The CRACK is Where the Light Shines Through

The summer is Halfway over!! :-( And I have been doing a lot of reflecting. My friend, Laurie, forced me to reflect last summer and it seemed like an activity that I would never quite understand or willingly partake in, BUT I was wrong!! lol

I wouldn’t consider this blog entry an update, but more of a journal entry that I am sharing with the world. Very un-coco like, RIGHT?? OOOH WELL

I realize that I am a (at this point of the message one of my roommates walked in the room and we chatted for about 45 mins., but I’m back now) very social person. I LOOOOVE meeting new people and making new friends, but I enjoy even more when these new friends become old friends. That seldom happens when you only live with someone for a couple of months... I guess this is why I absolutely HATE saying goodbye’s..

A really cool thing that I have learned about myself this summer is that I often seek comfort in my physical appearance. For example, no matter what situation I am in, I know that I am “me” and so I have the mindset of “I don’t care if these people like me, I’m going to just be ME.” HOOOOOWEVER I did not have that opportunity this summer because I had no clothing to JUST BE ME in, but some kind of way, everyone still got to know “me”. GO FIGURE!!! Hahaha A lot of the students here are very open and it always surprises me when we would be talking and someone would make an assumption about me based on their perceptions of me from the first couple of weeks AND THEY’D BE CORRECT! This has never happened to me and it made me rethink how I felt about myself. When I thought I could care less about what others think, I was PROBABLY hiding behind what was familiar to me (my clothes). :-) --I've grown :-)

GUYSSSS!!!! With everything being said about the awesome people here, I am pretty sure that I am going through the “Confronting Deeper Issues” aka “Frustration and Rage” stage!! It seems like every little thing kind of irritates me that would have NEVER irritated me before…. I think I have done a pretty good job not showing my frustration, but I don’t know how long it will last. :-/ WHAT TO DO?? I am seriously open to any suggestions ...I think I may need to find some community service…

THIS IS THE SYNOPSIS OF THE STAGE: Confronting Deeper Issues - As students confront cultural differences and personal issues at a deeper level, they begin to see a multitude of approaches to their life abroad and to question deeper assumptions about the world. Students may feel isolated at times.

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