Happy 303 Day!

It’s March 3rd! 303 is the area code for Denver, Boulder, and some surrounding suburbs, which makes today a particularly good day to tell you about my hometown! I moved to Boulder from Escondido, CA right after I turned 6. Winters here are cold enough to really make you aware of whether or not your parents have bought you wool socks and mittens. Thankfully, I did have mittens, which made it a lot easier on my fingers when I decided I wanted to eat snow from the palm of my hand.

My little brother – possibly jealous of my mittens and snowy snack. Or questioning my sanity. You decide.

I remember being pretty excited about snow, but that excitement was eventually extinguished by the reality that going out in it is ultimately a very cold and wet experience. I went trick-or-treating as a princess for one of my first Halloweens here. When I got home, I screamed as my dad ran my frozen hands under cold water to slowly bring them back to life. Snow is fun!

But in all seriousness, Boulder weather is pretty stellar. Spring brings refreshing morning frosts followed by afternoons in the high 70s, with tulips and budding tree branches. Summer is deliciously warm with brilliant blue skies, translucent white clouds, and vibrant green grasses and trees. Autumn turns the air crisp and the leaves fiery-gold. Winter dusts the flatirons with sparkling white snow, which looks nice, but keeps me inside with a cup of tea. Most importantly, Boulder boasts 300+ days of sunshine every year.

I’ve lived here for 17 years. Most of what I know and how I think has been heavily influenced by the Boulder bubble. It’s a positive, active, healthy, wealthy, liberal, dog-friendly place. It has the country’s highest rate of yoga moms per capita.* It has acai bowls, kombucha on tap, and gluten-free everything. “Coexist” bumperstickers are nearly as ubiquitous as the Priuses they’re often stuck to. I think it might be a legal requirement that all residents have at least one Patagonia fleece and one North Face coat; and in a pinch, your black Lulu Lemon leggings can pass for formal attire.

The official bumper sticker of Boulder

Boulder is an affluent city. In high school, I felt like I was in the unfortunate minority as someone whose parents didn’t buy me my own car. (I have since come to appreciate the choices they made while raising me, and realized what a non-tragedy it is to not have your own car at 16 years old.) I didn’t have friends who were politically conservative. I didn’t know many people who weren’t white. In the past few years, I’ve realized how growing up in a place that so overtly lacks diversity can really limit your understanding of the world. I’m grateful for the perspectives I have, but I’m eager to expand and challenge them as I get older.

In addition to being 303 day, today is also Super Tuesday! I went to drop off my ballot this afternoon and all of the roads within a three block radius of the Clerk and Recorder office were congested with voter traffic. I was so proud of everyone for showing up to protect our rights and support what they believe in. I have never been so happy to be stuck in traffic!

We are all from somewhere, and every place instills in us a certain perspective and a set of biases. Wherever I go, however I change, this sweet bubble will always be my hometown. ♡

*not based on real data, but does seem plausible

My Cool, Hip Blog

For as long as I’ve been aware of blogs, I’ve wanted one of my own. They seem so hip and cool. Some bloggers are so relatable and funny that I decide I want to be their friend. They don’t reciprocate that friendship very well – I do most of the listening, but that’s okay. I’ve tried to keep a journal a few times throughout my life, but my weak, tech-addicted hands start to cramp and ache if I try to write more than a page. In addition, I have always found it strange to disclose your most intimate thoughts to an inanimate object.

“Dear Diary, you can’t validate my emotions or give me any advice because you can’t hear me and you are made of paper.”

Luckily, I’m not the only tech-addicted person out here. We live in the age of technology-everywhere, and I’m much better at typing than I am at writing by hand. I also feel less weird writing to all of you (by which I mean Mom – hi Mom!), because you exist and are human manifestations of consciousness (I assume? Hey, Siri?).

I’m a senior at CU! Sort of. I’m a pretend senior. I’m on a decelerated track where I’m not sure what I’m trying to major in, but I do have a lot of unhelpful elective credits – I’m looking at you, Social Psych. This is a pretty common problem among my peers as well. It’s unclear if I’ll ever know a life after college, because it seems increasingly likely that it will go on for eternity. I’m sure my Dad would prefer that I graduate so he can stop paying tuition and I can be financially independent at some point in my life. As far as I can tell, “Learning Useful Stuff” and “Being In College” seem to be mostly unrelated data sets.

On the plus side, I am currently taking the most interesting and informative courses I’ve taken at CU. So maybe there’s hope after all!

In addition to school, I’ve been working as a barista for the past 5 years, which is arguably too many years to be a barista. My favorite things about my job:

  1. The front of the shop faces East and I get to watch the sun rise
  2. My car smells like espresso after driving home from a shift
  3. Free. Coffee.
Sunrise outside my work

My least favorite parts about my job:

  1. Sometimes I have to scrape snow and ice off of my car in 5 degree weather an hour before the sun starts to rise
  2. Some people aren’t their most cheery selves pre-coffee and pre-sunlight (can you blame them?)
  3. We are somehow perpetually short-staffed. Always. Forever.

Mostly, I like my job a lot. But I’m feeling ready for something different after being here for so long.

Anyway, those are the basics. Welcome to my cool, hip, digital journal-blog! Stay tuned for updates on my thoughts and adventures. I hope you enjoy.