Reflection

Christ Church College, University of Oxford

Many days, I would be seated on a cozy couch on the upper level of the Barnes & Noble bookstore near my house; books by Thomas Friedman and Dan Brown would be lying on the side table along with a Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino or just a plain black coffee (hot chocolate). While the amenities at Barnes & Noble far exceeded those available at my house, the view that presented itself through the large windows was the one thing that brought me to the bookstore every week. Seeing the cars speed by, I would ask myself how I ended up the way I did. Trying the answer the question, memories would race through my head reminding me how it all began in the summer of 2010.

As sweat trickling down my face, I finish my morning run with Meagan and Elizabeth on the last Saturday of Oxford and walked wearily towards my room in Sainsbury after breakfast; England had been experiencing an overwhelming clear weather season. No sooner had I taken a step across the threshold a phone call from aboard was waiting for me. My mum and dad told me, with an exultant tone, that I would soon be moving back to America. The sudden news sent shivers down my spine, freezing it even in the unusual weather. I managed to put a faint smile across my face. Yet on the inside I started dreading the day I would have to leave the place I had called my home for the past two months. Finally though, in the August of 2010, the dusk of the inevitable day soon led me to the dawn of native dirt.

During the course of my journey to the United States, I heard my sis exhale in optimistic relief, “You no longer have to study abroad”. I failed to understand how she could overlook the cruelty of the situation. I wanted to know how leaving everything I had done that summer, behind me could possibly make my life better. Every attempt of security made me grieve even more. I did not want to forgo my past, my friends, and my school.

Said Business School, University of Oxford

After twenty two hours of flying, driving, running, and waiting, I finally landed in Atlanta. As soon as I acquainted myself to the familiar surroundings, I came to realize the true gravity of the situation. I started to perceive the absence of my closest friends, of familiar faces at various events, of my partners in the early morning runs, and even of the humidity-less air. I felt more grief than Achilles did when Patroclus was killed in battle; I bore a composed expression on my face yet was unmistakably weeping on the insides.

Kakuzo Okakaura speaks volumes about life; he stresses that the art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings. The whole episode of moving back has taught me various facts of life. Sometimes you have to distance yourself from something not only to realize its sublime importance but also to gain a more profound understanding of it. I have made many friends all of whom hail from diverse backgrounds. More importantly, I have learnt that even though you have to adjust to your new surroundings, you can always maintain a connection with your past