The Semester My Life Began

I have always been a relatively anxious and shy individual. I am an academic at heart, and have always taken on a heavy work load, but was never one to take risks. Athens and its warm, compassionate inhabitants, however, taught me how to genuinely not fear so many things about life and its possibilities. The night before my flight back to the States, I had one of the most meaningful yet simple conversations with the local cafe owner. He asked what I'd learned from the Greeks and I told him I'd learned to not be so afraid of life. I began to tear up, knowing I'd be leaving in the morning and I wasn't ready to let go yet. When he saw this reaction, he responded to me, "Yes. We do not fear life because we do not fear death." With that, he and his partner sent me on my way with a box full of Greek traditional candies and pastries to take home to my family.
Never have I felt so openly welcomed and comforted by people outside of my own immediate family as when I was in Athens surrounded by genuinely selfless people. The courses I took abroad were obviously very conducive to earning my degrees back home, and I love the topics we studied. However, the most significant and life changing moments I had were those such as I've just described: the moments spent with locals; the simple encounters.
While in Athens, in this program I was fortunate enough to travel to different parts of Greece both as required field trips and as optional side trips. This included all parts of the Peloponnese (Nafplio, Kalamata, Sparta, Menaleion, etc.), Delphi, and even Crete. On the optional trips, I got to visit, Ioannina, Meteora, and Metsovo as well as Cyprus! All of these trips were not only culturally immersive but vastly educational. I loved meeting new people and learning about their backgrounds and ways of living.
Aside from trips, my courses were very involved in the city and took us on several local field trips so that we were studying on-site and truly gaining hands-on experiences, which helped make sense of the cultural concepts we were learning about.
My time in Athens saw many social "firsts," and allowed me to learn how to be a bit more like a social butterfly. I made some very sincere lifelong friends, and for the first time in my life, I learned how to let go of some stress and to have fun while really living in the moment.
I spent my semester as working as an intern for the media lab, creating content, writing articles, doing journalist coverage and social media work for the program. This work not only allowed me to explore my love for writing and blogging, but also forced me to really immerse myself in the culture, while also getting to know the students and their passions. This opportunity is something that has stuck with me as I prepare for graduation and look into further pursuing ambassador and higher education opportunities that allow me to help others pursue these same passions.
I also had the pleasure of working as a "babysitter" for a local Greek family twice a week. While the 2-year-old child I spent time with already had a full-time nanny, I read him English children's books to help him become acquainted with native English speaking. This child brought so much joy to my weekly life, and the time I got to spend with him was very humbling.
Above all else, I say that this was the semester my life began because before my time in Athens, I spent a lot of time being afraid of my own potential, and hiding from some of life's most wonderful opportunities, just for fear of failure. Between the courses I took, the people I met, the mentors that guided me, and the places I visited, this semester changed my life and set me on a path of success, regardless of it's lack of destination. I don't know quite where I am going. But I do know that I am no longer afraid to go there, and since returning home, I have spent the last year exploring, experimenting and figuring out who I am as an individual caught in the web of sociality. This semester truly was the beginning of my life.