Life Calling

In an earlier post I made a list of future things I planned to write about, one of which was what, exactly, it is I plan to do with myself. Basically, I am going to save the world. Grandiose? Yes, but worth fighting for. I want to work on shaping environmental policy and create solutions to problems that are beneficial to the natural world around us and to humanity in terms of health, the bottom line, and happiness.

I think on some level I've always known this was exactly what I wanted to do, but I've been a bit confused as to how exactly I should go about doing it. I studied Biology in college, but I realized I didn't want to go into medicine, teach, or do research. I love the big picture of biology - how everything is interlinked, biodiversity, epidemics, public health, ecosystems, ecology, etc. I read Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire and Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and was much more interested in what I read there than in bacterial cultures or tree rings or mist nets. I also developed an interest in design and planning - I read Sarah Susanka's The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way we Really Live and found my own nebulous thoughts given form by an architect. More space does not equal happiness. McMansions do not fill people's wish for a dream home, only a dream house. A dream home is at human scale, comfortable, designed to fill the needs of the person or people in it, centered on comfort and balance. Lots of window seats. Lots of built-in bookcases. Windows to the outdoors, defined spaces, open flow for modern lifestyles, no family room and living room - lovely. That led me to A Pattern Language, which is so amazing - here's a website with a list of the patterns (in the text they are much more fleshed out). So what's a girl with an interest in environmentalism, ecology, the big picture, sustainability, quality of life, and home, city, and region design to do?

My current plan is to pursue a dual Master's in Public Administration with a focus in Environmental Policy, Management, and Law and a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on Environmental Planning through CU-Denver. While I wouldn't mind living elsewhere for 2-5 years (Vienna, NYC, Paris, Switzerland, Buenos Aires . . .) I do expect to keep coming back to Colorado, so I think it makes sense to go to school and develop connections here. Plus, I like my life. And friends and family.

So - there's a life update! And that's why I have to sign off so I can keep chipping away at the final for the class I'm currently taking.