la vie en rose

Oops - where did Thursday go? It's funny, because I was so bored at work, and I knew what I was going to write about, but I guess in my mind I had already written it. And I was going to be so good and write something every day! Well, there will be 2 today.

I love springtime in Seattle.

I just plain love Seattle. I'm lucky, I suppose, that the rain and clouds don't get me down. It's a trade-off - yes, it's wet, but it's green. It's cloudy, but it doesn't get too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. I love living by the water and by the mountains.

I love the cherry trees in bloom, especially when the wind blows them down like confetti. I love the little tiny daisies that carpet the lawns.

I love the modern and clean lines in the downtown skyline in contrast to all the big scraggly trees. I love the huge cranes at the docks that look like dinosaurs.

I love the political atmosphere - that people care about the environment and human rights. I love that people buy more books here than anywhere else in the country and that we're one of the most highly educated cities. I love that not everyone looks the same and that in some neighborhoods, the signs aren't written in English. But most of all, I loved going to school here.

UW was hard, and I worked hard to make it work. But even though I had some classes that were duds, every quarter I had at least one that I could throw my whole heart and soul into. I had finished all my prerequisites during Running Start my senior year and the Falls the next year. So when I got to UW, all I had to do was History. Every class for two years, History. I would have stayed longer if I could have.

On my last day of school, in March 2004, I had a friend take my picture in the quad in front of the cherry trees. Then I went to Something Silver in U-Village and bought myself a ring (I'm wearing it today - it's white mother-of-pearl with little silver flowers around it). I cried on the bus ride home. I hope someday, when I'm a teacher, that I can convey that kind of love of education, and the highs and lows that come with working for it, to my students.