Alice's Wonderland and Garrison's Austin

What do Austin and Wonderland have in common? Weird f-ing people. Every time I walk down the Drag to go to CVS or some place, I pretty much expect to run into a talking caterpillar smoking from a hookah. Both places certainly have their share of interesting characters, to say the least. But I wonder if the people I encounter in Austin have the same impact on me as Wonderland’s characters have on Alice. In Through the Looking Glass, even the pompous Red Queen gives Alice some meaningful advice, saying, “Always speak the truth – think before you speak – and write it down afterwards” (252). At first glance, I don’t see any mentors around campus. But, there are. I’ve written a lot in the past about my experiences in the soup kitchen. People there are dressed in all sorts of ways, and say all sorts of crazy things. If they weren’t there in the soup kitchen, I wouldn’t think twice of them having something to offer me. I’ve already said of how the soup kitchen has impacted me. That just proves there might be some mentor connection between the Wonderland characters and the “drag rats,” in that both teach their protagonist certain lessons.

I don’t really associate UT with Wonderland. But I do think of the freshman year experience as very similar to Alice’s. In my case, curiosity pulled me down the rabbit hole. Was I excited to be there, though? Not especially. But like Alice, I kept opening new doors and walking down new hallways. My first days there were also accompanied by a pool of tears, describing “the loneliness and feeling overwhelmed” (281) from my newfound independence. I wasn’t one of those people tickled pink to be coming to college. I could have stayed at high school, living up the good times of senior year, forever. But I think it was something very necessary for me to grow. I haven’t grown quite as literally as Alice did (I’m still 5’9”, same as the sixth grade), but I have grown inside. Over the year I’ve been confronted with the difficulties of a long-range relationship, managing my own schedule, and a fatal disease. But each obstacle has taught me quite a bit about myself. As I jumped each hurdle, or even stumbled and fell, I could pick myself up and contemplate how to fix my situation. I have had to navigate my own path, with just the fleeting advice of pledge trainers, professors, career mentors, doctors, and the occasional talking caterpillar. But every turn that I make leads to new discoveries about myself, my perception of others, and my perception of Austin, Texas. 6th street: definitely something new. Academic challenges: not so much. I learn the most about myself when things aren’t going my way. I learn the most about myself when I’m someplace new, with new people and new situations. But when I wake up from my dream (i.e. drive up I35), I sure am glad to be home. It gives me a refreshing break from the constant learning about myself that I am doing.