Recently, I returned to my personal archive to ground myself in what my aspirations and dreams were as a teenager. I reflect on these memory files every now and again to gain a sense of who I am, especially in moments or times when I feel lost. I stumbled across a visual map that dates back to September of 2022. I was sixteen years old at the time and in my sophomore year of high school. A few of my aspirations were to achieve inner peace, love the one who loves me, and, most relevantly, to travel this big and beautiful world.
I am entering my third year at Spelman College, and so far, I love the refuge my HBCU has provided. I have made lifelong friendships and developed impactful relationships with professors. I am always in awe of the conversations that are sparked in daily dialogue, the lived experience(s) of Black women, and the warm encouragement and mentorship from my Spelman sisters/siblings. Some of the spaces that are tender to my soul are The Social Justice Program, The Literature, Media, Writing department, The Women’s Research & Resource center, and the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.
After seeing that one of my Spelman sisters did a semester abroad in Madrid, Spain, I was inspired by the architecture and the quaint places she frequented. I told myself I should look into Spain as well. I did my research, and when the opportunity presented itself to find a program provider, I felt that the Journalism and Communications program in Barcelona, Spain, with IES Abroad, aligned with my interests.
In this program, I will be taking a storytelling class, a self-and-identity class, and more. I really look forward to artistic and cultural excursions and interpreting media such as cinema and literature. According to Cities of Literature, Barcelona “is the world’s largest centre of publishing in the Spanish language, and the capital of the Catalan language.” Given that I am a poet and aspire to a literary arts career writing across genres such as poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, and possibly exploring language translation in my art, I felt that Barcelona, Spain, was the best place to nurture such a foundation.
To prepare for Barcelona, Spain, I briefly studied Spanish this summer through a local library platform. I also talked with my abuelo (maternal grandfather from Puerto Rico) in Spanish, and mostly I’ve read Barcelona by Rich Steves, Heart of Spain by Robert Capa, previous student blog posts, and a photography book that touches on aesthetics and Blackness across the diaspora and is connected to an exhibition in Spain.
I also did a massive clothing giveaway because I anticipate doing plenty of shopping in Spain at flea markets and thrift stores. I read that thrifting is a common practice in Barcelona for sustainability reasons, and this aligns with my values. I also ordered photobooks, a scrapbook, and cameras because I am very interested in archiving my experience in an analog manner. I desire to look back in twenty to thirty years and say that when I was twenty years old, I went to Barcelona, Spain, for four months and lived, learned, and had the time of my life.
If you were to ask me about my anxiety, I would say that I am nervous about my sleep schedule. When I traveled to Nantes, France, in the summer of 2025, I was sleep-deprived and started drinking coffee due to the six-hour time difference between the US Eastern Time Zone. Nonetheless, I really hope that my sleep schedule remains consistent and is not significantly affected in Barcelona, Spain. Another thing that I am anxious about is traveling through the airports. In previous times, when I studied abroad, I traveled with a group. This time, I will be traveling independently. Normally, when I trek through airports, the long lines, crowds, and coarse demeanor of TSA agents upset me. I really hope that things progress smoothly and safely.
On to the good stuff: I am so eager to make new friends, create art, define myself more deeply, and visit various artistic and cultural hubs while I’m in Spain. Currently, I am eager to dive into other artistic disciplines. This summer, I rediscovered my passion for drawing, and photography is also piquing my interest. I am also really looking forward to my internship as an English TA at a school. English Literature has been my favorite subject all my life, hence my major in Literature, Media, and Writing. I look forward to putting all my knowledge into practice and learning from the students.
For now, I will be contemplating what is going in the suitcase and what is staying home, and spending time with loved ones before I uproot my life and embark on new adventures and relationships.
More Blogs From This Author
Notes from my past six days in Barcelona, Spain
I have been in Barcelona, Spain, for approximately six days, and I am already dreading my departure on December 18th, 2026. Besides the scorching heat, getting...
Denim Fisher
Denim Fisher is a Spelman College junior hailing from Baltimore, Maryland at Spelman College. Denim is interested in poetry, museums, social justice, and film (she is a social justice fellow and John Lewis scholar at Spelman and performed and created a poetry workshop at the biannual Toni Cade Bambara Scholar-Activism Conference). As a literature, media, writing major with a double minor in comparative women’s studies and Spanish, she aims to pursue a career as a poet, novelist, and teaching artist. Denim loves archival research and aspires to have a literary career that honors memory, identity, and “knowledge that pertains to cultural, artistic, and historical records.”
