After nearly nine months out of the country, I finally stepped foot on American soil two Thursdays ago. The jetlag may have been to blame but I think it took me a full four days to really digest the fact that I had been gone for so long and the world (my worlds of Wellesley, friends, family) had been functioning normally without me. I recognize that this is an extremely egocentric way of viewing the world but honestly, it was a strange thought: how was I going to fit back into settings that I had not been a part of for so long? After being in Tokyo for four months then in Europe for another four and a half, I wasn’t sure I was ready to return to a place that felt like a chapter in my past already.
Four days was all I really had to be jetlagged and groggy because classes at Wellesley started right up on Monday, in full force. I missed the academic rigor of Wellesley so much. Weird to say now because a year ago I was ready to tap out – and in a way, I did get a good break from the at times overwhelming intensity of this environment with studying abroad.
Denmark taught me so many things but one of the things I lacked in Copenhagen was my crew, my girls, the people I go to for anything and everything at any hour of the day. I missed them so much.
My schedule for this semester is pretty great – I have classes on Mondays~Thursdays from 1:30 til 4. That’s it! But two of those classes are seminar classes (higher level courses with a small cap and a lot of course work to do outside of class time) so I really do need the extra time. My favorite classes so far are AMST 315 Beats, Rhymes and Life: Hip Hop Studies and PHIL 249 Medical Ethics.
I’m just so glad to be back here, back home, where I feel comfortable enough to let myself be challenged by my peers and professors. In many pockets of Wellesley I see the greatness of a women’s college education; executive boards of campus organizations that show female leadership is not only possible but positive, my professors in my seminars who push me to approach a controversial topic from a side I may not agree with, my friends who support one another – not just with words but with actions … these are the things I missed most about Wellesley and I’m really excited for the three (!!) semesters I have left as a student here. It felt odd to be back here at first, but two weeks in I know that this is where I SHOULD be right now, that there is so much I need to work on (myself, schoolwork, internships, friendships) that I can only do while I am at Wellesley.
It feels good to be home.
