I started this blog out of a desire to keep track of my lifestyle in the Macalester EcoHouse, during the academic year of 2010 - 2011.
Then I moved out.
Needless to say (due to the OVERWHELMING gap of time where I didn't write anything), I didn't keep up this blog. (for my attempt at a study abroad blog, see megabroadinparis.blogspot.com)
I also didn't really keep up with living sustainably.
Over the summer I lived with housemates who were not accustomed to my way of life, and so in an effort to avoid conflict, I gave up a lot of my new habits.
I went abroad to Paris, and lived as a Parisian would, but I'm not sure that I put much thought into my efforts to be sustainable.
Then I returned to the United States, lived with the same people as I had in the EcoHouse (plus one more person) and found that without the structure provided to us by the house, we were no longer sustainable residents. We had no worms, no energy efficient appliances, no kill-a-watt guilting us into remembering to turn off lights, no compost bin, no paper stone, no solar panels. We were just ordinary.
As the months went by, I felt the guilt for not keeping up with sustainable living. I was so busy with my classes and internship, that I could barely take the time to do laundry, let alone make sure I was being efficient in my use of water. Sophomore year I had tried to think about every one of my actions, to consider their impacts, and to be deliberate in my life.
Junior year, I just tried to stay on top of things.
I'm now in a position of privilege where I can give this blog, and life, another shot.
This is no longer a blog about a student given the tools to live sustainably, but about someone trying to do the right thing, with a limited budget, and with few resources available. I hope to provide food for thought, whether literally (through recipes) or figuratively (through issues I've faced), and generally just be an interesting writer.
Here are my goals for the next few months:
To enter the bike commuter world
To start an herb garden at work
To jump start the box of worms I'm taking care of
To visit the farmer's market every other week
Thank you for being a reader, and for following along in this quest.
Contact me with questions, articles, recipes, suggestions, and jokes.
Then I moved out.
Needless to say (due to the OVERWHELMING gap of time where I didn't write anything), I didn't keep up this blog. (for my attempt at a study abroad blog, see megabroadinparis.blogspot.com)
I also didn't really keep up with living sustainably.
Over the summer I lived with housemates who were not accustomed to my way of life, and so in an effort to avoid conflict, I gave up a lot of my new habits.
I went abroad to Paris, and lived as a Parisian would, but I'm not sure that I put much thought into my efforts to be sustainable.
Then I returned to the United States, lived with the same people as I had in the EcoHouse (plus one more person) and found that without the structure provided to us by the house, we were no longer sustainable residents. We had no worms, no energy efficient appliances, no kill-a-watt guilting us into remembering to turn off lights, no compost bin, no paper stone, no solar panels. We were just ordinary.
As the months went by, I felt the guilt for not keeping up with sustainable living. I was so busy with my classes and internship, that I could barely take the time to do laundry, let alone make sure I was being efficient in my use of water. Sophomore year I had tried to think about every one of my actions, to consider their impacts, and to be deliberate in my life.
Junior year, I just tried to stay on top of things.
I'm now in a position of privilege where I can give this blog, and life, another shot.
This is no longer a blog about a student given the tools to live sustainably, but about someone trying to do the right thing, with a limited budget, and with few resources available. I hope to provide food for thought, whether literally (through recipes) or figuratively (through issues I've faced), and generally just be an interesting writer.
Here are my goals for the next few months:
To enter the bike commuter world
To start an herb garden at work
To jump start the box of worms I'm taking care of
To visit the farmer's market every other week
Thank you for being a reader, and for following along in this quest.
Contact me with questions, articles, recipes, suggestions, and jokes.
