uva crush

Last weekend, we roadtripped with our friends Emily & Josh to Charlottesville. Needless to say, 3/4 of us are nerds at heart & wouldn't mind getting a graduate degree from there... Maybe one day ;)

I learned a few things about UVA that make it all the more intriguing to me:

1. Jefferson was one cunning dude. He knew how to get money out of legislators by building his Academical Village {his term, not mine} in multiple locations all at once. That way when the guys with the power came by to see its progress, they would see that more money would be needed to finish the whole project (instead of cutting funding after one part was done). Due to his reasoning, the cornerstone of the Academical Village is found in Pavillion 7 {totally haphazard}. 

{Today his Academical Village, along with UVA & his home Monticello, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site}

2. Their graduate school of business alone could house my entire prep school at home. & this is their parking deck.

3. Secret Societies rule. And they have lots of them (supposedly second only to Princeton). Or maybe I just have always been captivated by their intrigue {and now I want to figure out who all the Sevens are... or just maybe see a tomb with the wreath}... 

{Walking around campus, all the chalk/graffiti on buildings & sidewalks that say IMP, Z, & 7 are the marks of the three known societies at UVA. For any who are hesitant about graffiti-loving cult groups, these three all have philanthropy at their roots. So they're cool and good at heart. Oh, & my favorite: if anyone has a message they want to pass along to the Seven Society, they leave a note at the carving of TJ in the Rotunda & it'll get picked up every night & delivered to them.}

4. I love that Jefferson made his Rotunda a library & the center of everything in his plans. & that the top floor hid its bookcases behind its columns so that when dances were held there, the center of attention was on the dance & not on learning {because learning can be so distracting}.

5. I would have wanted to live on the Lawn my senior year, even though the rooms have no bathrooms, no central air {they're heated by fireplaces}, & are tinier than the shoebox of the rooms in the Chi O house that I lived in for three years. I'm that gooby {& Sarah you totally would have wanted to as well}. 

{the Lawn rooms are reserved for high GPA/very involved UVA undergrad students & the Range rooms are for grad students. Both have been in use since the start of the University. Originally the faculty also lived there in the ten Pavilions- living above their classrooms. Today some of the deans live there. Neat, huh?}

so in short, I have a crush on UVA.