At varying times in my 20s and early-30s I would take classes at local community colleges.

Denver, Colorado

In the early '90s, after moving from Boulder to Denver's Capitol Hill. I started taking classes at the Community College of Denver. At the time I planned to eventually enroll at a university, that was the plan at least, but plans change. I took classes with the intention to transfer, but I'd have to "blame" philosophy for changing that. The philosophy courses were primarily at night, and entry level history and ethics courses. I remember working with Plato and Descartes the most, but it wasn't necessarily the authors so much as the ideas...or rather, the idea that philosophy itself presented and the overarching question that philosophy raised: What was the nature of ______? One could inquire, and in inquiring one could structure one's inquiries into big questions in such a way that they can ultimately develop an appreciation of various problems and the world at large. 

I realized I had yet to start asking questions, questions that begain with that first inquiry. I would say it was the idea that things need not be taken as they are given that inevitably lead me to examine my life at that time. I was young and foolish, of course, but from such examinations I realized I had no idea who I was, what I wanted, or even what was out there to want. I suspect the questions arising from this line of thinking is why I would eventually sell everything I owned and backpack around the U.S. for 3 years: in pursuit of answers, and the next question.

Portland, Oregon

Towards the end of the '90s, after I had settled a bit from travelling the country, I started taking classes at another community college, this time Portland Community College. I attended part-time while working at a restaurant on NW 23rd St, very "alternative" at the time. I'd hoped to find an academic path that resonated with my new interests in meaning, and I initially found it in my art history and art courses. These classes would inevitably inform the focus of my future studies. 

I appreciated the expressive and synthetic nature of painting and drawing, but it was the class I took in Art History that influenced me the most. Examining not only the works but the history of thought, the intermingling of ideas with the aesthetic, human creations became dynamic and charged with mystery hidden in their surfaces. This would deeply influence my undergraduate interests the most when I later enrolled at the University of Oregon.

Eugene, Oregon

Influenced by my studies in Portland, I pursued them further when I attended Lane Community College while living in Eugene. I had moved there with my partner at the time who was starting classes at U of O for landscape architecture. I primarily focused on completing core requirements so that I could transfer to U of O, with an emphasis in art. My area of interest was sculpture and painting, having been influenced by the work of Chuck Close while studying at PCC. After completeing my studies at LCC I enrolled in the art program at the University of Oregon.