saying good-bye

My Alma Mater is moving. I earned my Master's Degree at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, CA and they have recently purchased a building in Pleasant Hill, into which they will be moving over the holidays. This makes me very sad. I really enjoyed that school, and I don't want it to leave the pretty green Orinda hills behind.

Back in 1996, Corey and I were living in Lakewood, OH and I was contemplating doing graduate work in Religious Studies. I sent out about 50 postcards to different schools across the country, and started receiving brochures. By the time I was finished, I had narrowed my choices to three different schools.

And all three happened to be in the San Francisco Bay Area.

So Corey and I planned a trip out west in February of '97. I went out early and Corey joined me later in the week. (JFK, by the way, was the third school on the list, and really just an afterthought.) I signed up for Open Houses, made appointments with Admissions people, and tried to cover all the bases.

By the time Corey joined me, I was feeling pretty discouraged. I had seen the first two schools and wasn't excited about either of them. So we got in the car and drove to my appointment at JFK.

The "Consciousness Studies" program at JFK was like nothing I had seen in all the brochures, websites, and "Peterson's Guides" that I had read over the last six months. It seemed to me the perfect balance between spiritual and academic education. Some gear inside me clicked into place.

We stood in the parking lot after the interview, surrounded by the lush green, misty Orinda hills and I was shaking from excitement. Corey looked at me and said, "Well?"

"This is the one," I said. "This is the one."

Melodramatic? Yes. But that's really how it happened. The cold, rainy weather that day gave the entire hillside a magical quality, and the campus (which is really nothing to brag about -- I think it's an old elementary school) was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. While I was attending classes there, I walked the same route home every night, and I've always wanted a picture. Today, I had a nice camera with me (Thanks, Brian!) so I paid JFK one last visit. Here's my favorite view:

I love that. That isn't the school, by the way, just a neighboring building, but JFK still benefits from these gorgeous vistas.

Anyway, I'm glad I got to visit today.

Posted: Sat - December 6, 2003 at 04:54 PM

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saying good-bye

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