Me Too Iguana

Yesterday was the annual GRC, or the Graduate Research Colloquium. This is the visiting days for admitted master's and PhD students to the HALE and Student Affairs programs, and it is also a kind of annual marker for me because the first time I visited Lansing was during the GRC. I will never forget arriving at the teeny-tiny Lansing airport and driving through snow covered streets to get to campus. And thinking, "Where on Earth have I landed and why am I even considering moving here." Three years have passed since I first visited, sometimes that is unbelievable to me!

The GRC is also a time for current students to present research they are working on so prospective students can kind of see what is going on and what current students do. I presented in the morning on some data I collected last summer, and as I was putting my presentation together I was reminded of a children's book I used to have called Me Too Iguana. I've only ever met one other person who knew about this book, she was a friend I met in college and was very familiar with Sweet Pickle Books (the series this book comes from). So now when I think about these books I also think of my old college friend. One primary reason my presentation reminded me of this book is because I was discussing ways that colleges and universities tend to mimic one another in order to gain legitimacy. And Me Too Iguana is the story of an iguana who walks around town and thinks she needs to be like everyone else. Obviously this is a story about being yourself, but it was such a wonderful vivid memory I had of reading these books as a kid. I didn't work iguana into my presentation, but I did throw out my boring power point and only use the chalk board to give my talk. The feedback I got let me know it went over pretty well.