Eugene Love

Katie D.

December 10, 2009 - 10:05 PM

Well folks, the term has ended and I'm off for winter break. But I had a fabulous realization today.

First, let me say that this finals week was complete chaos. One massive time commitment after another, followed by a meeting and a near disaster in one area of life or another. Plus it has been darn cold this week (not above freezing for three days straight? And all this humidity?) But after this great week, I finally had some time off and had some fun.

We had a potluck at my house tonight and it was so fun. One of my roommates rearranged the living room, another bought pellets for our stove, and we had a beautiful space to invite people to hang out in. My roommate Lesley is a fabulous cook and made homemade pizza (I grated the cheese and supplied the wine). A bunch of people came, including lots of my roommates' friends who I hadn't met yet. Most of my close college friends showed up, and it was a wonderful time, with great food and lots of us just sitting around and talking.

It is amazing to think that my senior year is already a third of the way gone. This was our last fall term as a big group together. College is flying past, and the time I spend with my friends feels more precious all the time.

Then I had to rush off with two of my friends to head to Portland before my Saturday flight. That meant rushing out of a party filled with people in my own home. I could hardly tear myself away, and was really sad to say goodbye to that group eventhough I'll see almost everyone again in January.

But as I was doing a last sweep of my room (I still managed to forget my toothbrush), and as I was carrying the luggage out to the car, I had a fabulous realization: I don't really want to leave.

It's not that I don't want to go back to Colorado. I love it there and I'm so excited to see my family and friends. I'm also very excited to have a change of pace and a chance to relax and be by myself. But I realized that I have what I need in Eugene. I love my house and my roommates. I love my room. I have the most fabulous friends anyone could ask for. And I have a job and a school I love and a city where I'm coming to feel very much at home. Walking out to the car I had a great nighttime view of Spencer's Butte, the dominant piece of the landscape in South Eugene. My street, my yard, my view. I love it here.

I don't know if I'll end up in Eugene for the rest of my life. In some ways, that would be both easy and logical. I have a great and expanding network of people who are involved and interested in the same things I am: social justice, education, writing and art and activism. I have a fabulous set of opportunities for this year, and will hopefully continue that into my plans for graduate school and a GTF position next year. I could easily see this rolling into a life-long home.

That is not to say I'll never leave. I'm very anxious to spend some time "at large in the world." I'm talking life abroad: working, traveling, bumming around, meeting people, teaching people, learning from people. It's really important to me that I still have a future outside of the country in new places and with new experiences. A professor warned me about the internship position I have, and told me "either you'll be bad at it and will hate it, and that will make this year a crappy one, or you'll be great at it and become indispensable and won't ever be able to leave." I hope I'm doing a good job, and I hope I can find a balance between doing my jobs well and still knowing that someday I might leave and seek out new adventures.

But what I realized today is that I can imagine myself in Eugene for years to come. I can imagine staying in this house, staying at this fabulous school, and maintaining the relationships I've built.

It's been an adventure so far, and will be for a while still to come.