January 6 , 2005

Well, it’s now been nearly three weeks since my re-entry to America and three days since my return to Centre College. I think my readjustment was fairly easy, especially since I’ve had lots of friends, family, and fellow students who have been asking about my trip and wanting to talk about what I learned. It made me realize that the two worlds are not at all incompatible. The experience I had was meant to be shared, and it doesn't have to be just a story or a memory. It's changed my outlook and how I relate to other people.

I find myself a lot more open to the future than I ever was before. I’m a person who likes to plan things years in advance, and I don’t like not knowing what the future will bring. But with graduation, and hence the uncertainty of the ‘real’ world, just a few months away, I feel a surprising calm. I attribute this to my experience this past semester. I still feel like I have control over the years ahead, but I also know that anything can happen, and if it’s not what I had planned, that's okay. I feel confident now that I can be successful in so many different settings, and I’m more open to those alternate paths.

I also see a definite change in the way I view myself and other people. Study abroad at Centre has taken me to Spain

and Morocco last year, and now to Ireland. In all three countries, I was exposed to new ideas, new daily routines, and new lifestyles. Intellectually, I always knew that people around the world lived differently than they do in Kentucky.
But seeing that first hand can't compare to any amount of study. It was eye-opening. Now I have returned to my daily routines at home and school, but I do see myself differently.