Ready, ready, ready, ready... ready to run

And so it begins. My first ever blog. In just over seven weeks, I'll head out to see a bit of the world. I plan to use this site as a journal of sorts, and I hope it will also serve as one way for me to keep in touch with all of you while I'm gone. I've never been great about keeping a regular journal, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about offering up my writing for public consumption, but I think this just might be fun. I'll just ask you all to be patient with my rambling style (yes, as true of my writing as of my speaking), my overuse/misuse of quotation marks, parentheses, elipses (which are no doubt familiar to those of you who have been reading my emails for years), and my general awkwardness as I struggle to "find my voice" here (yikes, did I forget to mention my penchant for clichés?). Bear with me, is all I'm trying to say.

Now for a brief orientation... you'll notice some links on the right side of the page... you can read a little more about the Bonderman Fellowship if you're interested, or take a look at the proposed map of my trip. (Subject to change, of course, and most of those dates are guesses at best; it does give an idea of the chronology of the trip though). Eventually, provided this doesn't push the limits of my technological savvy, there will even be pictures for you to look at. :) I've also included a "Reading List", which is so far comprised of books I've read leading up to the trip, and a "To Read" list. I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have as well.

The next few weeks promise to be a mad rush of finishing school, checking items off my seemingly never-ending "To Do" list, and attempting to say "goodbye for now" to all my near and dear ones. September 10 looms ever closer. For now, I'll leave you with an excerpt from the essay I submitted to the Bonderman Fellowship Selection Committee; I think it pretty well sums up how I'm feeling these days..

I am at equal turns exhilarated, and excited, and daunted at the thought of embarking on the adventure that receiving the Bonderman Fellowship would allow. I am truly aware that receiving an award such as this would fundamentally change my life. I am also cognizant of the fact that I can’t anticipate how this change might manifest itself. What I do know, is that I am open and ready to be changed and I welcome this opportunity. I can’t imagine a more fulfilling way to spend my first year out of graduate school. Thank you for your consideration.