Meghan's+Page

  **Meghan Kelly's Page** (I took this picture on the Tiber river in Rome. St. Peter's Basilica is the dome highlighted in the background) ** ~ I am a junior at the University of Colorado studying International Affairs. While I love being categorized as a Colorado native, I find the mystery of the world to be quite compelling. As a result, I have spent a significant amount of time living abroad in Europe, and I enjoy experiencing the many cultures of the world. My love of traveling and simply my desire to discover the world has inspired this piece.

The World Is Round- ** media type="file" key="Meghan's TIB.mp3" width="240" height="20"  I believe the world is round. A globe. A sphere. There are no ends, no drop-offs: no clean-cut edges. The world is not composed of a definitive, terminating horizon despite what the ancient explorers believed as they sailed out into the golden-red sunset over the vast expanse of deep blue waters in search of the new, the unexpected. Instead, I believe the world is a vast network of connections: from the sandy beaches of one coastal region to the rocky cliffs of another, the earth continues. It revolves. There are no ends. One white-capped wave could take me around the world, just as one brisk gust of wind could also easily do so.

I made a similar quest into the horizon hundreds of years later as the wheels of my airplane took off from a Chicago O’Hare runway into a rather anti-climatic, dismal gray sky. It was my time to explore, my time to forge connections with the world. One dark, cold night a short while later, a small group of American students, including myself, were hopelessly searching for a seemingly impossible destination in the small town of Monterosso. After wandering aimlessly, through the deserted streets, a darkly dressed Italian man finally valiantly addressed us and politely inquired if we needed any help. In broken Italian, we tried to explain our situation and before long we were following a growing crowd of townspeople across winding cobblestone streets in an attempt to find our hostel. Italians removed themselves from their warm homes, cheerful restaurants, and cozy bars to aid our search, each one arguing boisterously while shaking their hands at each other, completely certain that they knew the way. My friends and I looked at each other in speechless amazement as the mass of people swelled all with the common goal of helping some rather ignorant American students. An eye-opening experience such as this created a strong desire for me to discover the ways in which people from such different backgrounds can be united under common goals and common human qualities.

I believe I can learn the world. I want to learn the world. Although the earth is composed of a seemingly endless myriad of elements, organisms and cultures, which one may believe could be an impossibly endless task to uncover, the fact that world connections continue throughout time and are composed of a web of intricate interactions, inspires in me an eloquent interest. These natural, earthy bonds that circle the globe attached to one, but touching many, I think should be used to discover, to understand. From the sweeping plains of the Serengheti, to the snowy peaks of Everest, from the bustling streets of New York to the crumbling steps of Macchu Picchu, there are always new connections that I can make. I believe that earth represents a certain type of circling continuum of time and of knowledge. All the experience and connections the world has to offer is laid before me, it only requires that I must take the first step, as one place will lead me to another.

I believe the world is round. There are no ends. This I believe