Abroad in Baltimore #20
Looking Ahead
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Just as we thought things were beginning to defrost, we’re hit with another winter snowfall here on the Eastern seaboard. Maryland is known for it’s hot and cold weather, but this change from almost warm to winter wonderland makes me long for the oncoming spring!
School has more or less swallowed my life this week. In a way it’s very stabilizing, I know exactly what I need to be doing everyday. Each week has a purpose, whether going to class or doing the homework for that class. But there comes a time in every student’s college career when they consider the big unknown that lies ahead of them. The “real world”, the “void”, whatever you want to call it, you begin to wonder what comes after all this?
Luckily, as a 3rd year and not a 4th this is just a hypothetical for now, but everyone I talk to seems to have a clear plan for, well, After. Some want to move, some want to stay, some want to go a completely different way. I recently was confronted with the fact that it would probably be a good idea to start applying for summer internships.
During winter break I redid my resume and had a complete overhaul of my portfolio website (I use Wix but I believe PCA has a partnership with Cargo and I really like it too!). But as I was applying for as many internships as I could in my free time, it suddenly hit me that this would probably be my last, “real” summer break. We have to start picturing what our life looks like without school, and for someone whose whole life has been in the pursuit of education that’s not an easy task.
Existential thoughts aside, I am glad to have school as it keeps me grounded and focused on the immediate path ahead. I’ve been really enjoying my architecture class, last time we were put into groups in order to make notes on the blackboard. We were standing around the board, chalk in hand, seemingly daunted by the task of drawing a simple geometric diagram. There was a notable pause and I couldn’t help but crack a joke. “It’s a good thing we’re not in art school or anything.” We instantly broke into laughter and one of my teammates quickly sketched the diagram.
Another lovely part of my week was being set up on a sort of “blind date”. I’m only half kidding! My exchange coordinator here at MICA introduced me to a student wanting to study abroad at PCA next semester and she reached out asking if I was free to meet and chat about my home school. We talked for like 2 hours about everything and anything! It was such a nice time, and I did my best to answer all her questions about PCA, life in Paris, etc. We exchanged numbers at the end so hopefully the next time we see each other will be in France.