"A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively ... loves it so radically that he remakes it in his own image." - Joan Didion



"Tell the people what you're here for" - Gang Starr



The secret of the universe is this: the universe doesn’t care. That part of the job is yours.
—David Gerrold



When I think about the places I've been, it's impossible to separate the landscape from the circumstance. I can't think about Spain without remembering the emotional turmoil of breaking up with a visiting boyfriend in favor of a new love. Amsterdam meant spending crazy evenings with that girl and our other friends in our run-down dorm in a ritzy neighborhood. New York means walking in heels from Grand Central to the UN and feeling like I'm in the nucleus of the world. DC is connectedness to something larger and greater than myself and a better world within reach. Detroit was waiting and overcast skies and the warmth of family. Lake Michigan is the infinity of blue horizons and long drives and being alone together.



What will Colorado be? I came here for clarity and contemplation and a taste of social injustice. In the past few months, I think I got caught up in the awkwardness of friend drama and the romance of other places and lost sight of what the mountains and sunshine and horizon actually mean to me. An impromptu camping trip with new volunteers helped to snap me out of my self-enclosing bubble, at least temporarily.

I know I'm going to leave at some point, but until then, I need to remember to plant my feet firmly where they are and take the time to make the most out of all of it. Colorado would be a terrible thing to take for granted.