Sunday, July 1, 2012

University of Colorado at Boulder

I'm not sure how much I want to go into detail about the reason I'm transferring as I try to keep many personal things off this blog- but I think it'd be good to get it out there my thoughts so there is not any confusion as to why I'm transferring.

I posted about my father and my trip to Boulder, seen here, which was actually to see the school and the city and see if I wanted to attend. I didn't mention that in my post since I wasn't sure if I was going to attend.. but now that I am, I can share that we really only went to see the college.

Boulder

There are many reasons I'm transferring Universities this year from NYU to CU. I do not dislike New York City, I just love mountains and nature more than I enjoy city life. If you know me in person, or have read my blog for awhile you may know that I'm really passionate about climbing, running, cycling, and love hiking and exploring. I do like the hustle and bustle of the city, as well as the opportunities they present, but I value peace and serenity more.

NYC with my dorm on the right

I'll miss NYC, but I'm excited to go to school in a city that offers a surrounding of mountains. While at NYU, I felt as if I was trapped in a bubble of people and had no space to myself or a place to be quiet. Simple things like running on pavement, breathing in car fumes when I cycled, and dealing with disgusting situations (such as the street dirt or people partying in the streets and leaving messes) really made me an unhappy and angry person (just ask my freshman year roommates). I came home four times throughout the year, and wrote posts about experiencing nature (running on dirttons of hiking for my birthday at homeYosemite when I came home for thanksgiving, and trad climbing in Yosemite). Just from those four posts alone, one can see that I am very very into nature and activities in nature. After those trips I was happier, felt lighter, and was more at peace. My escape while at school used to be climbing, and then after my shoulder injury became cycling- especially after I joined WE Bike.

WE Bike
WE Bike shirt worn proudly

To put it bluntly- I'm excited. I'm excited to have the opportunity of hiking, meeting people who share the same passions as me, and to be able to finally experience the typical college lifestyle (campus, sports teams, an orientation even!). When I was deciding whether or not to transfer, I kept telling my friends at school how many climbing clubs there were at CU compared to NYU- not that that number is a deciding point... but it was proof that there could be more people I would share interest with. (fyi- there are 3 clubs at CU, and 0 at NYU. that doesn't include clubs for hiking, cycling, backpacking... just 3 for climbing alone)

I will miss things about NYC, but hardly anything about NYU. I'll miss the friends I became close with, the food, my family on the East Coast, and feeling the rush of adrenaline while biking through 2nd Ave traffic. Going into my transfer, I know that Boulder is no where near "perfect" and I can and probably will find flaws within the process or the school- but overall I think I'll be a happier and calmer person when surrounded by a place I want to be in, and with people who also want to be there.

Lula's vegan ice cream.... you will be missed the most

Academically, I'm pretty set on studying sports nutrition, or a variation of that. At NYU I would have majored in nutrition as an undergrad. At CU I'll be majoring (possibly) in Integrative Physiology with a focus on exercise physiology (the study of how stress affects the body). With a degree in that I can go to grad school or dietetics school for nutrition, or focus on physical therapy or studying the body and possibly going into medicine. Essentially, I will undergrad in the "sports" side of sports nutrition, and go to graduate school for the nutrition side (just a plan... I may or may not stick to that!)

Another cool thing about CU and this program is that I can get a Bachelors AND a masters in 5 years total (4 years from now, since I've already completed a year), which is about the time length that multiple academic advisors told me that it would take to graduate from NYU with just a bachelors. How is that for awesome!?


No comments:

Post a Comment