As I sit here in my dry cabin, covered in flannel, dog hair, mud, I listen to the sound of quinoa cooking on a hot plate and wonder how to introduce myself.  I suppose that works.  This being my sixth consecutive year in college and my final semester as an undergraduate, my excitement levels are about as high as my false self confidence.  I have nearly completed my civil engineering degree, which is unfortunate considering I have lost most of my interest in the matter.  Through college my eyes have been increasingly drawn up from my calculations towards the mountains.  In my free time I enjoy scaling ice formations, mainly frozen waterfalls and glaciers, the latter being a more recent interest.  On the off chance in the snowy season when my free time coincides with beautiful weather (defined as any weather lacking precipitation), my bank account permits the purchase of a tank of gas and the ingredients for breakfast burritos, and if I can convince a fellow climber to accompany me, I prefer to spend time in the Alaska Range.  When these cogs do not mesh, there’s always yoga.

Civil engineers do not pride themselves in their knowledge of art, mainly because art is not part of civil engineering.  It is a debatable assertion, but functionality will always trump aesthetics in the engineering world.  My main association with the arts has been through viewing the work of my artistic friends and making wildly-inaccurate wine-influenced judgments at First Friday shows.  I made also made a video for my Japanese class in high school, found here –>(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsIN–PqXcM).  My friend Samuel Johnson has been painting his own versions of the mountains he loves for a few years now, his art was the first I have purchased.  I hope by taking this class I will be able to expand and grow my knowledge of appreciation for art, as well as my ability to make sassy artistic comments.

-wayne