Freshman year of college is officially over. It was quite the challenge to get through the entire year, and I learned so much since this past August when I left good 'ole Holly Springs, Georgia for Yale. I've met so many people, done so many things and grown so much. I made quite a few amazing friends, took a class from a 2013 Nobel Prize winner, handled everything from a first folio of Shakespeare's works that is worth over $5,000,000 to James Madison's personal journal of the Constitutional Convention, George Washington's personal handwritten letters from Valley Forge, and the hand-drawn maps by Lewis and Clark from their expedition. I've become friends with people from every continent (except Antarctica of course). I've gotten used to the noise of a city at night while falling asleep, and now nighttime at home in Georgia just seems eerily quiet. I have gotten to the opportunity to go on an all expense paid study abroad summer term at Cambridge University in the UK. I have survived the highest level of calculus offered at Yale and actually learned more from that class than almost any other class. I have been introduced to many influential people including Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor and the President of Ecuador along with plenty of diplomats, former Governors and Congressmen. I have learned that in the north, the snow turns black and gets really annoying after about one day (and they don't even cancel school). I experienced first-hand the excitement of a Yankees-Red Sox game during opening week of baseball season. I realized that there are lots of really nice people anywhere you go, but also just as many selfish and unfriendly people. I found out how it feels to walk into a grocery store and not be able to buy Luzianne tea. I realized sometimes God can change your life plans in a matter of days, and you should be ready and flexible enough to drop everything and go with the flow without question... and don't even bother worrying about what life would be like if you had made a different decision. I learned that truly intelligent people can have conversations about some of the most controversial topics with you and you both completely disagree without ever getting emotional or angry/frustrated. I learned that way too many people lack common sense. And I realized it's a great idea to make a song playlist for each semester or year...so you can always look back and remember those times through the music that defined that time in your life.
The bottom line is, I had an absolutely amazing year, and can't wait for what next year has in store. Here's a quick recap of the past couple days:
This the last time I would ever walk past Lanman-Wright Hall ("L-Dub") as a resident. Good times.
New Haven never ceases to amaze me. As my roommate and I were walking to our calculus final, we saw a turkey just walking down the sidewalk. In the middle of a downtown area of the city. The turkey seemed very content to just walk down the street and enjoy the evening. It was polite enough to use the sidewalks instead of jaywalking, haha.
After I finished cleaning my room and re-bunking the beds and all that stuff, it didn't look like my room at all.
This was my view looking outside this morning in Hartford at Bradley International Airport. Beautiful last sunrise in Connecticut before I leave for the summer.
And the welcoming sign that greeted me as I came into the Atlanta airport. I'm officially done with freshman year and home for the summer.
