be living for at least the next six months in a country that I’ve been in love with my entire life. 

I’m nervous, but so excited. Since moving out of my apartment in Louisville in April, I haven’t been properly alone. I’ve gotten used to having my parents, or my brother, or my grandmother nearby, calling me every few hours to check on me. It will be a breath of fresh air to take my own sweet time coming home from work… And enjoying cheese! And wine! And music! Och mein GOTT.

I am currently working on an essay for my U.S. in the 60s course about the importance of Bob Dylan. 

As someone who had never really listened to Dylan (I never really enjoyed his voice), I began doing research for a paper that would outline the differences between folk and rock musicians during the 1960s. 

But once I saw Dylan’s name credited as having influenced this artist, and then that artist, and then another, I realized I needed to give the man another shot.

And boy, was it worth it.

Once you know that Dylan’s music is about the lyrics, not about his voice or the guitar, you can GET it. Within the context of the 60s, songs such as “Blowing in the Wind” or “The Times They Are A-Changing” become infinitely more important and impressive.

I am currently 900 words into a 2400 word essay, and I’m slightly concerned that I will have too much to say. Dylan going electric, Dylan meeting the Beatles, Dylan being Baez’s lover — everything that he did made an impact on the music of his time, and the music that would follow.

At least until Madonna, which, let’s be honest, is where everything started to go downhill. Thanks a lot, woman.

I haven’t been jogging (or really, any form of exercising, apart from skiing in Alaska) in a very, very long time.

But today, I managed to do 2 miles around the neighborhood in a nice, easy 20 minutes. While that’s really nothing to be proud of for most people, it felt amazing — and I only had to stop once!

With the move to Europe looming ever closer, I have started to pay much more attention to myself — how I dress, how I eat, how I feel. I’ve allowed myself to become a little bit of a slug, dragging my body to class, writing essays, trying to do the required reading.. So now that I know I am facing my last 18 (EIGHTEEN!!) days of class at the University of Louisville, I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and that I finally have the opportunity to put my body and my health ahead of my GPA. 

I have started a daily mile tracker, in hopes that it will serve as some sort of reminder to get off my butt for just a brief half hour per day. And I know that as soon as I take a shower, I am going to feel a million times better than I did 40 minutes ago. And I will be much less smelly.. Time to get on that.

Here’s to your health!