I feel badly that I have neglected the blog for the past few weeks, but it has truly been one insane month filled with exams, internship, goodbyes as well as new “hellos.” Yes, one of the wonderful things about this semester is that you never quite stop meeting new people – and it seems that every one of them has a different perspective on Berlin, and there’s nothing I love more than sharing “my” Berlin with others.
Seems like time flies when you’re having fun.
The final days leading up to my departure have been packed with places to go and people to see before leaving, continuous to-d0 lists to fulfill, and a little bit of stress here and there. At the start of my final week, I knew the few next days would creep up on me way too fast, yet at the same time I felt like Buenos Aires was so far away and still just a distant reverie.
Paint the town blue! It’s a boy!
In various stages of my life I have wanted to be a veterinarian, a marine biologist, an astronaut, an Olympic gymnast, and an attorney. One thing I have never wanted to be was a writer. While I did well enough on my essays in school, and often kept a private journal when I was younger, I was very uncomfortable with the idea of even talking about my writing– forget publishing it!
At my internship with Europe Consulting I felt that I had the opportunity to bring fresh ideas to the table that were implemented. Even during my interview, the Director was explaining different services Europe Consulting offers homeless people in order to help get them back on their feet. He said that they help them write resumes and later talked about all the projects they had available to them in their free time, such as writing articles for their newspaper.
Since coming here, the most asked question has been “why intern instead of just taking classes?” For me personally, I always knew I wanted to study abroad. Lots of my friends have studied abroad during the school year, and they all said it was the best choice they ever made. I realized very early on that if I wanted to graduate early, I did not have time during the semester to go abroad and the only time I could go would be the summer.
The various tasks and projects that kept my time occupied at my internship were slowly coming to a halt. I no longer had clients to contact because it was our turn to wait for their responses. I grew very bored at work as my boss told me to look up more events for our company to be a part of for promotions. This was a task that I was suggested to do when there was not much to do. I felt frustrated at this because this tedious task made me feel as if I had little importance to the company.
Whether it be lost in a conversation in a language you don’t understand, lost in the a hidden street of a neighborhood you’ve set out to explore, or lost in a culture different from your own, you learn by getting lost. But there’s beauty in the process of finding your way. Even during my short time here in Rome, I have had glimpses of that beauty as I cope with daily life abroad.
Upon graduating from high school I received a gift from my mother; a ring with the words “Do what you love, love what you do” inscribed on it. To many it can be taken as a cliché said to many graduates as they enter into the world to start discovering what they’re passionate about. To me the significance goes much deeper. I have always struggled with the idea of growing up to pursue a career in a corporation, making nothing, slaving away day after day, doing something you hate to do.