This is the story of a girl:
who has never been out of the country before (although I was an hour from Canada once).
who is a Manufacturing and Design Engineering (with an Environmental Policy & Culture minor) sophomore (junior?) from Northwestern.
who calls a decent sized town in southwestern Illinois (near Saint Louis) her home.
who is a list-maker, plans ahead, puts everything in her calendar kind of girl.
And this begins the story of how she did what she could never fully plan for.
I applied to the Northwestern Berlin program somewhat on a whim. I knew I would *want* to go, but I never really believed someone like me could find the money and the (courage?) to actually do it. My parents have supported me in going on this trip because they know I’m one of those “wanderlust” types of people. I took German in high school and one year at NU so Berlin is a prime destination for me.
On my last night (it feels weird to say that now) in the good ol’ Stars & Stripes, I went to downtown Chicago to say goodbye. At Gino’s East, we tried a little bit of Chicago with the Meaty Legend deep dish (10/10 would recommend) and a little bit of Germany with some Brezeln (pretzels).
Chicago never seems to disappoint with its delicious food and streets full of people. Walking around, I thought about how I wouldn’t be here again until September and I wondered what it would feel like to walk around in Berlin. Perhaps, a bit warmer? (fingers crossed)
Right before you leave, you begin to fall in love with everything and everyone you’re leaving all the more. But if you’re going to leave something, you might as well make it by choice. Embrace the experience and the opportunity to do something different. That’s what I hope to do.
Listen to: Chicago/Clocks mashup by Sufjan Stevens and Coldplay
The feeling is a little hopeful, a little nostalgic, and an excellent pairing of two brilliant songs.