I am not normally one to write a year end retrospectives, but 2012 has been a big one. Plus I have not been traveling much (the ostensible reason for this blog), and my blog has been too silent of late. {And though this is my first actual break in a year, I don't do well with free time and must fill it productively}
So what happened for me in 2012?? Well the marquee event was of course graduating from college, an event I still have a hard time wrapping my head around. Since I was quite small, going to and graduating university was a hugely important goal, but one quite far off. But in June it happened and even now it's hard to believe.
Even harder to believe- I am now 1/4 of the way towards finishing my Masters. The past few months have been very difficult for me at times.... Lots of work, a hopeless feeling in Russian class at times, and some very lonely weekends. But in the end I cheered up, started getting good feedback in my classes and began to cope with the graduate life. Living in my own apartment for the first time took some getting used to, and the normal new school stress (meeting new people/new class styles/new activities) played a big part. But for all the stress, the lonely days and nights and the uncertainty, I made the right call coming to MIIS. I love my classes, my job is great (I get to read and write about what I would normally study in my spare time!!), and it's wonderful to be in a school community all interested in the same issues I am. In just 3 semesters and a summer internship, I will be done here too, then the fabled "real world" awaits.
But other things happened this year as well. My summer of Russian School at Middlebury College in Vermont left me with greatly mixed feelings. I have already written about this at length, but in a nutshell: I am thankful that it was free, it helped my Russian considerably, it was a miserable place and I would never go back. Russian school was a unique place with a proven method to teach, but they do so while placing undue and extreme stress on their students. I am not antisocial, but I felt that the student culture there revolved far too much around fining ways to release stress from the weeks, and lots of drinking, not my scene. And the weather was just oppressive. To compound this, I left for Vermont week after graduation, and had 3 days between Middlebury and MIIS.
This year I have made some great new friends, lost some that didn't need to go, and kept up with others who I could not afford to lose. I have always had a hard time meeting people and am glad I have found some wonderful new friends this year. Less ideally, I lost several people close to me due to circumstances that didn't need to happen. And finally I am ever grateful for the old friends who have been and are there for me.
I had 3 weeks of life on crutches after dislocating my knee, I wrote a 45 page thesis and ran a Model United Nations conference to my exact specifications. Not everything this year went my way, but most of it did!
2013 promises to be a good year with more trips, more learning and more life to live!
Happy New Year!
~ Matt
So what happened for me in 2012?? Well the marquee event was of course graduating from college, an event I still have a hard time wrapping my head around. Since I was quite small, going to and graduating university was a hugely important goal, but one quite far off. But in June it happened and even now it's hard to believe.
Even harder to believe- I am now 1/4 of the way towards finishing my Masters. The past few months have been very difficult for me at times.... Lots of work, a hopeless feeling in Russian class at times, and some very lonely weekends. But in the end I cheered up, started getting good feedback in my classes and began to cope with the graduate life. Living in my own apartment for the first time took some getting used to, and the normal new school stress (meeting new people/new class styles/new activities) played a big part. But for all the stress, the lonely days and nights and the uncertainty, I made the right call coming to MIIS. I love my classes, my job is great (I get to read and write about what I would normally study in my spare time!!), and it's wonderful to be in a school community all interested in the same issues I am. In just 3 semesters and a summer internship, I will be done here too, then the fabled "real world" awaits.
But other things happened this year as well. My summer of Russian School at Middlebury College in Vermont left me with greatly mixed feelings. I have already written about this at length, but in a nutshell: I am thankful that it was free, it helped my Russian considerably, it was a miserable place and I would never go back. Russian school was a unique place with a proven method to teach, but they do so while placing undue and extreme stress on their students. I am not antisocial, but I felt that the student culture there revolved far too much around fining ways to release stress from the weeks, and lots of drinking, not my scene. And the weather was just oppressive. To compound this, I left for Vermont week after graduation, and had 3 days between Middlebury and MIIS.
This year I have made some great new friends, lost some that didn't need to go, and kept up with others who I could not afford to lose. I have always had a hard time meeting people and am glad I have found some wonderful new friends this year. Less ideally, I lost several people close to me due to circumstances that didn't need to happen. And finally I am ever grateful for the old friends who have been and are there for me.
I had 3 weeks of life on crutches after dislocating my knee, I wrote a 45 page thesis and ran a Model United Nations conference to my exact specifications. Not everything this year went my way, but most of it did!
2013 promises to be a good year with more trips, more learning and more life to live!
Happy New Year!
~ Matt
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