Tagged: lessons for incoming students
Julia Cohen
It’s not about what you’re doing, it’s who you’re with
Julia Cohen
Fall 2015
I chose to come to DC for my career. If I had wanted the parties, or the views, or the lifelong friendships, I told myself, I would have gone to Europe. Instead I followed a path less known in experiences but which I knew would pay off in the long run. When I arrived on my floor in late August, I only prepared to give my internship and my classes my all, friends, I said, could fall a distant third. Looking back on it that’s how we all started, unsure of what the social situation would bring, I sat in the common room by myself on the first night skyping my friends from home and wistfully wondering if I would have been better off staying in Boston.
At the end of orientation week I knew I had made the right choice. And now, three months into my stay in Washington, and four weeks before the end of the program, I stand by that feeling. I came to DC expecting to gain professional experience but not expecting to gain friends. Although I love this city and the thrill of being a part of something big, I can honestly say that when it comes time for me to board a plane in a few weeks, what I will miss most about my study abroad experience will be the friends I have made here. More
