“I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.” - John Steinbeck


THINGS I MISS ABOUT TEXAS :(

1. Mexican Food.

Apparently, my entire life, I have been operating under the false assumption that Mexican food is really spicy and flavorful. But APPARENTLY, this is not Mexican Food, but actually TexMex. My whole life is a lie. My favorite genre of food has always masked itself under a different name!

It's not that Mexican Food in Colorado is atrocious or anything. It's fine. But that's it, just...fine. It's like if your taste buds were at a 10 while experiencing the wonder that is TexMex, then they've suddenly been turned down to a 5.5 or a 6. MOST of the flavors are still there, it's just you really have to search for them. It's just bland. And depressing. I think about Campuzano's and Garcia's A LOT. I went through withdrawls last week when it was like all I was craving and I knew it was an impossibility.

Fair Warning: Anyone who hangs out with me while I'm in Texas during March will probably be eating a looootttt of Mexican food. Be ready haha.

2. The People.

If we haven't had a skype date yet, this needs to change. Miss you guys! ♥

3. The Warmth. 

Even though Colorado has been nice enough to have been having "Spring Like Temperatures" according to the news, it's still cold here haha. It's not bad at all. I don't have to wear a jacket every day and when it is really cold it's usually gone after a few days. But still. My Texas friends are floating the river and wearing shorts. I've been wearing a lot of jeans - and you all know how much I absolutely HATE jeans haha.

4. Good Country Music. 

There are two country radio stations in Colorado Springs. One is decent, the other one sucks, but neither is like really good music. But that's probably because I feel in love with Texas Country while living in San Marcos, and am once again no longer in Texas. I'm seriously starting to believe the whole "Texas is its own country" thing. Words that should mean exactly the same thing .....don't haha.

In addition to that, literally about half of the radio stations in Colorado Springs are either Christian rock or preachers/church sermons. WHYYYYY. I mean, Christian rock is cool and all - but only for church camp or youth group. I'm pretty open about liking all different kinds of music, but I cannot stand to listen to Christian rock. Everything is in G. It all sounds the same. Jesus is my boyfriend. And you can tell within like 2-3 bars of the song if you've landed on a Christian rock station. And there are literally preachers or Christian talk shows on multiple stations and not just on Sundays. I love Jesus & all....but please just no haha. Sam and I seem to always be racing to see who can turn the channel faster. They're like radio land mines.

So to sum up the radio experience, they have Kiss FM, The Beat, Country Suck, Country Decent, random other fuzzy hits station, alternative rock, fuzzy oldies, fuzzy hispanic, and tons and tons of Jesus. I need to download more music to my ipod.

5. DANCING

I feel like half of this is Sam's fault. We all know he doesn't like dancing. But it's also a lack of the awesome people who I used to go dancing with. There's one Country/Western dancing place here, but I've heard mixed reviews on its sketchiness. I'm still 100% willing to try it, so here's hoping for a dance night in the near future! ;)

There is also this gay club called Club Q down the road from my house that I am literally dying to go to. I follow them on facebook and they are always posting about Karaoke nights and Drag queen performances. Seriously? I'm missing out on so much fun. All of my club friends are back in Texas though and we all know that its completely annoying for a straight girl to show up to a gay club unattended. By myself I don't have the magical rainbow keys to the kingdom. Bummer. I'll continue to live vicariously through their facebook posts haha.

THINGS I AM LOVING ABOUT COLORADO 

1. Mountains? 

I put a question mark there because I'm not a big mountain person. What? I know. I'm like not human. They're beautiful and all, I've just never been super impressed by them. I think it's because my subconscious equates them to cold and physical activity. HOWEVER, there has been more than one day when I've been driving or standing out side with Indy and just been like, "Geez, it's beautiful here." and it finally hits me that I live in a place that people choose to vacation. The picture above (& the background of this page) is actually the view out of my bedroom window. No joke. It's completely gorgeous. 

2. The People :) 

I'm loving being so much closer to Sam. It's such a drastic change to go from seeing him every 6-7 weeks (if not more) to literally seeing him every 5 days. It's amazing. 

I also love the steady stream of houseguests I've had since I moved up here. Since I have two extra bedrooms, we are constantly encouraging people to get away and come stay for the weekend. I've had a couple of cadets and a slew of girlfriends (thanks to Valentine's Day weekend ;) ) and it's been really fun. 

I've also loved just getting to meet all of Sam's friends that he's always talked about. Having 17 of them over her for the Super Bowl was an experience, but definitely a really fun one. How we fit 17 people in my living room, I'll never know. But we did it, and it was cozy haha. Indy loved it too. He passed out so hard after everyone left that he wasn't even snoring. Dead dog syndrome. Phillip picked one person and slept in his lap the whole time though, so she was happy too I guess haha. 

3. My Workout Class. 

 I started training with Joe Martinez at his Women's Bootcamp Fitness Classes and it's been completely awesome. Gyms/trainers in Colorado are generally really expensive (because everyone wants to be fit so they can jack up the prices), but I am definitely getting a great deal and more than my money's worth with Joe's classes. They're just down the street from my house, so I really have no excuse not to go, and I have three sessions a week. You're in group of other women and it's just a really positive atmosphere. It's literally like having your own person trainer without having to pay trainer prices. My jeans are uncomfortably looser and when I wore my slacks last week for an interview, they were not okay at all and I was just hoping that no one would notice how saggy they were haha. But that's a good thing, so I won't complain. Except that probably means I'll need to buy new clothes soon, and help me I'm poor haha. 

4. Being someplace new. 

I always said that I wanted to go out of state for my undergraduate, but because of the major I chose, money, and the fact that I got a full ride to Texas State that didn't end up happening. Not that attending Texas State is something that I'll ever regret! It has literally been the best, most amazing experience of my life to date. San Marcos will always be one of the places that I call home. ♥  

But finally getting out and just getting to experience another part of the country is an amazing experience. I don't think you can fully understand the world around you if you always stay in the same place. If anything, I'm very grateful that Sam is going to make me a military wife so that we have a valid excuse to travel and experience different places in the world around us. Here's to starting with Colorado :) 

THINGS THAT I'M STILL NOT TO SURE ABOUT

1. This whole winter/snow thing. 

I'm not sure I like having four seasons. I was completely okay with having summer, spring-ish summer, fall-ish summer, and a wild card season. Snow is cold & wet & makes people drive stoopid. There is a small hill by my house and I watched like 10+ cars completely fail at trying to get up said hill yesterday in the snow. Trucks and SUVs were like whatevs, I got this, bye. But the little cars? (and why would own a little car without 4 wheel drive in a place where it snows a lot) They were completely hopeless. 

However, my car drives beautifully in the snow. Considering that I drive on the 'end of maintained snow routes' on base every time I take Sam home on Sunday, that is something that I am ever so grateful for. I'm also grateful that I live one turn off of one of the main roads through town, so it's always plowed, sanded/salted, and well driven on. But mostly, I'm grateful for my car. Thank you little baby jesus for my lovely ice blue Jeep Grand Cherokee with All-Wheel drive and snow tires. And thank you mom for remembering that something like All-Wheel drive with snow tires would be necessary. Let's take a moment to admire it's majesty..... 

My car being new and nice does make me really nervous to drive in the snow up here though. Mostly because I'm terrified someone else is going to lose control because they're driving way too fast and slide across the snow and ice into me. I would be highly upset. 

Also, my car doesn't have a name yet, which is pure tragedy. Feel free to offer suggestions. :) 

Indy loves the snow though, so I guess that's definitely a redeeming quality for it. It can keep him entertained for hours on end...of course that means I have to stand outside in the cold with him which he plays in it. But he's happy, so I bundle and deal haha. 

2. It's not Texas. 

I mean, that one's kind of self-explanatory. Most places don't serve sweet tea, and when you order it they look at you like whhatttt? If they do have sweet tea, it's probably made with artificial sweeteners and not sugar. Boo. Headache waiting to happen. 

No Whataburger. No Mexican Food. No Chicken Express. Excuse me while I curl up and cry. What am I supposed to eat then? At least they have Texas Roadhouse, which people are always really surprised to find we also have back in Texas haha. 

When someone finds out your from Texas, they have one of two reactions: 

- Oh my god! Me too! Let's talk about how awesome Texas is. 

- Oh. I guess we can still be friends. OR! You're from Texas? Why don't you have an accent? 

-____- Rude. Texas = Awesome. See the first interaction haha. I guess Texans have a reputation for thinking Texas is better than everything else. And let me just say that I am completely guilty of this, but I'm nowhere near as bad as some people I know. I think Texas is supremely stupid about a number of things (namely, it's extremely conservative views) and I definitely don't think that it's a perfect utopia.....but I do think its pretty dang close. ;) Let me defend Texans for a second though and try to shed some light on this situation. Like I said earlier, I really do think that Texas is practically it's own country. Texas is incredibly huge and as a result a large number of different subcultures exist within the larger Texan culture as a whole.Things that we take for granted as being completely normal - even differences between us - are not AT ALL the same when you get outside of the state. But it seems that the differences are not so extreme between the other states. We, as Texans, seem to be the odd ones out. And most of us are 100% okay with that, so I don't forsee any changes in the near future. Texas will remain that popular kid that no one really likes. Ride on, Texas. Ride on. 

While I am continually asked why I don't have an accent, I have also been informed that there are particular words/phrases in my vocabulary that are a dead give away. 

1. Ma'am. I caught on to this one while I was still in Texas though. I was brought up that everyone who was preforming a service for you, in a position of authority, or just merely your elder was a sir or ma'am. Call customer service? "Thank you ma'am, have a nice day". At a restaurant, "Can I get you anything else?" - "No ma'am, thank you." At the airport, "Are you checking any other bags?" - "No ma'am, thank you for your help." But the thing is ... PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THIS. Whhhattttt??? I've had people flat out tell me to stop calling them ma'am, and not in a nice way. I get really weird looks when I use it out in public, but the BEST part is getting the question, "Are you MILITARY or are you from TEXAS?" Sam and I get this all the time. To which we proudly answer both. :)
2. The number 10. Which I say ten, and everyone I know says ten, but is apparently supposed to be pronounced 'TEHN'. Teh-nnnn. My whole life is a lie. 
3. Calling Indy 'Sugar' or telling him to 'Cut his sh**' when he's being bad. Okay, yeah. I guess I can see how those are kind of a dead give away haha. 

4. and finally, DEMOGRAPHICS 

Let's start with some basic facts. Demographically speaking, this is what Texas looks like: 

• 70.4% White
• 11.8% Black 
• 37.6 % Hispanic or Latino 

Dallas looks like: 

• 50.7% White
• 25% Black 
• 42.4% Hispanic or Latino 

(It is important to note that these numbers don't add up to 100 because I didn't include the specifics for Asian americans, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, or people who identify as biracial because I don't need to be super specific to make this point - and also because 'Hispanic/Latino' is an ethnicity and not a race, so people in that category also belong to either White, Black, or another race.) 

Now, here's what Colorado looks like: 

• 88.3% White 
• 4.3 % Black 
• 20.9% Hispanic or Latino 

and Colorado Springs looks like: 

• 78.8% White
• 6.3% Black 
• 16.1% Hispanic or Latino

Those are huge differences. And as someone who moved from one to the other, let me just say that they are very, very apparent. I went from a place where for a while I was the only 'white' roommate (and loving it), and working for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs on a college campus that fully embraces diversity of all kinds to a place where almost all of my daily interactions are with white people. It's weird. 

I am a firm believer in Gordon Allport's Contact Theory, but after having lived in Colorado for about 2 months I don't know how anyone could ever doubt is validity. Contact theory is essentially the theory that states that interpersonal contact is one of the most effective ways to improve prejudices between majority and minority groups. Here are interactions I've had/things people have said to me since I moved to Colorado. 

• I was explaining to someone that I was disappointed that CSU Pueblo didn't have a masters program that would fit me, because I thought I would really like the atmosphere of the campus. 
• Person: Oh, well that's a good thing. You don't want to go there.
• Me: Why? 
• Person: There are a lot of black people there. 

-______________-

I'm sorry, what? Did you really just say that? 

• "Racism doesn't exist anymore. Minorities are just holding on to the past." ............................................ I just......... I can't......even.....If I were to try to explain all the reasons why this statement is just wrong, it would take like 6 blog posts. Instead, watch this video.

• "I don't understand affirmative action. I mean, that's not equal rights. That's giving them special treatment. I have to work for what I get, why do they just get stuff handed to them?" Alright, ok. I'm big enough to admit that I thought this in high school too, but I'm also proud to say that I've learned better. It ties into so many things, like the historical context mentioned above and a number of other equally important factors. I'm again not going to attempt to explain this in the length of a post (that's already really long), so if you're really industrious and have 7 minutes, watch this awesome video that really hits in on the head: 

OR IF YOU LIKE RAP & MACKLEMORE LIKE I DO ♥ 

• AND FINALLY, the weird, rude looks and just blatant stares that Sam & I get when going about as a couple in Colorado Springs. I'm actually proud of this one. It's that whole contact theory thing.  It's obvious that the fact that we're an interracial couple is outside of the norm for this area of the United States, but I'd like to think that every positive interaction that people who aren't used it have with me and Sam works towards changing their mind. I think it's kind of funny, because I know I'm not the only one who's noticed this because when Sam and I do encounter other interracial couples around town, 99% of the time they will find a reason to strike up a conversation with us. Like we automatically have something in common. That never happened in Texas, but there are a lot more interracial couples in Texas. 

But, if anything, all of these interactions have made me that much more excited about starting in the field of Social Work/Social Justice in the Colorado Springs area. If we only ever talk to people who agree with us, we aren't really getting out message out there and educating others, are we? Let's be clear that I do not, under any circumstances, think that Texas doesn't need help in these areas as well (see above statement about hyper-conservative views being a big flaw) but I do think that Colorado isn't as comfortable as a whole with racial minorities as Texas is.  

So....in conclusion, I miss Texas, but Colorado is definitely growing on me. :) I'm really really excited about actually getting started on this new chapter of my life! 

Love & Miss y'all!