I've never done an anonymous submission before, but May is all about transitions and trying new things, so why not, right?
Well, after multiple interviews and applying for internships, I didn't land one. Fortunately, landing an internship was plan B for me; my main goal for this year was to study abroad and I'm ecstatic to announce that I'm doing it - TWICE!
For four weeks, I will be studying business communications in the Netherlands. I am the only black girl in my group, but I'm not intimidated by this, because I have been the only black person in rooms since kindergarten. My only issue is having to deal with ignorance again, because I've been fully submerged in my Hampton bubble happy place for the past two years.
My second study abroad experience will take place at Oxford University in the UK. I will be representing Hampton University on behalf of the honors college program and it's all expense paid! While I am super excited to be studying abroad twice this summer and once at an Ivy League, there is still a sense of fear in the back of my mind (wow, this is my first time admitting this). What if I become homesick? What if I don't understand what the natives are saying? What if I don't perform well in the classroom?
When I met with the director of the ISGAP Program (Oxford), he was saying so many big words and I didn't understand what he was saying, or what message he was trying to convey. I cried to my honors college director, because I've always had a fear of failure, and hearing the director of the program talk to me, took me back to my AP lang and lit days when I struggled constantly just to get a B+.
I know that the race isn't given to the swift nor to the strong, but to SHE who endures to the end! I just have to keep my head up, and hopefully everything will fall into place.
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