Picture this: it’s your freshman year in college, you don’t know what you want to do with your life, and you’re thinking about switching schools. What do you do?
Apply to study abroad, obviously. At least, that’s what I did.
The past year has been a bit of a whirlwind for me. A year ago, I was just graduating high school and realizing that the world is a big ocean and I am but a small fish.
While this program has been overwhelming and challenging, I truly believe that I could not have chosen a more opportune time to study abroad.
I have had the pleasure of being one of the youngest people on this trip, a position that I have taken full advantage of. It’s been extremely insightful for me to have spent the last five weeks surrounded by students who have more experience in academia than I do.
With all the stress and confusion of deciding to transfer schools, my fellow CSU students have reminded me of my love for learning and how empowering education can be.
Cheesy as it sounds, I have experienced a lot of personal growth abroad that I hope to carry with me back to Colorado.
Whether I’m cooking in the tiny kitchen with Rachel, working in the Trinity library with Sydney, or singing David Bowie with Anna on the streets of London, I am constantly grateful for the people I have met on this trip.
As my last few days as an associate student of Oxford, and as an official CSU Ram, draw to a close, my heart if full.
On a happier note, I had another amazing experience at Oxford today.
Rachel, Sydney, and I spent the afternoon wandering around, taking advantage of our Bod cards and trying to see some of the other colleges.
When we got to Trinity College, we saw a pretty open doorway that is usually closed to students.
“What’s this?” Rachel asked, inquisitively poking her head through the door.
“An exam room,” I said, thinking of all the times I had seen a sign reading Quiet Please, Examinations Are Taking Place In This Stairwell outside the door.
Thinking nothing of it, we entered the building where we were greeted with the sight of a beautiful living room and a small courtyard where two people were sitting.
“Come on in,” a woman called out to us, coming into the building from the courtyard accompanied by a cheerful dog. “Hello there, are you students?”
“Yes, we’re associate students at Trinity,” I said, thinking that we were about to get yelled at for being someplace we weren’t supposed to.
“Oh, I’m the President of Trinity College and you’ve just wandered into my house,” the woman, Dame Hilary Boulding, said with a pleasant smile on her face.
Rachel, Sydney, and I started looking at each other thinking that we were about to get raked over the coals. But much to our surprise, and delight, Trinity’s President turned out to be one of the kindest and most welcoming people I have met at Oxford.
After introducing us to her dog, Penny, and asking us about our tutorials and time at Oxford, she invited us to apply to do our master’s at Oxford and told us to visit her favorite college: Worcester.
After sincerely apologizing for bursting into her house and thanking her for her time, we set to take a look at Worcester College which was well worth the walk.
Overall, it was a phenomenal last day as an associate student. Thanks Oxford.
Shakespeare in Oxford! 