Sketches of Princeton [first]

the first week of classes

is a whirl. 

at first i thought, 

"i've got this." 

and then 

the second day hit

with the force of a freight train. 

i don't got this. 

at least not right now. 

but i will. 

there's a lot of reading. 

so.much.reading.

thousands of pages of it. 

help?

there's also a lot of thinking. 

my brain feels overloaded. 

but then. 

there is in the very air here

beauty

and knowledge

and a wisdom 

that the world spins on 

and there is blue sky 

and that there are places for me to be 

and sit 

and breathe.

and that i will make this place a home. 

the other day

i saw a dad 

place his daughter in a shopping cart

(that's used to move things into 

the apartments here) 

and she squealed with joy. 

real things. 

beyond books. 

i like being reminded of reality. 

i find it in the curve of the river

and the stillness of the morning

and in how bugs buzz here

and birds chirp

and everything is a bit louder

and warmer

and muggier

than back home. 

those are real things, too. 

i think it's normal to feel overwhelmed here. 

overwhelmed by the amount to do 

but also overwhelmed by the sheer beauty and magnitude of this place

and of the people here. 

i don't just mean their brilliance and accolades 

(although that can be overwhelming, too)

but just that i've been overwhelmed by kindness

with hugs 

and greetings

and people offering to help me scan books upon books 

and deep discussions 

and invitations to dinner 

and lunch

and understandings that no one really knows 

what's going on. 

i haven't figured it out yet. 

but i will. 

i will. 

i will. 

Glimpses of Princeton

This place is beautiful. It truly, truly is.

This is real life. Even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But it is. I'm here.

Also this.

So this makes me feel pretty legit. Not gonna lie.

(Also, if you go to the Princeton History Department Graduate Students page, I'm the first one that shows up! Hidden perks of being a first year with a name that starts with "A".)

New Haven and New York

One of the perks on living on the East Coast (especially somewhere as nicely situated as Princeton) is that it is relatively easy to get to big cities like New York. Another nice thing for me is that I have lots of family, and lots of family living on the East Coast. And my cousin Kyra was kind enough to let me come up to New Haven to see their family. I had a lot of fun seeing them. I just wish I had more pictures to prove it. But here are some pretty pictures of Yale (but they aren't near as cool as the pictures of hanging out the Kyra and her cute little boys).

[Some obligatory pictures of Yale]

Again, no fun pictures of playing at the park or of our epic dance party, but just trust me. It was awesome. And just a lot of fun. 

I also got a chance to be in NYC before and after New Haven. I went to the LDS Manhattan Temple, walked through Central Park, met up with some friends, and got a Levain Bakery cookie (Em and I have a copy-cat recipe for it, and in my not-so-humble opinion, I think the copycat recipe is better. There. I said it. You may now start throwing tomatoes at me.)

[Cue Alicia Keys]

[Central Park]

[Grand Central Station is just so beautiful.]

[The Lincoln Center]

[Friends at the temple! So fun to meet up with them, if only for a moment]

[C is for cookie. So obvi it's good enough for me.]

The sister missionaries also came up to me at one point when I was sitting at a table and for a moment they thought I wasn't a member of the Church. They asked me what book I was reading (a super exciting one for my upcoming historiography class), and then I told them and just said, "How are you doing, sisters?" And we had a nice little conversation. It was just very funny. (What made it funnier was that 5 minutes after they left, the guy sitting close to me asked, "So how is that book you're reading?" And we also chatted for a bit. Fun times in the city.) 

Road Trip

So, it's been weeks since I've been on the blog. I decided to come back and post right now so that it doesn't become never. Because, in reality, there are so many bits and pieces of this new beginning that I'd like to write down (least of which is Princeton itself--but that also has to be explored and digested by bits and pieces).

But before I forget/before it becomes too long, I want to put down some highlights from the road trip my mom and I took to get out here. I decided that I wanted to drive from Utah to New Jersey, and my mom was kind enough to come along. (She really is a saint.)

[Princeton, here we come.]

[I think this was Wyoming? But it could very well be eastern Colorado or Kansas, too.]

[Definitely Kansas]

[The Sunflower State]

[And here is the part where I bombard you with 10 million pictures of a beautiful sunflower field.]

[They are just so beautiful.]

[And it was just a beautiful summer evening.]

[My momma who is actually the best.]

[Hello there, bright one.]

[Oh haiiiiii]

[By the way, they are not facing the sun.]

[Sunrise in Indiana]

[10 points to Gryffindor if you can guess what this truck was transporting]

[If you guessed chickens, you would be right. Chickens. Chickens everywhere!]

[Heading to NJ!]

[We made it to Princeton!]

[2200 miles later.]

[Sam was a champ and came up from D.C. to help me move in, too.]

[Turns out there's a pelican sundial in Princeton, too.] 

2200 miles, 4 days, and a lot of 80s music, which any true road trip needs. (And lots and lots of sunflowers.)