Reflections on moving and new places
In August, 2001 I set off for college at Fresno Pacific University. Originally applying as an English Major, I changed to mathematics my freshman year due in large part to really enjoying AP Statistics my senior year of high school. My guiding philosophy for life at the time was to do the most good for the people that needed it most — in fact my application essay to FPU said I wanted to be a middle school math teacher. Part of what drove me to FPU was how incredibly welcoming the student body was on a Preview Day/Night as well as the campus’s location — the heart of a neighborhood in Fresno that was a bit more on the rough and tumble side of things. My first week or so at FPU was particularly fun because it was a small group of leadership students, some of whom I still talk with on at least a monthly basis. I even remember setting up my computer for the first time in the dorm with non-dial-up internet and realizing I’d left my keyboard at home!
I’ve talked in the past about how great FPU has been to me over the years, but I’m writing this on a Saturday night with my family asleep because of a more immediate application I’ve been thinking about now. A month ago my family moved to Eugene, Oregon after six years in San Jose. And so just like 20 years ago I’m working on making new local friends, finding new routes for things, new favorite restaurants and trails. While I’d lived for the previous 10 years in Visalia, CA 40 minutes down the road, I’d never really explored Fresno before moving there, so enjoyed mingling with Fresno natives as we went to the one starbucks within 20 minutes on Shaw, concerts etc. A couple friends and I also made frequent walks to the Chevron across the street for mountain dew to stay up until 1am most nights.
This time I’m closer to 40, have a family, ride my bike whenever I can and don’t drink a near daily mountain dew anymore. It’s true how “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” I still enjoy exploring a new city, but it’s a lot different now. Something I learned on a Semester At Sea in 2004 was how freeing it can be to just wander a city. Whenever I traveled for work I tried to do it, but San Jose was too big to really do it. Here in Eugene, I have had a chance a few times so far to… have a destination in mind, but purposefully deviate from it to see different places and people, and learn something in the process. For example, in Eugene the drivers will slow down to let you change lanes; but I’ve also seen and experienced several near-wrecks because people cut in front of others. While San Jose’s homeless problem was bigger due to sheer scale, there are a lot more homeless etc than I would have expected and Eugene’s approach is to sanction a highway underpass park as being ok for tents complete with porta-potties.
Likewise, Eugene has some really cool biking infrastructure downtown in particular and I’ve noticed many new-looking bus stations, although I haven’t tried public transit in general yet. Recreation opportunities seem to abound as well, with plentiful river access points, separated multi-use trails throughout the city, and it’s only 8 miles from where I live in the northwest of the city to the University in the southeast (about 30–40 minutes on bike towing two kids in a Burley Trailer).
My goals now are to remember that sense of wonder that starting college had, listening to others instead of talking about myself, seeking opportunities to be helpful, and finding ways to do the most good for those who need it most.
