About Us - Richard

First off, just to clarify to everyone, there are, in fact, two separate people writing this blog. We both have very different writing styles, as you can probably already tell, and we are working on the fusion of our literary talents. Bare with us as we do this! We will be writing posts on our own and in tandem with each other. Hopefully, the clarity of our arguments will remain intact.

That said, I’m Richard, a Biology Pre-med major at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. I’m originally from sunny Albuquerque, New Mexico. Yes, moving from the desert to one of the rainiest places in the country was different, but I’ve come to realize I’m not the desert rat I thought I was.

Although my current plan has me starting med school in a few years, my interests lie in places other than science. I have always been a creative person. I love photography and graphic design. Anything hands on, that I can make or create, fulfills me. Writing is a different story. It wasn’t until recently, my freshman fall semester, that I really found a passion for writing that I hadn’t had before. I think it was just a product of interest. If you are interested in something, you are going to enjoy it more. And so, I sit here in my extremely boring chemistry class to write to you all, about myself.

Like Rachel, I’ve traveled to Europe before. My trip, similar to hers, was for the high school student. 14 days in almost 14 different cities. It was fast. I got no sleep, hardly any culture, and a cough that lasted for weeks after the trip (probably from lack of sleep). Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the trip thoroughly. It was a great experience, but we were moving so much that I could hardly breathe, let alone explore the culture and people of the place our tour group was in.

There were only a few times on this trip that I felt I was fulfilling this need to truly experience a place. Once instance sparks my memory the most. We were on the northern coast of France. Mont-St. Michele is a tidal island off the coast of Normandy. It’s a beautiful town/village that sits on an island with a church at its top. Our stay was only a few hours long. The goal was to see the church, get lunch, and get back on the bus. A few friends and I decided to make our way to the top of the hill through the back alleys and walkways, rather than on the main tourist thoroughfare. There’s something about winding through those (not so wide) alleys through that occasional “do not enter” sign (whoops) that connects you with a place. We didn't get to spend much time on that little island, but I will cherish the experience that I obtained from spending those moments off the beaten track forever. 


This trip to Europe has become something special to me. I can't wait for the fulfillment of traveling--by foot and by train--through France, Italy, and wherever else we end up. The glory of it is, we don't yet know where we'll end up. I see a connection between this trip and our lives. There isn't really a defined path. You end up taking different roads to different places, and somehow, through fate, you end up exactly where you need to be.