So I intended to do another post on this blog a few weeks ago to sum up my first year of college, but then I forgot... and by forgot I mean I was sitting on my bed (or in my brothers' room) doing nothing and didn't feel like thinking about and reflecting on school. However, now there is a more important reason I have revived this blog: Germany. I plan to use this as a place for people to keep up with me while I spend another 6-ish weeks in Germany this summer, though looking at my Facebook photos would be just as effective a method, I suppose.
Anyway...
I was going to rename the blog, considering my first year of college is over, but then I decided not to. I feel like it's probably still appropriate because maybe I will always be transitioning (are we getting philosophical? unheard of!). In actuality it's because I just can't think of another title.
I'll do a quick reflection about my freshman year at USC and then get back to my summer plans:
I really don't know where to begin in terms of my school year and my satisfaction with it. I maintained a 4.0 and met some really amazing people, and yet I still would love to have the option to redo pieces of it. In the beginning (who am I kidding, during the whole year) I was way too shy and made no effort to get to know people very well, and thus stuck to my dorm room for a good part of the day. It's not that I didn't want to, but people don't seem to understand the mental block I have when it comes to approaching people when I explain this to them. It's a problem, I know, but I hope to work on it. This was an issue all throughout the school year. Sure, I had my core group of friends, and I really enjoy them, but that is maybe 3 or 4 people. Everyone else I met this year falls under classmate, acquaintance (they just liked the fact that I baked all the time), or people who I consider friends but barely hung out with because they are so freaking busy whereas I am only busy every once and a while. I guess it's because that by the time I was comfortable in my surroundings, everyone else had already established their friendships. Yes well, I don't suppose I really deserve pity. In the end it is my fault. Here's to hoping I do better next year!
For those of you who don't know my plans for the summer, I will be flying to Germany on June 7th and will not be returning until July 19th. For the first month I will be in Wittenberg and then I will spend the last 10 days visiting friends in the south(ish) west of the country. In Wittenberg I will be with a USC program to study at the Institut für deutsche Sprache und Kultur, and I will receive 6 credit hours for my efforts! (Sweet deal? I think so.) I am looking forward to it very much. Anyone who knows even the littlest bit about me knows I have a love affair with Germany and have all intentions of spending my junior year there and then going to grad school there.
Yesterday I bought my train tickets for July 9th to take me from Wittenberg and Schwäbisch Gmünd, where I will be staying with my friend Lena for 5 days before moving on to Heidelberg to visit Rachael, whose dad is stationed there with the US military. That is going to be a long day, almost 7 hours of which will be spent on trains. I am very excited about the end of the trip especially. Last summer I spent 3 weeks with Lena's family, and I honestly don't know if there has ever been a friendlier or more welcoming family. They are some of the sweetest people I have ever met, and I hope that they will be a part of my life for a long time to come. As for Rachael, I met her at USC and she is also one of the most kindhearted people I have had the pleasure of knowing. I'm pretty sure I have never heard her say a negative thing about anyone. I will be living with her next year at East Quad, so I guess this will be a bit of a warm up to that.
You will also notice that I will be in Germany over a very important date--my birthday. I turn 19 on June 11th, only 3 days after I arrive. While it will be awesome to celebrate meinen Geburtstag in Germany, it will also suck a bit because they will barely know who I am. Oh well! You win some, you lose some.
Anyway, this blog has gotten very long. My intention is to update it at least 2-3 times a week while I am over there. I may have one more entry before I leave, though I don't know how much I could write about.
Tschüß!
Holland
