The Wise Man Closes No Doors

When I started this blog, I told myself that I wouldn't write if I didn't want to. This would be a place that, when I REALLY want to write, I will truly write. But, one of the big realizations (I'm sure you all had this one long ago) I had today was that...I'm full of shit- a lot. That is I can really be idealistic, impulsive, in short, I can make up my mind about things really fast and say things really fast that I don't really mean. 

This is all to say that I'm glad I made the effort to come all the way out here. When I found out I had an interview here, I thought- no way am I flying out there. I mean, I have been wanting to start saving money for a trip to Mexico. And I had already spent so much damned money on this application process- I didn't want to commit more. Although, now, looking back, I think it was the part of me that makes its mind up fast so as to have things be simple, black and white, and done with. This is the side that I think has tended to screw me over- the proverbial devil on the shoulder. 

I digress. What I'm getting at is that simply opening myself to the possibilites that this place has to offer has opened my mind enough to see how close minded I can be. I hated the weather as soon as I got here. I didn't really like my host. I told nearly everyone that I chatted with before coming here that this place would have to hit a clear home run for me to want to come here. Well, I think they actually hit an inside the park home run. I hadn't even thought about that possibility.

The opportunities here are this: work with an amazingly passionate and genuine man from South Africa on racism/multicultural competency research, travel to Spain for a year, maybe even get to Trinidad, and be a part of a program that encourages broad thinking, varied interests, and apparently bends over backward to make students feel comfortable here. The program director is a brown-haired bundle of Jewish New Yorker energy. She's a dynamo. She's great. And the professors are solid across the board. Unlike UT, this program has been very stable over the last 10 years. And Unlike the UT program- the students here really do seem to not only enjoy each other's company, but make real efforts to build community (once  a month potlucks, etc.). Good stuff.

So we'll see. Who knows? Maybe they don't think I'm a fit. And if so, I've got UT in the bank (not to mention more and more people telling me stories about getting in from off the alternate list- go Ducks). I would be glad to make it happen there. I would be very glad to come here. And I would be stoked (actual clinical term used in Eugene) to go to U of O. So who knows? I'm just a feeling very glad that I was unstubborn enough to open myself to being curious about this place. The wise man...