In the classroom I studied all the usual subjects--English, Math, Biology, Chemistry, History--and a few uncommon ones, namely Latin and German.
In the beginning of high school I struggled to adjust. Balancing a rigorous workload in an unfamiliar environment was challenging and slowly my motivation for schoolwork faded, just like my interest in snails. It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I discovered a program to study in Germany. My excitement for learning flooded back in. I could travel across the world, meet different people and eat food that I had never tasted before. All I had to do was learn the language and get to a college which could take me there. My spark was back.
I spent the next few years bent over textbooks and dictionaries, eventually graduating in 2017. I was accepted to Hamilton College for my bachelors degree, and in August of the same year I hauled my life to upstate New York.
In the beginning I had no idea what to study, and flip-flopped between everything from Gender Studies to Physics. One thing was consistent, however: my love of German. Eventually it became clear that I should study what I love and what got me there in the first place, so I became a German Studies major. At the same time I wanted to do things outside the class which made me happy, so I started writing for the campus satirical paper, joined Queer Student Union, and became the treasurer for the fraternity Delta Phi.
Two years later I made the decision to spend my junior year abroad, finally getting my chance to do all those things which motivated me early in my academic career! It was finally time to take my mother’s advice and put on my rain boots.
