Items

• 0025-01-27

  Athens for a Month

  During the COVID-19 pandemic I determined to go back to college. At that time, in 2020, I was 38 years old. Most of my life I worked in construction and related industries. From 2009 to 2011, as a result of the recession, I completed two associate degrees; following which I promptly went back to work in construction. The pandemic posed an opportunity for me to continue my education. In the Fall of 2020, I began attending UCR. In the Spring of 2022, I graduated with a BA in Philosophy. Being a single father, I have not had many opportunities to travel due to financial constraints and time constraints. If I could travel anywhere on Earth, I would like to travel to Greece. I would not desire to travel a constrained and guided tour. I would not wish to have each step and location planned. Rather, I would like a couple months to saunter through the ruins in Athens, Particularly the Lyceum where I might find some hidden spot with a view, an alcove where I might imagine Plato and his musings, a place to sit and think deeply of the minds and thoughts of those people which lived there over two thousand years ago. During this time, I am likely to journal my thoughts as random ideas and questions enter my mind, a hobby I practice throughout everyday life. I would prefer to soak up a single place for weeks than to rush to see “everything”—in such a rush much is likely to be missed and much would remain unseen. I am 42 years old now. My daughter is 16 years old. Mayhap my dream of traveling to Athens will happen after I complete my MA History degree. Only the view of the Lyceum would include the sight of my daughter and my imaginings of her musings, as well.