Thursday, August 1, 2013
8 1 1M 11 IThe Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Sky Ferreira is an indie singer/songwriter and a legitimate angel.
Tm p

really realize what this meant.
Until I got there, that is.
Day One
After a train ride and a two-
mile walk that tortured me with
anxious anticipation, similar to
that of Christmas morning, my
whole body lit up as I was final-
ly allowed to "walk down the
stairs" to the festival entry. I do
have to admit how satisfying it
was walking past those painfully
long lines to get in and stopping
at the 10-person-long line at the
press check in. Standing there,
I tried hard to conceal my hard-
core staring at the people I was
in line with. Everyone seemed so
official, so legitimate ... and then
there was me. I wasn't going to let
myself become intimidated, I told
myself - though I'd be lying if I
said I wasn't already a little.
Finally I was all checked in, all
credential-ized with this new pur-
ple tag accessorizing my camera.
Then I paused. Now what? I didn't
know what to do, where to begin,
now that Iwas here, and by myself,
and this was really happening. I
checked the schedule and Frankie
Rose had just begun her set, so I
rushed over to the Blue Stage to
start shooting. I approached the
fence where the security guard
stood and I tried to get through.
All of a sudden, I was standing
right in front of the stage with the
whole gated-in crowd behind me.
I was maybe five feet from Frankie
Rose. As she belted "Night Swim,"
a single off her latest album, I was
in complete and utter awe. It was
as if my motor skills had become
disabled. It took me a minute to
regain my consciousness and start
actually doing what I was there to
do.
I took a total of about 10 pic-
tures before I was pushed out of
the way and yelled at to leave by
some (typically) huge and scary
security guards. What's going on?
Ijustgot here ... and now I have to
leave? I suppose my confusion was
blatant; one of the other photogs
explained to me that we could
only be in the "pit" for the first
three songs of each artist. Man,
did I feel out of the loop.
I wanted to make sure that I
was on time for the next show so
that I could be there for the whole
three songs and - who knows! -
maybe take 11 photos instead of
10. Mac DeMarco came up next
on the Green Stage, so I headed
over to get in line. The day was
only beginning, and I already
felt overwhelmed, both mentally
and physically. I was drenched in

sweat from the glaring sun, and I
evidently had a lot to get the hang
of.
But Mac DeMarco made none
of that matter anymore. His goofy,
free-spirited energy made me
and the whole crowd so pumped
up and excited to be there in this
moment, and this whole. week-
end for that matter. Even while I
was fighting my way through the
crowded pit full of photographers
to get the shots to do him justice, I
caught myself smiling and laugh-
ing and jamming out with him.
and his naturally great voice and
stage persona. It was during this
show that I encountered my first
round of chills from P4K 2013. I
walked out of that pit with literal
"WOW"s spilling out of my mouth,
even though I wasn't really saying
it to anyone in particular. He is
awesome. This is awesome. Adren-
aline rushed through my body as I
reflected upon what had just hap-
pened. Beinga fan is a ton of fun,
but being a photographer for the
show - having a purpose, work-
ing alongside all these artists,
both the photographers in the pit
and the ones performing onstage
created for an energy - that was
unexplainable.
The rest of my night followed
in a similar fashion with more
and more chills, albeit in a folksier
way, as I attended Woods, Mikal
Cronin and Joanna Newsom.
Newsom's ethereal serenades had
everyone (especially me) under
a spell. I photographed my three
songs, got out and just lied down
in the grass in the middle of all
these people without knowing a
soul. But I didn't have to. Right
there, in that moment, nothing
else mattered. The peaceful tri-
angle of intimacy between me
and the crowd and Joanna New-
som was pure magic. What I was
doing was magic. Today was
magic.
Day Two
I went into day two with a
confidence that I had lacked the
day before. I finally felt accus-
tomed to the way things worked,
where to go and when. The cool-
est part was that this was actually
starting to feel like the so-called
"real world." I wasn't in some
college fantasy land anymore; I
was working alongside photo-
journalists and reporters from
all over the country from impor-
tant publications. And yet we
were all there, together, doing
the same thing. For the first time
ever, I felt like a real journalist,
like what I was doing mattered

"A photojournalist's
dream realized in
Chicago's Union Park
By KATHERINE PEKALA
Daily Photo Editor
It was just two years ago when
I, a recent high school graduate,
was blown away by the magic of
Pitchfork Music Festival for the

first time. I still remember the
chills that crept through my body
as I witnessed those artists cre-
ate brilliance. This time around
- acting as a photographer and
reporter rather than just a care-
free fan - I had doubts about how
the festival would pan out.
While I would be traveling
back home to Chicago to attend
Pitchfork, I wouldn't have the
luxury of wandering around
wherever my heart desired. This

Graduation day

year, I would be lugging around
my three cameras, a backpack
full of lenses and a tag titled,
"Press," that ultimately felt the
heaviest of them all. To all of the
other attendees, I was no longer
an "us," but rather a "them" - a
member of The Press. My job,
first and foremost, was to cap-
ture the essence of the festival
through my cameras, not just my
brain. Now, taking photographs
is second nature to me, so I didn't

Graduation day - the day
we all look forward to
our whole lives. After all,
it's the time we
finally receive
our "golden
ticket" that,
gets us into
the workforce.
I should be
jumping for
joy - no more SARA
exams, all- SHOUHAYIB
nighters and
endless pages
of reading to do that make me
want to gouge my eyes out. I'm
about to graduate from one of the
most amazing universities in the
world. I mean, I should be happy,
right? The truth is, I've never
been more scared in my life.
But before I get into all of that,
I want to rewind back to the day
that I got accepted as a transfer
student from Grand Valley State
University. I was on vacation in
Florida with my friend Alex in
March 2010 when my Mom called
me. When I saw her name pop up
on my caller ID, I was positive she
was calling just to fulfill her paren-
tal duty and make sure I was doing
all right. But when I answered, she
said something that caught me off
guard. "Hello, Miss Wolverine,"
she said. I thought she was getting
me confused with my sister for a
second - she also went to school
here. Once I realized she really did
mean to call me, I went screaming
and running around like I had just
won the lottery. I remember think-
ing it was the best day of my life.
And in hindsight, it still kind of is.
Being a transfer student as a
sophomore was tough, though.
Everyone had already made their
friends as freshman, and I felt
like a fish out of water. I joined
club volleyball, WOLV-TV and the
Lebanese Student Association. I
quickly made friends, and I start-
ed to feel a little more integrated
into University life.
However, I wasn't the typical
college student - and with only
a week left, I don't think I ever
will be. I didn't go to my gradu-
ation ceremony for any of my
departments or walk in May with
my class. I wasn't a big partier, I
hated going to football games and
I went home a lot to see my family.
I consistently complained about
classes being stressful and always
said things like, "Ugh, I'm so over
school." But now that that time is
here and it actually is going to be

over, I feel entirely different.
To be frank, all I want to do is
bundle up in my bed with Edy's
Cookies 'N Cream ice cream while
clicking through past Facebook
photos of my college journey and
bawl my eyes out. I can't help but
be upset that I'll no longer be a
Michigan student anymore and
that Ann Arbor will no longer be
my home.
For the first time in my life, I
don't have a plan. I don't have a job
lined up or any real agenda when it
comes to the next few months. The
non-structured life that I'm about
to enter scares me more than the
creepy little girl from "The Ring."
At the end of the
day, Ann Arbor
raised me.
Despite feeling all of that
though, I'll refrain from acting
like the world is coming to an
end. Instead, I'll pick my head
up and reminisce with elation
that I was blessed to be a Michi-
gan Wolverine. For I'm thankful
for the wonderful friendships that
were formed, the beautiful mem-
ories that were made, the knowl-
edge my professors provided me
and for the person my University
experience made me become.
I will miss Ann Arbor every
day - it will always be one of my
favorite cities on the planet. At the
end of the day, it was essentially
what raised me. I came here as a
girl, and I'm leaving as a woman.
I don't know where I'm going, I
don't know what life has in store
for me and I'm starting to come to
the realization that that's OK.
It's true, what they say - you
never really know what you've got
until it's gone. I'm not ready to say
goodbye, but I don't think I ever
truly will be. It's time to close
this chapter of my life with no
regrets, and smile about the fact
that no matter what I'll always
be a Michigan Wolverine. I will
end my final piece with a quote I
have engraved on my bracelet that
I wear everyday, "Wherever you
go, go with all of your heart - and
forever go blue."
-Sara Shouhayib can be
reached at sarasho@umich.edu.

t seems like I can't turn a kids ruining everything.
corner these days with- If only there were some recent
out some baby boomer or University news story that could
Generation highlight the role of student politi-
X'er blaming cal activism and empathy in our
"young people" day and age proving those old gee-
for our coun- zers wrong. Alas, there is none,
try's current as our young, lazy generation's
failures. "Kids impact on politics in general is at
these days best minuscule.
aren't as politi- My fellow Millennials - this is a
cally active as JAMES call to action.
when I was BRENNAN The truth of the matter is our
a student!" lack of political activism is really
they'll claim, about a lack of care for one anoth-
fully deciding that apathy from er. Not only are we hurting each
young Americans is the most valid other with our focus on "me," but
target for criticism - and definite- we're setting up the next genera-
ly not just the easiest. "Just look tion for an awful fate. Only a truly
at Ann Arbor," they say, "students selfish and immoral group would
have no representation on city pass on massive debts without even
council and never get involved attempting to pay the bill, go to war
in local government." Sure, this and kill thousands ofinnocent peo-
assertion fails to mention what I ple, imprison the poorest and most
see as gerrymandering of council disadvantaged among us at mon-
districts to effectively silence the strous rates and bet on an economy
40,000-plus student voices when of selfishness and inequality that
it comes to local elections (not to breeds disaster after disaster - just
mention that baby boomers claim like all of us Millennials have done.
their involvement was mainly in For this is a "We the People"
national issues, like the Vietnam government, and it's our awful
War) - but let's not get caught up decision-making that has led to
in semantics. The point is, college the country's many recent atroci-
kids these days don't care about ties - and no, our elders are not
important issues - at least not in being hypocritical when blaming
the way our parents did. our choices for societal problems
But it's not just baby boom- while chastising our lack of politi-
ers, for even the cool, young Joel cal participation. The economic
Stein of Time magazine criticizes deregulation, the War on Drugs,
the Millennial generation for our the beginnings of our massive
apparent failure as a group, call- debt - sure, literally no one in our
ing us the "Me me me" genera- generation had even been born yet
tion. "You're too selfish!" they yell. when this all started in the late
Unlike those before us, we don't 1970s, but that doesn't mean it isn't
care about other people and are far not our parents' fault.
too concerned with chasing mate- Please, wise elders, forgive my
rial things , commitment-free sex young naivete in reelecting former
and connecting to people through President Bill Clinton - I was only
boxes and screens instead of in three yearsold. His repeal ofGlass-
person. We need to learn how our Steagall, signing of the Defense
parents lived, because it's us dumb of Marriage Act and bombing and

sanctions against Iraq certainly
were my doing, and I must -
along with the whole generation
that allowed for such atrocities
to occur on their watch - apolo-
gize. Similarly, we must all take
our blame for the continued wars
under former President George
W. Bush. My generation was in so
much fear from 9/11 - those of us
who were actually old enough to
comprehend what it meant when it
happened, thatis - thathe seemed
like a safe choice. We were such
foolish middle schoolers when we
put him back in office.
It's time we man
up and make a
difference.
Thankfully, our parents came to
the rescue and turned out en masse
to elect President Barack Obama,
a man whose administration has
been criticized by many in our gen-
eration for trying to protect our
country, fight corruption and pro-
mote freedom while we "Occupy
Wall Street." Will we ever learn?
My fellow Millennials - it's time
we man up and make a difference.
Get a decent education. Try to do
something other than smoke weed
and go on Reddit. Make something
of yourself. And most important of
all, when we're given the amazing
gifts of hard work and opportunity
from our parents, let's notsquander
them with selfish, stupid decisions,
ignoring our own role and blam-
ing the next generation for our
terrible mistakes.
-James Brennan can be
reached at jmbthree@umich.edu.

Thursday, August 1, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
--the Seeing Red: Jeremy Lee has a message for his peers -
rather than voting for Congressional representatives
pOuiurn based on their advertisements and appearance, look at
their individual accomplishments.
Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium for more.
The lamest generation?'

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