What was downtown is now uptown... namely me.

Yesterday I went to Teachers College (Columbia University) for some admitted students activities.  It ended up being a mixed day.  As someone who has already completed a graduate degree, the ins and outs of grad school are old hat to me by now.  However, it was great to meet some current students, hear an alumna speak, and spend some time on campus.

I had my camera with me but, unfortunately, since it was raining, the campus tours were canceled and there wasn't much of a point to walking around and taking pictures.  There's a full orientation day in September and I was told the campus tours will be done then.  One of them was a tour of Columbia's historic cultural sites; I am super excited for that one! (There's a statue of Alexander Hamilton that I haven't yet had a chance to go see!)

What struck me early in the day, though, was how this represents a shift and continuum in my life.  I used to take public transportation into the city and head downtown to NYU.  Instinctively, I almost headed for the downtown trains but caught myself and made sure I was going uptown (similarly, when heading home, I had to remind myself that Port Authority was now downtown of me, not uptown).  But NYU used to have a Morningside Heights campus and Teachers College had classroom space in the Village, so it really is like my NYC schooling is linked and circular.  (I'll add that I started kindergarten in the Bronx, so this really is like a move towards my past and a move to the future at the same time.)

The highlight of yesterday, though, was getting to meet the woman who helped create Blue's Clues and who has also worked on Oswald and Little Bill.  (She's a TC alum.)  All that history and talk of registration and student loans and nitty gritty and it comes down to a bunch of Noggin shows, which is fine by me.  Someday my nephew will be impressed that I met her.  For now I'm just happy to be a student again and on the road to what should be the last stretch of my formal education.