1. You are on the road to Minnesota as I write this. What will you miss about Oberlin or the area?
I said goodbye to Oberlin in 2003, thinking I'd never live there again. Being there again for a year, especially as a non-student, non-employee, non-anything else, changed the way I think about Oberlin pretty intensely, so it's hard to know what I'll miss. I guess I'll miss going to brunch on the weekends and seeing the same people who are always at that same restaurant every Sunday at 11. Even though it always bothered me, I'll miss being surrounded by pessimistic idealists. I'll miss the passion and the angst. I'll miss people who care so much about the world, even if they care too little about things that I value. And I'll miss being somewhere that so completely and totally shaped who I became back when I was in college myself.

2. What are you most excited about moving home?
I'm excited to be somewhere where not everything is such a struggle. I'm looking forward to convenience. I'm excited about good food, lakes and green space in the midst of a city, family nearby, politics I can usually get behind, friends who I really connect with. I'm excited to have a good therapist. But the thing I'm most excited about is that this is home. I feel comfortable but challenged here, and I see a future here. I'm ready to move forward, and Oberlin and the lack of opportunities there was keeping me at a standstill.

3. At what age did you know you wanted to become a Rabbi?
I've actually been interested in the job of a rabbi for a long time... I think I became interested around the age of 11 or 12, when I was preparing for my bat mitzvah and spent a lot of time with rabbis who I really disliked. I thought they did their jobs poorly and I thought I could do better. Then after my bat mitzvah I started meeting some really great rabbis, but even my own rabbi couldn't answer most of my questions. Again, I thought I could do better, but I was disheartened because organized religion seemed to be both divisive and inaccurate. At that point, I completely walked away from Judaism except as a heritage. It wasn't until I found the Reconstructionist movement just over a year ago that I considered becoming a rabbi as a real option.

4. What drew you to Rabbinical school? When do you think you'll go?
That's a hard one to answer. I feel most myself when I'm learning, which, historically, is what a rabbi does. I also feel a strong connection to Judaism now that I've been able to figure out how an organized religion can fit into my life. Finding the Recon movement, which so identically mirrors the views that I had come up with on my own, made everything snap into place. As soon as I found it, there was no question in my mind that I wanted to pursue this. As for when... Emotionally, I'm ready now. In terms of academic preparation, I have another year or so left to finish. In terms of my family being ready for the transition... We figure Lauren should stay in this next job for 3 years or so, and we do want to have our first child before I enroll, if possible, so I guess I plan to apply for fall of '09. That seems so far away... I hate that.

5. Where do you get all the BSC books?
Mainly eBay, a few from Half-Priced Books, and a few from some LiveJournal communities. eBay has been the best source!