The last time I posted on here, I was preparing to leave France. A whole summer has passed since then, and I really believe that summers have a way of being definitive. My reintegration back into American life came easier than I imagined it would. I was excited to be back home, and Im still happy to be home. I miss France and Europe very much some days, and my experiences there are something I treasure. But my life is here, and after being home a few months,I fully recognize that fact. I could never permanently live abroad, in all honesty,I don't really envision moving out of North Carolina. Too much of what matters to me in life is rooted here in the Tar Heel state for me to move far away. I absolutely want to travel more, and have experiences abroad.
Upon my arrival home, I began working as a camp counselor at a day camp. I think everyone should work with kids for an extended period of time at least once in their lives. It really opened my eyes to how much agony I must have put my parents through. There were crazy days when I was easily frustrated by the kids. But then there were the days when their big brown eyes could melt my heart, and I felt like I was doing something to leave some sort of an impression in the world. The best thing to be around was to see the world through a child's eye again. Sometimes I wished that I could capture their simplistic and innocent outlooks on life. More about camp in another post.
I transferred to UNC Chapel Hill, which is a life long dream come true. I had a Carolina blue TI-84 for Algebra I in high school as motivation. It did not work enough. I am a Communication and French double major, and I have no idea what exactly I will be doing with that diploma. Right now I know that I love the classes I have, though they are more challenging. the Comm major is another reason this blog will live beyond being a public diary of travels. I believe in the power of networking, and having my name out there somewhere.
The first 8 months of this year have been amazing, and I am so happy to have had the experiences that I have. I look forward to my academic future as a Tar Heel, and to my future in general, as Aleigha. I am not 100% positive where I am going, but I know that I have an amazing support system, and that life is full of wonderful surprises.
