Kent read, Kent write, Kent study abroad without falling in love with the world.
This fall, I’m returning to Kent State as a senior and quite a few emotions are pulling me in all sorts of directions. I’m excited to walk on The Esplanade again, although it won’t be the cobblestone roads of Italy or bustling with loud taxis like the streets of Manhattan. I’m ready to order my venti iced coffee with hazelnut and almond milk from Kathy at Starbucks even though it won’t be an espresso shot from my favorite Italian cafe. I’m excited to see the friends who have been with me since freshman year although they have not shared the same life-changing experience as me. I’m ready to adjust to senior year at Kent State.
To sum up my transition back to life here in a single word, I want to say “weird” or maybe, “amazing”. Somewhere in between the two is how I can attempt to describe my separation anxiety from both Italy and Manhattan. To back track a little bit, this past spring I spent a semester in Florence, Italy. (Yes, I was trying to avoid the snow!) In Italy, I spent my weekdays studying, weekday nights hanging with my Italian friends and weekends traveling to new countries or cities. This experience was like no other because I quickly got a taste of many different cultures all at once. This was my first time abroad and my transition to life there was an easy one. I quickly learned that I enjoy new places and getting out of my comfort zone a little more then the normal student. With the outgoing attitude I somehow managed to bring out every day, I made a lot of new friends. The transition took a turn for the worst when I realized my time was coming to an end and I would shortly have to move to New York City for the summer. I cried the entire 12-hour flight back to the States. Italy had become my home. All of high school and the first few years of college I was just looking for my place, looking for somewhere to fit in. I found that in a little pub called the Atlantic just a few blocks from The Duomo Cathedral with my closest friends every Monday night.
Cobblestone roads and kebabs became normal to me and coming back to the United States was confusing. I flew in and I honestly just wanted to be alone. I needed to process where I was and that I could now eat buckets of KFC and an entire Papa John’s pizza at any time I wanted. I was taken back by the amount of English being spoken around me, the Italian language was comforting background noise and the realization that it was no longer there depressed me. After three days back in the States I quickly packed up my car and made a big jump to New York City. I study fashion and thought; what better place to be than the major fashion capital, New York? The transition was rough at first because New York is nothing like Europe or Ohio and for the first time I felt a little uncomfortable being out of my comfort zone. I think it had something to do with directions. In Italy, I could get around just by knowing monuments or certain places. Landmarks were easy for me to navigate around. New York is intimidating because not everyone is as welcoming when you need help for directions and all the street signs are numbers, which is an entirely different language to me then Italian, I don’t speak math. I was discouraged quickly, intimidated by the subway even though I had taken every Tran, subway, train, bus and plane in Europe. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out the darn subway in New York City. I honestly just wasn’t giving the city enough of a chance. I was letting my 5’0″ self get eaten alive by a big city because my heart was still in Florence at Piazzale Michelangelo during sunset.
I think it took a full two weeks to get the hang of things completely by myself, but once I did everything clicked for me. I was a Yankee loving, Shake Shack eating, fast-walking New Yorker. I was taking classes at Kent State’s NYC summer studio. I was able to collaborate and do a photo shoot with The New York Film Academy. I meet creative directors, PR consultants and other successful employees in the fashion industry. On the side, I was interning full time and enjoying every happy hour I could attend. I now know how to shop in Soho, how to avoid touristy areas, how to get around in the subway, where the nearest dollar pizza slice place is at all times and, most importantly, I know how to get to Yankee stadium, all by myself. Three months is all I had to explore New York City and my time of meeting financial consultants, big time brokers and other Wall Street hotties is about to come to an end.
I have to mentally prepare myself to be an Ohioan once again. I’m going to be taking on a full 18-credit hour schedule with a possible internship in Cleveland in the evenings. I have to readjust to attending weekly clubs and organizations. Most of all, I have to figure out campus again. It’s like freshman year all over again. I’m starting out in a new house in a place that feels familiar, but I have to get to know everyone again and everyone has to get to know the new me. I’m not the same person I was when I left. As a study abroad student you go on these big adventures and experience things not everyone else gets the opportunity to do. It changes your perspective.
I’ll admit it, I am scared. I have no idea what’s in store for me and this transition back to life in Kent will be my third one in the last year. My nomadic self will adjust, but I may have outgrown some of my old friends and places, which really scares me. I’m definitely one for change, but I’ve always wanted my little Kent State home to remain the same. I already have seen changes in myself since being away and I know what I’m returning to will not be the same Kent State I’ve always known. Like any adventure I’m going into this new semester head first, regardless of fear, because with every new place I’m learning more and more about myself. I have my friends from all over the world as support and passion for my major to keep me focused and determined. That being said, here comes senior year!
Ciao!
For more information about the study abroad programs Kent State has to offer click here. If you’re a fashion major interested in study abroad programs specific to your major click here. You could also ask your advisor about programs, even if it’s just for a summer. Take a chance and learn a little something new about a place or about yourself.