Everyday Politics

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One day while I was waiting for the campus bus on Dean Keaton, a man approached me with a fierce glare in his eyes. I don’t like to make assumptions most of the time, but with his darkened and blotchy skin and raggy clothes, I automatically assumed that he was going to ask me for money. I reached into my back pocket to grab my wallet once he got close, but to my surprise, all he asked me was, “What do you think about the presidential candidate that’s named after a Disney character?” I was shocked, but then again, Austin is never short of heated political debate.

An Average Day on The Drag

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I was walking down The Drag one afternoon when a man with pitch-black sunglasses and a saxophone walked up to me and asked me for a suggestion for a song. Confused but curious, I asked the man to play “The Eyes of Texas”, to which the man smiled brightly and started playing the song, dancing along with the beat. A crowd started to form around me, and I soon found myself clapping and cheering, with the crowd following my actions and clapping as well.  The saxophone man finished his song with what seemed like his signature pose of jumping in the air and falling back down to the ground to do the splits, and then told the crowd that everyone should come watch his performance at an upcoming concert. Only on the streets of Austin would a famous musician come perform out of the blue in the middle of a busy sidewalk.

Wallet Cleansed

[ picture from Juiceland website ]

Last weekend I was sitting outside at Jucieland in Hyde Park, catching up with one of my good friends. It was a typical 20-something conversation discussing dating, work, and of course, the struggle of budgeting. We were brainstorming a few money saving ideas when she suggested, “Maybe we should cut out our weekly dollar margarita happy hour at El Arroyo. That would help, right?” I nodded in agreement, only to then realize, “Hey Sara, we just spent $9 on smoothies.”

No Surgery Knee-ded

No Surgery Knee-ded

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It was my first semester on campus, and talk of ACL permeated daily conversation in dining halls and classes. I knew Austin was a fit city and had a strong running community–that was one of the main reasons I loved it so much. However, one day I finally had to ask my roommate, “Have you heard people talking about ACLs a lot?” “Yes,” she squealed, “I can’t believe it’s almost here! We’re so lucky to live in a city with its own music festival.” My cheeks flushed. I thought everyone had bad knees.