– Michael Fernald

I’m tired of running from myself. I’ve become so accustomed to being mindful of what I should do, how I should act, and the type of person I should be, that I fear I haven’t been my true self. I don’t want to die some day without ever having lived, where instead of being me, I lived some life measured with deviations towards something I’m chasing, or maybe something I’m running from. I want to be real. I want to be me. I want to watch movies and cry during the sad parts. I want to help old ladies across the street before I think to do it. I want to devote myself to people. I want to concentrate so hard on making somebody else happy that I completely forget about myself. I want to feel. I want to feel so hard that I have no chance of controlling my emotions. I want to become so invested in a moment that it becomes infinite. I want to laugh and smile as a result of making somebody else so happy that to be anything but happy myself would be impossible. I want to lose myself in my life. I want to become so deeply entrenched in a situation that I can’t think, only feel. I want to experience love. I want to love so hard that it hurts. I want to love so much that I’m obliged to say “love” when somebody asks me what I do. I want to love sunsets, and rainstorms, and darkness, and bright lights that shine so frequently, so magically, so specially, that one knows the world will be luminous long after the sun sets its final time. I want to look up at the moon, and at mountains, and at oceans, and at fields of flowers and have no interest in their explanation. I want to be so captivated by an environment that I can’t remember how to think about the past or the future. I want to be moved staying in the same place. I want my soul to override my brain. I want to be strong. I want to be so strong that I can fully embrace being weak. I want things to make sense by understanding that they never will. I want to think of this great, big, beautiful world without needing to remind myself that I am a part of it. I want to do more good and less bad every day. I don’t want to try to be like my wonderful grandparents and try to be a creature of God, for I know I already am these things. I just want to be me.

This last Saturday, December 7, Maila L. celebrated her 19th birthday! It was so much fun, there was a bunch of homemade Hmong food including egg rolls, pho, sticky rice, etc. made directly by Maila and her friends. It was all delicious. She celebrated in the flat and so many people showed up! She had friends and family and a lot of people in StepUP there. This was a great party but not just because a lot of people showed up and the food was great. This was an awesome party because it showed how much the people in our community care for each other. There is so much compassion and acceptance and care here, and examples like this make me and everyone else in StepUP so happy and grateful for it. happy Birthday Maila!

– by Joey Joyce

This upcoming Sunday December 8th at 8:00pm in the Augsburg dome the Augsburg Men’s Lacrosse team will play its first game of the season! The game will be a friendly scrimmage against the Dirty Birds – a men’s club team playing in the GLLL (Great Lakes Lacrosse League) along with your beloved Auggies. It has been at least two years since we have beaten the Dirty Birds so your support would be greatly appreciated.

The Augsburg Men’s Lacrosse team consists of current StepUP students, StepUP alumni, and friends of the StepUP program.

Current students:
Stuart White
Joey Joyce
Michael Pawlick
Pat Zellner

Alumni:
David Briggs
Parker Foley

Friends:
Cj Tran
Chris Wannamaker

If you have any further questions about the upcoming game or if you are interested in playing on the team please contact Stuart White or Joey Joyce for more information.

GO AUGGIES GO!

– April D.

It’s that time of the year again to start dressing warmer, so get out your winter clothes, and get excited for some more StepUP events because coming up this Saturday is our annual Turkey dinner, so save your appetites people!

On Friday November 1^st StepUP also had its annual Halloween party and the turnout was great! Not everyone dressed up like last year, but those who did looked fabulous; we had a Magic Mike costume, a wonderfully done sugar skull, and much more. The music was fun, the food was fantastic, and it seemed to me that everyone was having a pretty great time.

We are almost done with the Fall semester, so keep on studying and working hard, but still remember to have some fun as well, and there’s lots of that here in StepUP!

-Leonie Mann, Community Advisor

As addicts there were many things we took for granted, like the simplicities of childhood? Our parents and loved ones probably tried to tell us not to grow up too fast, but we were naturally determined to do the opposite. Over ten StepUP students gathered around a table in the mixed flat in OGC this past Saturday afternoon to carve some pumpkins. The choice to attend such a gathering was courageous in itself since it was Saturday and no one wakes up before 2pm, but their reactions and faces while carving those pumpkins was priceless.

Most had never carved a pumpkin. When one declared their inability to begin their pumpkin, another would snicker and laugh, “What? You’ve never carved a pumpkin? Why not?”  Silence. Then something beautiful happened, as it naturally has become the norm for this community, others who had the opportunity to carve a pumpkin once before began to show others how to carve one. They recognized and were sagacious enough to avoid further confrontation. Everyone was creative as the afternoon went on and the music got louder and louder. There were a few breaks in the pit, but we all went together as a group.

Yes we’re college students now, but many of us had never given ourselves a chance to experience a simple thing like carving a pumpkin when we were children. We are all reinventing ourselves, but we also have had to revisit our child-like selves in order to move forward in our adulthood. StepUP gives us the resources to help ourselves daily. Saturday was a success and we were pretty happy with our final product! Pictures are down below.

Last week I interviewed Jace D. and Maila L., two of my peers in the StepUP program. I wanted to get their perspective on StepUP and why they are both here. I conducted a short interview with both of them, it was exciting to hear what they had to say and I am eager to share with you! I asked both of them why they are here, what their favorite part about StepUP is, and what balancing recovery and college look like in their lives.

Continue reading “Student Perspective” →

On Thursday, October 3rd five students from StepUP were invited to share their stories with approximately 200 freshman students at Benilde St. Margaret’s high school. I had the great opportunity to go with my peers, and we had a great turn out! We set it up as a student panel, all five of us sitting at the front of a huge room. We shared with the BSM freshman how and when we were exposed to drugs and alcohol for the first time and how it took over our lives completely. My peers and I all have very different stories to tell, which was good because it gave these young students a new perspective that it could happen to anyone, from the captain of the lacrosse team to the sweet, “goody two shoes” girl from Oklahoma.

Continue reading “Benilde St. Margaret’s School” →

By: Audrey E. Campbell
Hello again! We’ve had a successful first few weeks of the 2013-2014 school year and StepUP Students new and returning are getting settled into the college routine.
To relieve some of the stress that can come with getting accustomed to college, the women of StepUP set out last weekend to return to Camp St. Croix in Wisconsin to partake in a women’s retreat. We hoped that this would bring the women of StepUP together not only as friends but as a supporter’s in each other’s recovery.

Continue reading “StepUP Women’s Retreat!” →

By: Audrey E. Campbell

Summer came to a close fast, and we were excited to have new students join us in the StepUP program for the fall. On Augsust 27^th we held our first day of orientation for the incoming students! A whopping 27 students showed up to meet everyone and partake in fun activities while learning about how the StepUP Program works here at Augsburg. On the third day of orientation, the new students boarded a bus and we headed out to Camp St. Croix in Wisconsin. We had a great day of team building activities and high ropes course exercises in hopes of bringing the new community of students together. It was a success! Everyone collaborated to successfully complete the high ropes courses, and supported each other in the process with friendly cheers of encouragement. Continue reading “Welcome New StepUP Students” →