In any case, last weekend, my family and I went to Treworgy Orchards to go apple-picking, one of the activities I look forward to ALL year long (http://treworgyorchards.com - check it out, Mainahs! There's a corn maze!!!). We went specifically to Treworgy, though, because I saw online that Greg Boardman was going to be fiddling there!
Greg is the guy who inspired my 5-year-old self to pick up the violin oh-so-many-years-ago. I haven't seen him since I was in maybe 6th grade, when I went to a one-day fiddle workshop/contra-dance which he was leading.
Lately, memories of all of my fiddling influences (Katie Wegner, Greg, fiddle camp...) have been prodding me in the side a bit since I'm stepping toward violin again in the fiddling style, so it was amazing to see Greg again. We talked a bit, and he gave me the name of a fiddler I can get in touch with for a teacher near(ish) my house. The best part, though, was just watching him play... he and his wife play so beautifully together. I sat and listened to the pair for almost two hours... I was so inspired I didn't end up picking any apples!!! haha.
I guess it inspired me a lot, because I ended up writing my college essay about my relationship with the violin and how it has changed. Which is a great transition into...
...my visits to Bowdoin and Bates!!!!
I have no pictures from my tours (sorry, only writing), but they were WONDERFUL. I loved both colleges; I can see myself at both locations. Bates was the first school I toured, and it was an incredible experience. The two tour-guides split parents and kids up, so I was on my own with the other prospective students.
I have to preface this by saying Bates is the first school I have ever toured, so of course it was going to seem ideal if there was anything good about it... but I was in a daze of "wow, I can totally see myself here" the whole tour. There are so many wonderful things about Bates.... great English, art and music programs, this cool thing called "peer writers" where you can actually be paid by the school to edit other students' writing, fantastic food, a hugely emphasized study-abroad program, great study space, great library, strong professor/student relationships, small classes... and it has this cool requirement known as "major + 2," where you must do two things beside one major (i.e., double major + minor, major + double minor, major + minor + concentration, etc.). And finally, Greg Boardman is in the area and could be my mentor/teacher... and he leads a fiddle group at Bates.
I'm probably boring you with all the details, but suffice it to say that Bates totally seemed like a perfect school for me. The only downside is the location... Lewiston, Maine isn't exactly the loveliest place. But it has a special place in my heart since I grew up there! Also, it is about 5 minutes away from my grandparents' house, which could be a downside or an upside.... family and a washing machine that doesn't require money! haha. Being close to family would also be good for my health stuff. And it's only 2 1/2 hours away from home, so I could go home some weekends and Kendra could come up and stay with me (!) with relatively low logistical craziness.
Bowdoin was also great... I was struck by how similar the two schools are in philosophy, function, and the little things... although Bowdoin is the better overall school (higher level academically, better housing, MUCH better location, etc.) I'm not sure its art department is as strong, and there are no fiddling groups on campus. I'll probably apply to Bowdoin, but I think Bates is the better school for me.
In other news, I went on a run for the first time in a few months today... it didn't feel great, but that's okay. At least I was able to run, and I feel good post-run, which is nice. Even though my health is a LOT better than it was over the course of the past two years, I still don't have much energy to run these days. Over the summer I got up to running 5 miles (I am NOT a long-distance runner, so this is a feat for me!...) but I burned out pretty quickly. Damn ambiguous health issues.... my platelets are still very confusing, jumping from 76,000 to 36,000 to 22,000 to 106,000 to 51,000 and now 61,000. I'm not allowed to bike right now because if I fell, I could have some serious internal bleeding.... but I can run, when energy permits, and go on my daily walks.
Well, that's it for now, and scrolling up I guess that's a lot of it... gotta go do homework. But it's been an exciting, albeit busy, last week or so...
Jeez, this blog is becoming more of a journal and rant about my life than I had originally anticipated. Oh well, hopefully you few people who follow it aren't terribly bored! haha
Here's a song to conclude things. Recently, I bought the album Robert Plant and Alison Krauss collaborated on, Raising Sand, and it's AWESOME. Check it out!!!!
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