Wildly Curious.

This is my attempt at an introduction. I’m introducing myself to you and myself into the world of blogging. I promise not ALL of my future posts will be this wordy, complicated, and introspective. But I do believe if you truly want to get to know somebody, you have to know at least part of their story…

My name is Casey. I’m a Central Pennsylvania native and I’ve recently made a pretty substantial transition in my life. I graduated from Penn State with a degree in Agriculture Sciences with minors in agronomy and horticulture. Upon graduation, I was deeply disappointed and discouraged by the job options available in my particular career field. Ugh. I didn’t want to “sell” anything (including my soul to corporate America). Period. Also, I still felt the overwhelming desire to learn more.. definitely not how I expected my brain to react after a 22-credit final semester. So, it was settled. I would pursue a master’s degree. What wasn’t so simple was that I had absolutely no idea where I wanted be. Besides a small bit of traveling and exploring, I didn’t have a ton of opinion as to where my next destination should be. All I knew was I had this overwhelming feeling that I didn’t just want a change but I needed it. I wanted to be far away from where I was and nothing was going to sway me. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? This internal, overwhelming feeling that we just can’t explain? We’ve all reached a pivotal point in our lives that drives us one direction or another. During this crucial, admittedly messy and confusing point in my journey, I met who I now consider to be the love of my life, Matt. At first, I omitted that part of the story during the writing process. But how could I? I would be lying if I said moving west was my own idea (a tad bit of foreshadowing there). Honestly, I have to give most of my credit to him. In the beginning of our relationship, he traveled to both Colorado and Montana on fly-fishing trips. Upon his return from these places, he had what I would describe as a sparkle in eyes and a fire in his soul. He would over and over spill his guts to me about his feelings on life-changing sights he saw and the phenomenal food, beer, and culture he soaked in. He loved it there. Every nuance he emphasized attached to something deep inside of me. Something about all of this fit with my direction and my purpose. As much as I loved Central Pennsylvania, the area lacked so many of the qualities I longed for. I craved a greater richness in regard to mindset, culture, and opportunity. Not too long after this whirlwind of my boyfriends travels; I received an opportunity from a fellow PSU friend who was now pursuing her PhD at Colorado State University (Thanks, Kat ☺). Fate? Maybe. But that’s for another discussion. It simply seemed right – so I applied. Before I could even process the series of events I set in motion, I was offered the position, and moved here having never set foot in the damn state in my life. Thanks to a metric-shit ton of confusion, a loving, passionate influence, a good friend who thought of me, and two amazing humans who volunteered to help me move (Abby & Jacob – I’m forever in your debt),… here I am, studying plant and soil sciences at Colorado State University.

I’ve traded the Appalachians for the Front Range of the Rockies. Every day what I experience is new.. the plants, people, culture, soil, climate, views.. the daily learning continues. What I thought might be the most terrifying step in my early 20’s turned out to be one of the most positively life changing experiences I’ve had. It seems I’m changing everyday – in every possible way. Yes, I did just quote the Cranberries. What I’m getting at here is when we experience big change (like moving somewhere new) we tend to notice that we learn things. However, we experience a hell of a lot on a daily basis. The things we experience daily are often things we overlook. If we only just noticed them, we could learn a hell of a lot from them, too..

..which leads me to why I’m writing this blog.

When we think about learning we immediately teleport our minds to the dread of sitting in desks and having facts, concepts, and theories jammed into our brains only to regurgitate it on a test a few weeks later and forget about it. But to me, the most special forms of learning aren’t traditional. The most memorable and special concepts we hold dear are gathered in the most memorable ways. My entire life I’ve been curious and passionately addicted to learning. Particularly, I’ve discovered I have a profound curiosity in the world around us. This includes plants, soil, insects, ecosystems, animals, fungus, air, human interaction, breath-taking experiences, genuine connections, emotions, and list goes on…
These are the beautifully complex things surrounding us every single day but seem to blend silently into the background of our busy lives. In this blog my goal is not only to try and take what knotted up knowledge and experiences that have been stored in my brain for the last 24 years and organize it on “paper” for my own mental clarity but to maybe peak your interest in these topics as well. This world has so many fascinating things to ponder and I want you to join me on this journey. Be fascinated and be curious. I don’t want to just bore you with how-to guides or sharing only my opinion on current events. What I am after is something deeper and quite frankly more fun. My ultimate goal is to connect you not only to my world but the world that surrounds us both. Sometimes I think we forget or downplay the monumental fact that the natural world is responsible for our existence as humans. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the fuel we utilize.. it’s imperative that we care, but to care we need to have an interest. That’s where I come in… Some of the topics I plan on delving into include but are not limited to: hiking, cooking, wild edibles, science, herbal medicines, history, relationships, the outdoors, traveling, gardening, agriculture, restaurants, beer, fly fishing, my experiences, my thoughts, and my never ending curiosity with the natural world. I hope the topics I continue to write about on this journey allow you to relate, learn, and become inspired. Whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast or a nature nerd, a photographer or you are just simply curious – I hope you enjoy some of my future thoughts and you find a way to connect..

So please, promise me you’ll read every now and then and I promise I’ll help you learn something neat at least a time or two. ☺