What a year it's been. I hope I'll be able to write and edit this enough to post before the new year, but either way, firstly, I'm wishing you and your family a happy and healthy 2020.

So much has happened in my life in 2019. Where does one even begin? Actually, I started the year off standing on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, by myself and surrounded by thousands of strangers. Then, after a few hours of sleep, I took the train to Salamanca, where I studied abroad for my short winter semester.

While studying Spanish in Salamanca (how do I always end up in language classes above my actual level??), I still got to travel quite a bit. My program was basically funded by a scholarship I got from my university, which is what allowed me to be able to save money and travel before (Paris and Luxembourg) and during my time in Spain. Luckily for us, our first weekend was already a three day weekend because of Epiphany/Three Kings Day in Spain. Rather than stay for what I hear is a wonderful celebration in Salamanca, some new friends and I jumped on a bus to Porto, Portugal. Porto was so fun and such a great experience for so many reasons. I have so many stories and so many cherished memories from that trip. Plus, Porto is now one of my favorite cities I ever visited, and I'm glad I got to experience it with friends the way that I did.

Porto

I also ended up going to Segovia (a mandatory school trip), Sevilla, and Cordoba. I've been to Spain so many times already (compared to every other country I've visited), but it's also one that I always want to see more of. I loved Andalucia and really hope to go back and explore more of it soon. In Salamanca, I also took a class on Spanish Culture and Civilization, which also prompted me to want to see the Northern and Western regions of the country...one day!

That culture class was also what really led me to my honors thesis topic. In class, we very briefly talked about how after the Spanish Civil War and Franco's regime, they decided to provide amnesty to those who participated in the regime so that the country could move on. While it seemed at the time like a good idea and the dark and horrific history was quickly erased and "forgotten," its legacy and harm continues to live on in Spanish society. Most obvious has been the debate over the exhumation of Franco's body from the Valle de los Caidos and the recent resurgence of the far-right (a la the Vox party). My Political Science thesis ended up exploring the nexus of artistic-cultural production, transitional justice, and collective memory in post-dictatorship Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.

Salamanca

And then it was back home and the start of my final semester. I actually missed my first day of class because we randomly started on a Friday, and our program ended that day in Spain. The semester was supposed to be calm, but I had to start and finish my thesis and also choreograph a dance and manage the logistics of my final dance competition, which was in March. Honestly, the dance stuff was some of the most stressful parts of the semester, and although I'm not completely happy with the end result, I accept that it was the best that I could do with my mental health and college priorities. I ended my competition journey in the same location that I had my very first dance competition, and my old dance studio was actually competing at the same competition, though in different categories, so I got to see some of my old teachers, and they got to watch me dance too. I'm proud of my small team and of what we accomplished, and I'm proud of myself for the long journey I've been on in terms of dance. It's something I'm still working through, but I hope to write about it in far greater detail one day.


Before I knew it, I finished my thesis (I basically wrote all 75+ pages of it in 6 weeks--I don't recommend this method!) and graduated! I now hold a B.A. in Political Science, a certificate in Public Policy (concentration in International Development), and minors in Human Rights and International Relations. I received two departmental honors (in Political Science), graduated Summa Cum Laude and Salutatorian, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. And honestly, that's all great for sure, but what matters most to me is how I've come and how much I've grown into myself and learned about myself in the past four years. College was truly a transformative experience for me, and while we all have regrets and it has been a roller coaster of a journey, it's the best decision I could've made on a personal front.

Graduation 1 (Yes, I had two graduations)

Then came my celebratory graduation trip with my family. I traveled back to Paris, this time with my whole family. Honestly, I enjoyed it significantly less, but maybe it was also because some of that magic fell away from the first time and also because I was basically the family tour guide and had to manage nearly every single aspect of the vacation. I did get to take a one-day solo trip to Le Mont Saint Michel, which was wonderful. After a week, my dad and sister came home while my mom and I continued on to Brussels and then Amsterdam.

I got to meet up with a close friend of mine in Brussels and spend a day with her, which was wonderful and filled me with such warmth. But it was Amsterdam that I truly fell in love with. To be honest, I didn't actually end up seeing or doing much there, but something about the atmosphere there really captured me. Although completely different, I think Amsterdam has a similar underlying energy as New York City. I know I didn't get to fully experience the city because I was with my mom, so I'm desperate to return there by myself or with some friends. After the first day there, I was already looking up graduate school programs in Amsterdam (something I'd already started thinking about), so who knows?!

Amsterdam

Upon my return home, I spent a few more weeks catching up with friends and getting some much needed rest (I'll be writing about the toll of travel on my body physically soon). Then I was thrust right back into academia as I worked on my research Fulbright application. I'm still waiting for the first round of notifications (when they announce semi-finalists), so please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Something else I'll write a separate blog post on is post-graduation transition and how rough it can be. I'm still in the process of it, and switching to your first full-time job is hard to manage. As I was working on my application, my friends, who had mostly been a similar boat of being unemployed after graduation, started getting job offers and started working. Suddenly, I had no one to hang out with, no one to talk to and commiserate with about that unemployed life. And it felt like I was getting nowhere with my own job search.

Living my best life in Sevilla

Safe to say, I did eventually get a job offer - for the position I'm at now. It's of course not a perfect job, but it's a good start. For me, this is honestly a buffer until I find out about the Fulbright, at which point I think I can better set a plan for the future. In the meantime, I will be (should be) studying for the GRE and brushing up my Spanish to hopefully eventually take the DELE C2 exam before the end of the year (let's see!).

It's been a little over a month since I started working. I'll be traveling for work in a few days, which is so exciting and a little hard to believe. I already have some goals set for 2020, but you know that'll be a post for the new year. ;) Let's see what the year has in store for me while I continue to reflect on the past year. Happy holidays, and happy new year!

Let's chat: What's your biggest accomplishment or best memory of 2019?