Kiley Pratt
April 24, 2018
- Your umbrella, which has seen you through countless rainstorms, mini-downpours, and one instance of freak snowfall but which now rests in the corner, thoroughly dry after a week of 80-degree weather and clear skies almost every day. Or at least maybe it's still there? Shoot, it's definitely back at the restaurant you celebrated the end of classes at the other day. Oh well, there wasn't going to be enough room in your suitcase anyway
- Your passport filled with your French visa, expiring on your sisters 20th birthday that you will be celebrating with her back home, which is stamped with things like 'Heathrow International Airport' and which you have checked and double checked for in the back of airplane seat pockets, backpacks, and coat pockets for the last three months
- Your student ID card and bus pass- not necessary for anything back home, but a reminder of the five classes you were able to have at the university before it closed and the most functional public transportation system you will ever know
- Platform sneakers you bought on sale to match with a friend who will soon be on the other coast and to try to look like one of the cool French teenagers- you may need to pause here and consider how you've gotten to the point where you are looking to French 17-year-olds for your style inspiration, reflect on the practicality of these shoes on the dirt roads of your hometown, and whether or not you will ever be able to wear your leather jacket after the end of October in New England. Take as long as you need to reflect- don't forget the jacket either!
- Your camera, new for your birthday in December, which has now been filled with pictures of late-night kebab dinners, famous monuments which all looked a lot smaller up close, the river at sunset, and the city you have gotten to know so quickly and through so many different lights in the past three months
- Cheese. But like, not the soft kind because you tried bringing that to London and it got thrown out. And also not the kind with too much mold, because that's illegal. You're going to have to look this up
- Your journal, which holds your hopes and fears for three months in a new place, your regrets and reflections on time that has passed far too quickly, and a lot of chocolate stains because you truly can't be expected to do on that self-reflection on an empty stomach?
- Your schoolwork, which has been tremendously marked-up au cause de your lack of perfect French grammar which is still by no means perfect but which has soared in level and utility since you've been here
- Your phone, with the numbers (French and US) of some of the most thoughtful, kind, hilarious people you've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Which holds series of texts about the location of the bus, or lateness to class, or support after a bad day. Which you've used to send photos to people five minutes after you left them because you've just gotten used to being around each other so much. And which you'll now use to check into your flight leaving on Saturday out of Paris
- More cheese. Because you're really going to miss that too
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Kiley Pratt
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-top:2.35pt; margin-right:23.95pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; margin-left:5.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%">I am currently a junior at Tufts University studying Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Computer Science, and Food Systems and Nutrition. When not at Tufts, I am either at home in Vermont, hiking in the Adirondack mountains, or searching for a good gluten-free bagel. I also enjoy skiing, making smoothies out of pretty much anything, climbing, and reading in the back of used book stores.</span></p>
Home University:
Tufts University
Hometown:
New Haven, VT
Major:
Cognitive Science
Computer Science
