Work. My internal clock was all kinds of crazy when I returned to Houston. I remember eating some delicious, authentic tacos and fighting sleep every bite. It was quite the spectacle for my family to watch. The day after, I began working for Aramis-Estée Lauder as the Michael Kors/Coach/DKNY representative, and had 9 (or more) hour-work days. Summer session I kicked in soon after and I was in school everyday from 1-5:15 p.m., meaning, most of the fruitful day. With summer one over, I intend to finally set my focus on studying for my MCAT. In other words, I have kept myself busy.
Busy, but not ignorant to everything I lived while in Europe. I find myself having conversations with friends and strangers about cities our eyes have shared. I love leisure reading, and references such as: Haribo, St. Germain stop (in Paris), or Kaffekultur trigger wonderful memories. I have made time to reconnect with old friends. It's always a challenge to get the conversation started as there is no one-word to fully embrace my irreplaceable experience, but once I start chatting, it's hard to make me hush. Much of the talking includes words such as: I highly encourage...time of my life...once in a lifetime...do it!...and so on. My enthusiasm spills onto my companions. I can tell by the way they light up with my excitement. But my words do not do it justice. I recommend everyone to travel and see a little bit more than the place they call home. It's easy to associate your home to the place you were born and raised, but home can also be attributed to places where growth was on a more autonomous level rather than physical. The passage of years is another concept that shouldn't be mistaken for growth. I can say from personal experience that I learned a lot about who I am, what I want, what I really need, and ways to achieve it in the four months spent abroad. I would be lying to say I haven't also learned a lot before, but the fresh perspective, the new start, the break from the quotidian, all pushed me to stretch in areas that begged for it.
Choosing to attend A&M was the best decision I have made to this day. And I know that this trip strengthened the area of decision-making as well. (those occasions when time was of the essence and quick decisions were a matter of life or death...just kidding, kinda). And so I think back to the speech Dr. Wasser gave in BMEN 101 as a freshman (yes, I was once an engineering major), and I am very proud of myself for deciding to make this trip a reality. College Station has blessed me with many opportunities. My family, friends, and God have helped make them possible. But I did this trip in particular for no one other than myself. Embarking on this experience brought forth an overflow of opportunities for independence, exponential academic growth, focus, and internal, even moral realignment. I look to the future with a higher sense of confidence. I feel like I can better adapt to changes, and most of all, I feel more connected with the world than ever before. The people I met, my wonderful host family that I still keep in contact with, my professors that were truly mine (and not 500 other student's too), and the locations I hold dear will be carried on forever.
Tschüssey!
Alles gute,
Jéssica Denise Orobio, World Traveler.
P.S. Don't spend too much time being a tourist. Rejoice in hidden gems and you'll be a certified traveler in no time as well. (:
P.S. #2 Find a place of your own to call home. It may be your current location. It may not. You can't be sure if you don't give it a chance.
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