Shall we go chronologically?
I was born and raised in Jackson Hole, WY, a popular tourist destination, though it was less well-known when I first arrived on the scene. My brother, Dan, followed shortly thereafter to join me and cat, Katy, to form the Carson family unit. We later added more pets in the form of cats Sophy (short for Sophoclese), and Porchy (short for Porch Panther), dog Sparky (short for Sparky), snake Seizor (named for his manner of approaching his dinner), rats, the favorite of which was Fatima, rabbits Bernice and Bunjy, guinea pig Guinchy, parakeet Tweeter (succeeded by Tweeter Two and Peppy), turtles (I don't remember their names), many fish, a tarantula, Rosie, who didn't stick around for long, and assorted others who made their appearances. It was a great place to be a kid.
We had friends and neighbors with horses and cattle. We gave the cattle a wide berth, but loved to have a chance to ride the horses in the summertime. Most days of summer we spent swimming at the pool or at a natural warm spring off the Gros Ventre River in Grand Teton National Park.
School was school, and, as it happens, I liked it more than the average kid, thanks in no small part, I'm sure, to the fact that I tended to do fairly well there, and, for the most part, I liked the people. There's a lot to be said for growing up in a small community. Most of the kids who started in first grade with me graduated from high school with me. I definitely appreciate that familiarity and stability, though I probably didn't as much when I was there.
After high school, I headed off into the big, bad world of college. Happily, Williams College didn't turn out to be either big or bad. In fact, after a rocky start, it was a really great place to be, due largely to the people. With a few notable but to remain nameless exceptions, the people at Williams were truly outstanding, and not just on paper.
After the trauma of finding a new home away from home, I found myself wondering what on earth I would major in. I stumbled into the religion major, and there I stayed. Challenging classes and interesting people -- what more could I want?
Well, as it happened, I wanted a bit of something that Williams hadn't really gotten to, yet, so I got into multiculturalism on my own through independent study and extracurricular activities. For more on that, look at my politics page.
Yadda, yadda, yadda, I'm now an alumna, Class of '98.
Thus it came that I am sitting in my apartment in Medford, MA, typing up my web page.
© 1999 Rosa Carson