Waking up this morning, I completely forgot I was leaving to Germany this afternoon. Brushing my teeth, showering and getting ready for the day felt normal. Until my family sat down for breakfast and we began to pray. My mother was leading the prayer and toward the end, she asked God for my protection in Germany and started crying. Today would be the first time I would be leaving home for college. As exciting as I was, my family was nervous for my departure. Home has always been a thirty-minute drive away from Rollins. But not today. Not for the next four months. For the next four months I will be embarking on a completely new journey where I will be encountering adventures and challenges of all kinds. Without a doubt I am excited.
To keep the long story short, my name is Ana Rivas and I am currently a junior at Rollins College studying chemistry and mathematics. I am a men’s and women’s coxswain in the rowing team, and my hobbies are lifting, traveling and eating with my best friend. This fall semester, I will be attending the study abroad program at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. In high school I took four years of German and although I swore I would not take German again in college I took a semester of intermediate German and realized I missed learning the language and culture. Over my last two years, I want to personally thank my academic advisor, Dr. Riley for having the patience and support of helping me figure out my major schedule after studying abroad a semester. It’s going to be difficult coming back but I will work hard to finish strong.
Another important part I want to share before I board the plane is I tried really hard not to cry saying good byes to my family and my very close friends. I want to remember leaving for a new adventure joyful and not sad that I am leaving my current life in Florida behind. In addition I think this is a huge accomplishment for me because I am a crybaby and I get emotional attached to people very quickly. I am looking forward to sharing my adventures and challenges through the blog posts, videos and images. Until the next post,
Ana Rivas