Beginning a New Chapter

Scrambling to squeeze in our favorite things to do for “one last time” our senior year, celebrating in an unnecessary amount of Grand Prix festivities, getting ready to leave the apartment we called home, and preparing for graduation day were all signs that our last year at Purdue was dwindling down. It was funny to think that just a few years ago parked in front of the freshmen dorms, I was bawling in the car and hanging onto my Dad like a little koala bear. You know those fights you have with your parents that revolve around the topic that you think you are a grown adult able to take responsibility of yourself but your parents insist to think you are too young to do it on your own. That day in front of the dorm…I would have gladly let my Dad win on one of those fights. Now four years later, the last thing I wanted to do was leave that university. The thought of leaving some of the most amazing people and times I have ever had in my life was a hard pill to swallow—the thought of not having a job by the time I graduated was even harder. With a major in retail management and with 6 years of retail service under my belt, I wasn’t sure if that was the field I wanted to pursue. With a tough economy and uncertainty of what I wanted to use my degree for, I felt lost. I came across the opportunity to teach English in Korea, and after some research-- I was sold. What a better way to take some time off to travel, experience a different culture, and do something totally out of the ordinary all while getting paid. If I can go to a foreign country alone, overcome the language barrier, become good at doing a job that I have never done before, and survive a whole year while still having fun, then I hope I will be able to do just about anything afterwards. We’ll see…