Last night while driving back from the storage unit, wondering if not taking the doggies for a walk would make me a bad dog-Mom, it hit me– I’m going to miss Pittsburgh.
I’ll miss the view of downtown from the Fort Pitt Bridge at night, skyscraper lights reflecting off the Monongahela river disrupted only slightly by waves from the river cruises. I’ll miss walking through Shadyside, watching Meeko attack all the little prickly seeds things on the ground. The awesome city parks, and the gross man made “pond” in Schenley that Snickers always wants to go swim in. I like being able to walk onto my campus anytime I feel like it (especially when I’m not headed there for work).
I’m sure my feelings for Pittsburgh are heavily influenced by the greatness that is Carnegie Mellon. As my Mom is always reminding me, “This was your dream school, and now you are the one making decisions that make kids dreams come true!” My response is usually some sort of teenage eye roll “gosh Mom I knoooow.” But in many ways it’s true. Carnegie Mellon is a dream school for the true nerd, the person who loves learning and gets satisfaction out of working hard in their field. The atmosphere on campus is a wonderful mix of quirkiness, opera singing, bagpipes and SciFi references. I loved it so much that I didn’t want to leave, and now that I am, I worry that the real world just isn’t going to be quirky enough for me.
In those moments, I can always turn to the famous “Come to my Mellon” tumblr. If you haven’t seen it, check it out here http://cometomymellon.tumblr.com/ Part of me wishes that my admissions talks could simply be opening up that site and asking if they found it funny or not. (Yes=admit) Good idea? Or best enrollment strategy ever?
So thank you Pittsburgh and CMU, it has been a wonderful 6 years! I can honestly say I’m not sure I would be the same person had I ended up at any other university or city. Hopefully the San Francisco alumni will keep the love alive!