Like I said, I didn't take shots of tequila in a park and actually that is a story from a different trip. The summer between my junior and senior years of high school I spent two and a half weeks in Mexico and had the time of my life. It was a great learning experience and I was encouraged to actually use my Spanish and it was culturally eye opening and the food was great. All the things study abroad should be.
However, the group I was down there with, split into two cliques. As far as I am concerned cliques are natural. We humans are social creatures and we tend to gravitate towards people who are like us. I personally have never had too much of a problem with cliques. I'll be nice to everyone, but we don't have to be bff's or anything. Just cordial. And that has gotten me this far...
Anyways, in Mexico, one of the cliques, took tequila shots in the park. One of the guys on the trip had just graduated that spring and so he was 18 and could legally buy tequila even though on a school trip we weren't allowed to drink. This caused some problems because while none of us tattled to anyone that this went on, there was defiantly some judgment going on between the two cliques.
I was not apart of the tequila shots clique and could have cared less. But I did judge the kids doing that- I mean really, how could you be so stupid as to do tequila shots, under age, in Mexico, on a school trip and risk getting kicked off the program?
The kids in the tequila shots group were not bad people. Actually I got along with most of them and worked with them in class and academically they were pretty smart. They were nice people who were just making a questionable life chose as far as I was concerned.
When I was in high school I was very much against underage drinking. It was something the bad kids did and quite honestly I was too afraid to think of what my parents would do to me if I got caught doing something stupid like that. And as an athlete and an honor student I didn't have time to drink.
But as my senior year went on, I changed friend groups and ended up making friend with the kids who drank in high school. And like I said, they aren't bad people. They just made their choice.
College was really my wake up call. You can't go to college and not experience the drinking, even if like me, you choose not to drink. I ended up with some really really wonderful and loyal friends, teammates, and sorority sisters (some who fall into more than one, if not all those categories) that would have been those people who took tequila shots in the park. Or would do it now. And yet, they could care less that I wasn't doing it with them. It wasn't like I was any better than them for not drinking or them any better than me for drinking. It was our choice.
My friend Anicka, who I met on this trip has coined a phrase "you do you." One night, we had had a little to much wine which resulted in not us being drunk, but in us discussion politics, something I generally don't do unless I really really know you. I don't like getting into un educated arguments with people. Well Anicka, though we have very different views, is educated in hers (aka she doesn't just vote party line) and as we explained why we voted in the last election they way we did she said "Hey. That makes sense. You do you."
So how does this all tie up together? Simply stated I went to Mexico to have an adventure and to practice Spanish. And I did. My adventure just did not involve shots of tequila in the park. Some people's did. College-my mission in college is to come out with two majors and a minor, be captain of my swim team my senior year, and do more with ADPi. Also I want to graduate with honors. So I don't have time to screw around having hang overs from drinking all night. But I also need to remember to enjoy some of the finer things in life, and have a good time. My time in Italy? Ultimately I'm the biggest, nerdiest, student you are ever going to meet. I LIKE school. In fact, I wish being a professional student and going to school for the rest of your life was an actual profession because that is what I want to do. So yea, I don't go to the bars super often here, I don't like to get drunk (both of which will still be truths about me when I come home), and I would much rather run around seeing different cities during the day and stay in and do homework at night (as lame as that sounds) But this is me doing me, just like Anicka said. I'm here to learn and that is what I encourage you to do. If you've read this all the way through, thanks. I encourage you to sit back, look at this program and think "what do I want out of this?" And then go do it. Because that is the point of it all. When you study abroad, you do you. And I promise you, you'll find someone along the way who will had goals similar to your's or someone who is willing to help you and push you to be the best you can be. I've always managed to find people like that and I'm a super nerd, athlete, who's trying to be an art student. There are people out there, you just have to do you and go find them.
Mexico Summer of 2010
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