Manifest Destiny

Call it manifest destiny. Call it wanderlust. Call it whatever you'd like. But, somewhere during my visit of the Colorado History Museum, I had one of those epiphanies. (Then again, it's been a week of those for me, but we'll get to that later.) I really love it out here. There's something about this state that just screams "independence," "quirkiness," and "history." I keep on running into people--at King Soopers, at Chipotle, in the Denver Public Library--who moved from out east to be here in Colorado. And all of them seem to say the same thing--that there is something special about this state. I tend to agree. It's a state of transients come home, the type of people who have been everywhere, seen everything, and just want a good place to raise a family, keep up on the cultural scene, and live a life that has just a little less stress than those afforded in the humid, crowded east coast. I think, at some point in my life, I want to be back here. People are accepting, and ready to make friends, or at least talk to you and trade life stories over the serendipitous cup of coffee.

Last weekend I visited the Molly Brown House museum (think Titanic), which exhibited exactly the type of house museum I'd like to work in, should I end up on that end of the history spectrum. Exquisitely kept and catalogued, with objects with direct ties to the Brown family. Normally, I spend tours mentally criticizing guides for their inability to be articulate, engage their audience, or provide what I deem to be necessary pieces of the historical puzzle. I walked out of the Molly Brown house in shock--I could find no fault with the guide, and after telling her as such, engaged in quite the lengthy discussion of history, museum studies, Denver lore, and assorted other topics. It was quite an incredible experience.

Today's visit to the the Colorado History Museum was similar. I spent the first 15 minutes in the building chatting with the receptionist and desk clerk about the museum, Denver, and life. They were quick, and enthusiastic, to answer my questions regarding some research I was working on and the holdings of the Colorado Historical Society--and their enthusiasm was contagious. The museum itself was one of the best state museums I've seen--modern, technologically advanced, but utilizing a good balance between photography, documents, and objects to portray many sides of the history of Colorado. I spent several hours there (because I am a museum dork) just taking pictures and reading everything my eyes could handle.

I spent two days in a row rock climbing--which in hindsight probably wasn't my best idea, physically--and had a great time not only at the MeetUp group, but with a friend from work and several others. I am loving the community that rock climbing is providing--it is such a social sport, and I really hope I can keep up this pace (or even increase it) once I get back east.

I've started doing some really interesting research today. My grandfather spent a lot of time in the service during WWII (they lost his records...it's a long story, literally), and had spent a bit of time in Colorado learning to ski with the 10th Mountain Division in Camp Hale. He doesn't remember much in terms of chronology, so I am trying to piece together his record of service through my own research of when which units did what. I'm finding it to be incredibly rewarding--just the type of history I love--the type that has a purpose and a good story to tell.

Finally, I'm revising my graduate school list. I think I was perhaps a bit hasty in putting all top schools on my list, and after speaking to several professors (one of which let me know that NO Lafayette history students have ever been accepted to an Ivy), I've decided to make my list a little bit more balanced. And, most importantly, I am finding this new approach to graduate school searching to be infinitely less stressful. I am actually looking forward to the process now. I'm ignoring the names, partially ignoring the rankings (hey, it's me--I can't ignore them entirely), and trying to find exactly what will make me happy. Nothing would be worse for me than to end up someplace I despised for the five years that will most likely shape my future career. I want this experience to be amazing--I know I can pull off the workload, and I just need to find the perfect place to do that work.

I have three weeks left in Denver. And already I miss it.

THE list. And other adventures

It's been a busy week for me. I think I finally found a group I can hang out with. After perusing MeetUp.com, which is much more active out west than it is out east, I have started a weekly climbing routine with the Denver Social Climb--a really great group of 20 and 30 somethings who are (much like everyone else in this city) rarely Colorado natives, and instead have diverse life experiences and hometowns. They're all really nice, and I hope to keep in touch with a few once I get back out east. I'm really proud of myself, since I got my belay test, and did a 5.7 without falling, and attempted a 5.8 falling often. My goal is to lead climb by this time next year--as well as actually gaining the forearm and finger strength to do better bouldering.

In other news, I've been stressing about this upcoming semester, and next summer. I know I need to do some major work on thesis, grad school applications, and GRE studying soon. As a first step, I'm trying desperately to start from square one and remember all of the math I literally have not dealt with since my junior year in high school. Also, I have developed what is a working copy of THE LIST. Narrowed down from over 30 to 18, I'm still hoping to cut about 8 more before December, when applications are due. Thus far, it's daunting.Here's what I have, in no particular order really.

1. Yale University
2. Princeton University
3. Stanford University
4. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
5. University of Pennsylvania
6. University of California--Berkeley
7. Harvard University
8. University of Chicago
9. Columbia University
10. Cornell University
11. University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill
12. University of Virginia
13. University of Colorado--Boulder
14. Johns Hopkins University
15. University of Wisconsin--Madison
16. Brown University
17. Duke University
18. Rutgers University

Now let's see if I can narrow this down... Wish me luck!