The 3, 2, 1 of my summer experience
By: Aditi Pawa
If there is one thing I can state in complete certainty about myself, it is that I am absolutely horrible at being alone. No matter what I am doing—reading, writing, going to a concert, a coffee shop, the park, the lake, the movie theatre, even just sitting at home watching T.V.—I am almost always, invariably, craving and creating company.
It doesn’t help that finding someone to accompany me on whatever I’m doing at practically anytime of the day is the easiest thing in the world. All it takes is one text message, and I have someone to distract me from my thoughts for the rest of the day, and I don’t have to go anywhere, do anything, on my own.
Perhaps the scariest part of my Global Scholars experience is that, for the most part, I will be entirely on my own. I will obviously have plenty of opportunities to connect with others—I’ll be volunteering with other people, and staying in a hostel with plenty of other solo travelers, and I’m confident enough in my social skills that I will at the very least make some friends. But for the first time in my life, I will be hundreds of miles away from anyone who knows me or loves me.
So my main goals are centered around becoming comfortable being on my own, and becoming comfortable exploring and experiencing new things on my own, because I will never truly experience everything unless I’m okay doing it on my own.
So, for the three things I’d like to do:
- Take a weekend trip to a Greek island on my own. During my volunteering, even though I am technically traveling alone, I will still be constantly surrounded by other volunteers, so the true test of whether I can stand to be around no one I truly know will be in if I can truly go it on my own.
- Go to the museum on my own. One of the biggest reasons I chose Greece for my destination was because I wanted to learn more about its history and culture, and what better way to do so than by going to museums. I’m personally nervous about this one, because I’ve always found one of the most educational and rewarding parts of going to a museum is discussing the exhibits, so I’m curious to see if I can still get myself to enjoy the experience without the ability to discuss and share it with someone else.
- Eat a meal in a public, crowded restaurant on my own. I know this seems like the most ridiculous goal ever, since it’s a very easy and normal thing to do, but I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever done it. Every time I’ve ever tried to have a meal in public on my own, I’ve always gotten nervous because of the crowds and ended up going home. Eating alone in the safety of your home is one thing; eating alone when surrounded by witnesses is a different experience entirely.
This trip is also the perfect chance to learn new skills. I often struggle to learn new things that aren’t directly related to my schoolwork or career goals, because I am so entrenched in the work from these things that I rarely have the energy to devote to anything else.
- Learn conversational Greek. This goal is a given, but my reason for wanting to do it is for more than just learning that language itself. The act of learning a second language is also helpful for simply learning the mechanics of language learning, which will be helpful for me in the future, as I want to learn Italian, Spanish, and improve my Hindi for the sake of my professional goals.
- I want to get better at interacting with and teaching teenagers. This is a bit of a silly goal, but I want to be a teacher in the future, so it would be helpful for me to actually learn how to interact with that age group, as I feel that I am oddly inept at it despite being quite close in age to them.
Quote: “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen (and also boygenius iykyk)
One of the defining aspects of my life—of all our lives—is that we have faults. But it is these faults that give meaning to our lives, and give us goals and purpose in our day to day.
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