Peregrine, or peregrinus, implies a wanderer, stranger, or pilgrim. In many ways I wander more than most – mentally, physically, spiritually. The half-citizenship given by the Roman Empire to free persons in occupied areas is a good way of seeing it as well.
Some relevant hard facts might be useful, I suppose. I’m a young woman in my 20s. I’m a graduate student in biology. I’m bipolar, specifically Bipolar II with rapid cycling and mixed states. I have hypermobility syndrome (joints move too much, causing pain) and fibromyalgia. I’m a Celtic (specifically Irish) Reconstructionist. I hope to become a professor of biology some day, if all goes according to plan. I am not an evil genius, but I am somewhat technically a mad scientist.
And then the softer facts. I’m obsessed with botany – plants, gardens, pollination, systematics, et cetera. I like cats, birds of prey, and reptiles (especially snakes). I write numerous things: blogs (obviously), poetry, music. I read books (science fiction, fantasy, biology nonfiction, Celtic mythological texts and analyses, and more), listen to music (Celtic, classical, classic rock, industrial, goth, electronica, mods, some popular rock, some folk), and, when things go well, enjoy hiking and backpacking. My laptop, to which I am attached at the hip, runs Debian unstable. I like microcontrollers, prefer Perl, and use bioinformatics as a tool in my research. I require 8-10 hours of sleep a night, enjoy my heated mattress pad, and am most definitely not a morning person. You get the picture.
Hi Peregrine,
I’ve just read your essay on medication and personality change, and found it to be quite informative. You have the insiders perspective, which one cannot know unless they walk in those moccasins, so to speak. I am the mother of a 27 year old son who has been diagnosed as bipolar. He too is a wanderer, which troubles me some, but what is worrisome is that he isn’t on his meds when he goes…and it is a hard life. Anyway, thanks for your words, as I believe acceptance will give me some peace!
Take care,
Carol