To begin, to begin, to begin...

To begin with you should know two things about me:  I am a woman and I am a doctoral student in history.  For many years I complained and fretted over my life's lack of direction and purpose, I felt like a wanderer in a sea of endless possibilities and zero passions.  However, with some soul searching and a little help from friends and family, I discovered that I actually had a passion which had been with me since childhood: reading.  My love of pages began before I could actually read them and my mother often reminds me of how gently I turned each page of whatever book I was reading.  As I grew from a girl into a hormonal teenager and eventually a woman, there is one thing that has always remained consistent - the book by my side.  My tastes have changed over the years, but my need to read is unfaltering.  From science fiction as a pre-teen, romance as a teen, and fiction, biography and history through my twenties, the lust has feel for books is insatiable.  And when I say books, I am not referring to something with "e" in the title.  No, I like the smell and feel of an actual book in my hands and my loaded bookshelves and Barnes and Noble receipts could tell you more about that.

A few years ago, at the age of 25, I hit a slight quarter life crisis and had a rebirth of sorts.  I threw off the shackles of my previous life and started over again with new purpose and ambition.  I was going to be a historian I decided and for the first time I made an educational and career choice that was all for me and not influenced by outside forces.  Thus, I applied to graduate school and began my Master's degree in history.  Going back to school after several years out was a little daunting, but I was excited for this new chapter in my life.  I'll never forget my first class, it was "Teaching College History," which I later dropped and took years later, because of the slight panic attack I had when I realized I was in no way prepared for such a course!!!  However, something quite momentous occurred during that class, I made a friend.  This friend (of the male variety) became a cornerstone in my life, and I am proud to say we have been inseparable ever since.  Of course, I no longer call him just a friend, but rather my life, my love, my joy and sappy things of that nature.  Thus, history has given me more than I could have imagined at the time I started.  It has given me purpose, passion, self-motivation and fulfillment, and my soulmate.  You could say history has given me my life.

Well here we are three years later and I have completed my Master's degree and moved on to the Ph.D. variety.  I study prostitution (sexy, I know) and wrote my thesis on their frail sisters who plied their trade around a railroad epicenter during the Wild West days and so forth.  I love what I do! I also now teach history to young freshman just starting their amazing academic journeys.  I had no idea when I began teaching how wonderful and exciting the experience would be.  Anyway, I decided to start this blog in order to share my sometimes interesting life and times as a budding female historian.  I will use this blog to share my love of books and history lessons in addition to insight into the life of an academic.  I'm excited to get this journey started, thanks for tuning in!!