The Horrible, Little Man and A New Beginning

I've been on a quest to try and settle myself down (in this format, not in life) - and simply choose one or two subjects on which to focus my blog. .. I can't do that. I like too many things. I want to talk about too many things. I have too many interests. That's just who I am. (Please enjoy my various self-portraits as you continue reading.) :)

As I was thinking about this issue of being non-committal with my blog, I kept thinking about a meeting I had about two years ago. As I was applying for grad school, I met with the program's advisor. He was a horrible, little man and I should have known that this wouldn't be the most encouraging or uplifting moment of my life. (I'll skip over his sharp words and get to the meat of the story.) He asked me what my field of study would be. I hadn't quite figured that out yet. But, I grasped for an answer and told him that I'd like to focus on a favorite subject, the first world war. He asked me to be more specific. ...Umm.... I don't even know how or if I was able to answer that one. Then he asked why I wanted to join the program, in other words, what I planned on doing with my advanced degree. I honestly wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I had/have so many interests: teaching, television, museums etc. All I knew then was that I wanted to go to school and learn as much as possible. Who knew that wasn't good enough? I was promptly told that the Master's program was not the place to "find myself."  (I told you he was a horrible, little man.)

I don't need to find myself. I've don't think I've ever been in search of myself. I've always known that I'm slightly scattered and have eclectic interests. Surely, there's something out there that let's me celebrate all of that at once. And lo, here it is. From here on out, we'll be discussing a variety of topics under the broad umbrellas of art, history and travel. And every subject (if not explicitly historical itself) will be accompanied by a brief history on the topic at hand. Think of it as a magazine, specializing in the aforementioned topics and it all being tied together with a ribbon of history. So here we go on this creative, historical journey!

"History is a ribbon, always unfurling. History is a journey. As we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us, and we see and hear again the echoes of our past." - Ronald Reagan