On my way home from Fayetteville/Atlanta, I got to thinking how I love Georgia. I know the state has it's fair share of problems, but for me, it's home. I have lived 22 of my 29 years in this state. I lived in Augusta. I'm currently in Savannah. And I might be moving to the Atlanta area. But, there's just so much in this state that I am thankful for. Georgia has a coastline. Georgia has mountains. Georgia has the pine, live oak, and magnolia trees. Georgia has river and little wooded creeks that make you still feel in the wild, even as you drive over the creek. Georgia has that horrible red clay that stains your clothes and your mother gets angry you went and played in it in the first place. It may be hot and humid in the summer, and cold in the winter, but for the most part, it all balances out to nice weather. Today was a beautiful day as I made that drive down I-75 and I-16 back to town. I am glad to live in this state.

Once I got back to town, I stopped at the school. I stopped to see Joey to tell him about my stay with his parents. 2 old classmates that saw me and knew me specifically asked me did I come to see him as my reason for being on campus. I also caught up with some of my old classmates. I told them about the job interview. I even got to catch up with an old classmate I haven't seen in a while. I also spoke to my Computer Ethics professor, Dr. Reed. She saw me in the hall and asked how I was doing. It did me some good talking to her. She said things I needed to hear. I also caught up with Lindsey some more. I told her all about my trip. I also spoke my ex-boss, Dr. Reese. Stopping by the school allowed me to catch up with many people. I needed it.

While I was waiting for Joey to get off work, I did help one of his tutees. He's introduced me to her a few times, since she's a CS student. She's taking a class on US political and general Georgia history. Not only that, she's got the same professor I had for that class. Oh, I loved Dr. Lanier. Joey was helping her, and as their session was ending, she saw me and asked me how I was doing. I spoke to her and ended up taking over in helping her. I didn't mind since it was Georgia history - a subject I enjoy. Since I had answered the questions myself, 4 years ago (can't believe it was that long ago!), I remembered what I did and had a discussion about the questions. We talked about how Lester Maddox got to be governor and how the state is changing and progressing over time. Part of our discussion also dealt with Charlayne Hunter-Gault's 1988 commencement speech at UGA. While I was talking about the faults the state has, I also acknowledged the beauty state has. If anything, helping this tutee just reinforced my feelings for this state.

[♪ Listening to: "Everything Changes" - Kathy Troccoli]

Posted by Shawn at April 22, 2008 11:14 AM in General.