Graduate School

I love graduate school. 

I love that I get to think about rocks all the time, and that I am in a place surrounded by rocks 

of all kinds.

Yeager Rock glacial erratic (it is massive)

Swaukane Gneiss (cute little garnets in there!)

Columbia River Basalt

Exploring a Lava Tube and representing CWU

Mt. St. Helens

I love that half the time I am so intimidated and challenged...that when I accomplish what I need to get done, I feel so refreshed and excited for what's next. 

Mt. St. Helens and Spirit Lake from Mt. Margeret

I love that even when I feel like I hate it and that I'm not smart enough, I still love it and want to keep going.

I love that I get to be surrounded by people that are passionate about what they are studying. People who I know will be life-long friends.

I love that I get to study volcanoes, and magma chamber processes...

...and that there probably isn't a person in the world who doesn't think volcanoes are cool,

because even when they erupt and cause great destruction

...so much life springs from them. 

I love Mt. St. Helens...and my experience and time there deserves a blog entry of its own.

I am so thankful for this opportunity...thankful for friends and family who support me in this grand adventure. 

Thankful for the Lord who led me here. Thankful for His Kindness, Faithfulness, and Enduring Love in the midst of my fear and trepidation...thankful that He is always near. 

I am deeply blessed.

Me, my new friend Joe the astronomer, and Mt. St. Helens as a backdrop. He showed me different nebulas, galaxies, star systems, and we even got to see Jupiter and its moons as it came over the horizon. My favorite constellation he showed me was "The Northern Cross". We talked about science, astronomy, geology, life, loss, and faith. It was a blessing to meet him.

All Photos: (Mattinson, 2012)