"How to Make the Most of Your Academic Conference Weekend Trip to Salt Lake City, Utah: A Guide by a frazzled but fashionable Black teacher-scholar"

I was selected to present a Works in Progress and sit on a panel for the Committee on the Status of Women for the 80th Annual Meeting of the Philosophy and Education Society. It was such a good time. I ended Black History Month receiving the final decision of my doctoral application and found out on February 28th that I would be entering Fall 2024 as a Doctoral student in the Philosophy and Education program. I have worked so hard and I am so proud of myself considering everything I have survived mostly alone and as a Black single mother. I am excited and a bit anxious about what this journey holds in store for me. I know that I am truly standing in God's favor and am forever blessed.

The plane ride to Salt Lake City, Utah was pretty long and because I went straight from work to JFK, I was exhausted. I had some luck because when I departed it was so late and my rental was not ready. So I had the humbled experience of sleeping for a few hours in the airport until I could get a rental because I was not taking an Uber/Lyft in Salt Lake City during the wee hours of the morning. I was ecstatic to get the rental and was so happy that my hosts were gracious to me with all the last-minute changes. Now if you know me, you know I love a nice Airbnb. I stayed at a cozy little Airbnb in Salt Lake City with a wonderful couple who lived upstairs but were away on a trip at the time. Here is a short video of what I saw when I arrived:

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Day One

I told you it was cute! I love places that feel like a home away from home. It was early morning and I still had a bit of time to sleep in before heading over to the conference for registration. When I finally woke up I decided let me go ahead and get ready to head on to the Sheraton. I read my Bible and decided to get ready and put on my intentional outfit for my Works in Progression and my first day at the conference. My outfit for the day was an ode to the Black Panther Party members. I donned a pale sky blue body suit tucked inside black leather pants and covered by a leather jacket. My hair was styled short, with my locs purposely shortened into a bob-like style with a black leather beret. I sported some black sunglasses, black leather boots, and a tweed-designed black and white purse as my accessories for the day. But first things first, let's stop and get some coffee to get charged for the day. I opted for a local coffee shop because no, we are NOT doing Starbucks still!

I ended up getting variations of Banana flavored coffee (literally every day for the time I was there lol) and let me tell you it was so good. I only had time to stay to grab the coffee. So anyway, I arrived at the Sheraton for the conference and instantly got into "conference mode." Now I am not sure if you have ever been to an academic conference, if you have you can validate what I am about to say, if not, then you must understand it is a long. long. long day. That is why getting into a mode is necessary. I also knew from attending Chicago's conference last year, that I needed to be more sustainable to myself during this conference time.

I received excellent feedback on my project and I will be uploading the session to YouTube and linking it to this website. I appreciate the journey. It is a journey. Some of the key takeaways from the session were:

• What is the purpose of theories of oppression?

• I need to remember to be inclusive of the concrete and rich story.

• What is the experience of oppression?

• How can I talk about Uncle Abdul before the theory? Why is that important?

• What is the reality of the thing I want to theorize?

• How does a prisoner act?

• What are the dangers of being ignorant of a humanizing story?

• What is going on when a kid goes to visit their Uncle in prison?
  

After that night session, it was time to head back over to the Airbnb and get some shut-eye. I mean I was exhausted. I did mingle with some other graduate students for a bit but it was short-lived for all of us as we were truly burnt and tapped out.

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Day Two

I was feeling abundant and fierce and opted for green and not just any green but big-money kelly green. Kelly Green is the color for renewal, nature, and energy. It is usually associated with growth and the environment. Yes, this was my vibe! I was feeling tired, stretched, happy, and expansive. I didn't want to shy away into the shadows. I wanted to be me and show up in this space as a force to be reckoned with.

I sat in on theCommittee on the Status of Women (COSW) and listened to the ways the committee is steering its growth to align with the reality of the community and its diversity within. Oh, and I ate a nice breakfast. How can I forget! It was really nice to sit and have a moment to eat breakfast and chat with other adults without racing to work to teach or waking up early to run and drop my daughter off at her Saturday morning afternoon dance class. It be the little things. After attending a few sessions it was time for lunch and I went to visit this vegan restaurant that I heard good things about, let me tell you the food did not disappoint.

After lunch at Vertical Diner, I decided to be mindful of my sustainability during the day and decided I would go to the mountains as a colleague recommended and I was not disappointed. In fact, I am more than certain that I witnessed what could be described as the sublime. I studied the sublime in an Aesthetics course as a Master's student in the Philosophy and Education department at Teachers College Columbia University. I remember as we all engaged in the discussion I felt like I had experienced it before but with so much new input I desired to be in the presence of something that would give me that feeling again.

Now, I do not believe I went up to the mountains looking for the sublime. I thought to myself, "Since you can't drive and see the Canyons, at least go to the Mountains to breathe. There has been a lot going on." With the magnificence of nature, it is no wonder that within its beauty one can become engulfed and changed by the witnessing of God's grandeur. I am driving and already having so many thoughts about how incredibly big this world is. Like here I am just driving in Utah and these "mini" mountains are giving me heart palpitations and then as I start to ascend towards a point where I can pull over and actually take a look at God's Amazing Grace, well, here is my raw, unfiltered, still have my edges scarf on reaction:

I felt like I had to take off my edges scarf and apologize for saying, "Oh shit." It was so unbelievable. I felt like my stomach gave way. I felt like I was going to be swallowed whole in a matter of seconds. I also felt a strange sense of home and belonging like there was nowhere in the world I was supposed to be other than right in the mountains staring, breathing, and meditating. This is exactly what I saw as soon as I got out of the car:

Excuse my language, honestly, but you can see why I had such a visceral reaction to being in that space and seeing this. In aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin sublīmis) is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation. It has been many moments of witnessing Nature in its God-given state that I had the dual experience of terror and fascination. In this particular case, I also was afforded a great deal of solitude and loud silence. Being in NYC is such a stark contrast to my physical state, and seeing the mountains had a profound impact on how I processed solitude in a purer form. There were just birds, ripples, and loud winds. I felt the mountains speak.

After attending the evening sessions at the conference, I grabbed a bite to eat and returned to my cozy Airbnb. As I settled into bed, I noticed my host's beautiful collection of books in the library near the bed. After taking some time to compose a letter of thanks to my gracious hosts, I decided to get some rest. The day had been long and full, and I needed to recharge my heart, mind, body, and soul before departing in a few hours.

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Day Three

I made sure everything was packed the night before, so in the morning, all I had to do was double-check my belongings to ensure that they were well-packed. I wanted to leave the space clean before leaving for the 7:00 AM TC Students and Alumni breakfast. As the sun slowly rose on the horizon, I couldn't help but appreciate the beautiful landscape that surrounded me. The memory of this stunning view will stay with me for a long time.

The view I saw was truly awe-inspiring and it had a profound effect on me. Upon learning that my friend Alaina and her partner had not yet seen the mountains, I immediately offered to take them there. I cannot stress enough how enthusiastic I was about it. Returning to the mountains, I still found myself breathless, but this time the feeling was not so intertwined with fear and terror. Instead, I was able to appreciate just how impressive and magnificent nature truly is.

Well, we had a nice quick observation session in nature. Then we had to get back for our panel, Narratives of Gender Knowledge Across Generations: Battling Misinformation By Documenting the Historical Status of Women in Philosophy of Education (Sponsored by Committee on the Status of Women*) *-the name is being changed.

I attended and participated in an insightful panel that discussed the history of changes within the organization from the perspective of women. It made me realize that people's experiences of changes within PES will differ depending on their intersecting identities. This impacts how they navigate the conference and engage with it. The conference was so refreshing and I am happy that I remembered to be sustainable. As I headed out to the airport, I exhaled deeply and thanked God for the opportunity and the reflection. I stood in the sunlight and sunrise of who I was becoming and who I had to let go and thank for carrying me this far.

Here is my little 1 minute"aesthetic" clip:

My flight home was rough due to the time difference, my anxiety about going to work and being dog tired, and some news about my cousin that was unsettling my spirit before my departure. When I did arrive in NYC after having a connecting flight from LAX, I was so tired but I knew I had to settle some things and head straight to work. I am grateful to be making my imprints building upon my inheritance and creating my legacy for all my descendants. All of my praise goes to God and my Ancestors for keeping me and sustaining me through all the trials and tribulations I am officially a Doctoral student! Me, Shapel Monique, after EVERYTHING, I have been through. I know my Grandma Babe is so happy about that! Thank you, Grandma! Thank you, Ancestors!