I haven't posted anything about my move to Saint Louis or a concluding blog about my Appalachian Trail hike. I needed some time away from the trail to better understand my emotions. I don't have the time or energy to address that yet. It turns out that my PhD program allows very little time from introspective thought other than the massive amount of reading I'm assigned.
The transition to STL has been bumpy, but productive. My car was broken into just days after being rear ended in a hit-and-run, I've gained back much of the weight lost during my trek, and my apartment regularly floods. I've seen little of Saint Louis other than my midtown bubble and October was the city's rainiest month on record. Tonight, Halloween, I'm blogging from a coffee shop during a break from reading about rural fringe developments in Building Suburbia. On the plus side, I've signed up for a half-marathon, Jen and I are doing well, and school has been tremendously rewarding, albeit stressful.
I'm writing this as a transitional blog shifting the focus of this online space from my AT trip to my life as a PhD student at Saint Louis University. If it interests anyone, I'll be posting some of my scholarly work on here, as well as links to those I publish through professional journals. My research interests include Southern intellectual thought at the turn of the 21st Century, as well as visual culture and media studies.
I've been surprised at the number of visitors my site has attracted since I created it one year ago. Almost 4,000 unique visitors have at one point stopped by. I'll try to stay on top of this blog as much as I can. I hope my shift in focus from the trail doesn't cause my online followers to flee.
—Mike McCollum (Steamboat 09')
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