Who am I?

My name is Leah. I'm from a very tiny town on the coast of Maine. I attend Eckerd College (whose student body is literally larger than my hometown), and I study a lot of things. It's really a mouthful. I'm a double major in International Relations & Global Affairs and Women's & Gender Studies, and a double minor in Spanish and Political Science. All things I am passionate about. When I was in high school I put a map up on the wall of my bedroom so I could document all the places I planned to go (inspired by both Tumblr and the song Maps by the Front Bottoms). And I've grown to form a kind of love hate relationship with travel, because I both want to see the world in its entirety and do good things in the world. Which can actually be a little bit complicated, I've come to learn, by something called white saviorism and my positionality. I am a white, cis-gendered woman who was raised in an upper middle class family. And my ability to even create this blog where I talk about my experience with higher education and putting pins on the map in my childhood bedroom is greatly influenced by where and who I come from.  It's hard to ignore that when I leave the United States. But that does not mean I have abandoned the idea of going abroad entirely. Quite the opposite. 
 

When I finish at Eckerd I do not want to stop my education. I want to move to Boston and get a Masters, maybe a Ph.D. too. I love learning, and I enjoy the challenge of navigating the American education system. I'm good at it. I take great pride in my capacity to do so.  But it's immeasurably more difficult for me to do projects like this, where I focus on myself, instead of femicide in Mexico, ethics in international relations, queer theory, or human rights and international law.  Which is why I'm giving it a shot. I hope it's somewhat enjoyable for those who come across it.