The Emerald City!

A few weeks ago I made my first journey to the West Coast and it was an unforgettable experience.  The phrase "west coast" may bring to your mind palm trees and movie stars and a gaudy sign made out of big letters, but no, I did not go to L.A.  Or any where in California.  I went to Seattle, Washington, and can truly say I understand why people call the state "God's Country".  The Cascade Mountain range surrounding the Seattle harbor, the cool damp mornings and pleasant afternoons and evenings, the friendly people, the gorgeous achitecture all added up to my falling forever in love.

I was incredibly fortunate to have made this trip for free.  I went with three other students from my school and an advisor for the 93rd Annual Phi Theta Kappa Convention.  We convened at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.  Activities included attending leadership workshops, college fairs, electing fellow students to represent us in the various International Divisions of Phi Theta Kappa, hearing esteemed speakers such as Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson (from "Nova"), and ultimately, enjoying a celebration of scholarship and accomplishment of community college students from around the world..  The entire conference experience was extremely empowering, and made me decide to run for president of my school's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.  I felt motivated to improve the quality of life at my college, and to personally become a more dedicated scholar.  Both of those things are much easier said than done, I realize, but I believe that this experience was in some ways a catalyst to my becoming a better person.

Geek-dom aside ;-) I did quite a bit of sight-seeing with my traveling companions, and had a lovely time of bonding and memory-making with them.  We rode the monorail and the light rail in Seattle, stayed in the old Roosevelt Hotel, saw and went to the top of the Space Needle, shopped in the high class Westlake district, walked in the famous Public Market, stared in awe at Mt. Rainier and the Cascade Range, met tons of friendly people, and took a lot of pictures.  My trip made me smile practically every moment, and I lost count of things I found to squeal at because I simply could not contain my excitement.  I slept well and ate well and walked the city both early in the morning and late at night.  I experienced my first cross-country flying and jet lag.  Going to bed at 10pm because your body is certain you've been out until 1am is a funny experience, as is waking refreshed at 7am because you're sure you've slept in till 10am.

Some of downtown

Looking at Alaskan Way, some of the city, harbor, and Rainier

Space Needle

View from the Needle.  The layout of the city is so pleasing to the eye!

Dressed-up Kappans!

P.S. Seattle has the second-largest Equity community in the nation, and I dream of going back one day to get a taste of the arts and see more of the city and the state. 

P.P.S.  The title of this blog is Seattle's current official nickname!