On a (very) early morning this past July, I was lifting off from Port Columbus in Ohio, and flying towards Laguardia Airport in New York City. I was on my way to Barnard College of Columbia University, where I was to live for the next four weeks as a summer student in their Pre-College Program. All sorts of uncertainties were flying through my head as it finally set in that this was really happening — I was leaving behind my home for a month to live in Manhattan, 500 miles away from my friends and family, and take college-level classes at a prestigious Ivy League school. It all felt surreal.
My face was glued to the window as the plane first flew over the city. The city sprawled out below me, and countless skyscrapers reached up towards me out of the gray mist of New York Harbor. The Hudson and East rivers stretched out on either side of the city, wrapping around Manhattan like a blue ribbon. It was love at first sight.
Before I knew it, my flight had landed, and I was walking out of Laguardia, dragging my month's worth of baggage into the bustling streets of the Big Apple. I stared at the scene before me in awe — compared to everything else around me, my 5'3 self-felt even smaller than usual. But despite all of my fears of getting trampled by pedestrians or hit by one of the millions of taxis whizzing past, I managed to find my car driver and make it to Barnard's gates on the Upper West Side. I walked through the entryway and began one of the most exciting and memorable months of my life.
If I'm being completely honest, the first couple days at Barnard were rough — my roommates weren't like me at all, I didn't know a single soul in the whole city, and my psychology and art classes seemed very difficult. But luckily, all of that changed very quickly. It turned out I had been placed in the wrong room and was moved in with a new roommate who I immediately became friends with. I met so many other amazing young women — I have never seen such a diverse range of talents and personalities than I saw at Barnard. And even though my classes were hard, I eagerly took up the challenge and gained so much knowledge from my successes and struggles. I experimented with new types of art and learned some intriguing things about the human mind from my psych professor. I was almost as proud of my work in class as I was of myself for mastering the subway system!
While college life at Barnard was a blast, being in the middle of Manhattan was beyond incredible. I toured famous museums and buildings, took boat rides in the harbor, and watched the sun set over the skyline. Being surrounded by so much culture, architecture, and beauty was an artist's dream come true. When I was bored, I walked down Broadway with my friends or took the subway to Central Park. There was truly never a dull moment.
Throughout the four weeks I spent at Barnard, I encountered and experienced so many new things in the college classroom environment, out in the streets of New York, and through my interactions with people. I could've never done this at home in Ohio, and I am so glad I took the leap out of my comfort zone to come to a new place on my own and figures things out for myself. Being at such a prestigious institution, in the most famous city in America, and knowing my achievement is what got me there was extremely motivational. I came back home with a sense of self-pride and independence I'd never felt before.
I hope that other young students choose to take the same path I did and experience the same liberating, uplifting feeling that they are capable of anything, because I believe there is nothing truer than that.
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