Forever Young

May the good lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
Surround you when you're far from home...

I heard this song on the radio leaving the Salty Nut after a celebratory lunch with several first years. Today was our last final, and several of us will be out of the country in less than a month for the better part of a year. It's been a long semester...we started in July...and it seemed like this day would never come. Yet today is bittersweet. We are all excited to be done with finals and to be moving on to a new and exciting place. Yet at the same time there are friends we won't see for a long time-friends doing the Japanese or Chinese tracks which are three year tracks. When we get back in August 2007, they will be abroad, and when they return in August of 2008 we will have already graduated and moved on to jobs (hopefully). So, to everyone about to embark on their travels, and those who have to wait a couple more months...I leave the sappy words of Rod Stewart to you!

A Prayer

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

a return to love - marianne williamson


My mom sent me this prayer the other day in response to a conversation we had had. I am my own worst critic and generally am down on myself, especially regarding grades. The IMBA program has been kicking my butt and has caused me to doubt myself constantly-both my decision to be here and my intelligence in general. Having had several conversations with momma about both these doubts, she found this prayer to inspire me. I'm hoping I can change my point of view and that my time in France will help me do that.

T-27 days

I decided to create a blog to share my tales of living in Paris with all my friends and family. I don't consider myself a great writer and I am by no means good at telling stories (I even mess up jokes) so this isn't me trying to be self-aggrandizing. I'm just writing to keep people updated since France isn't big on wireless and I'm too poor to keep in direct contact with people.

As most of you know or have some idea, I'm studying for 4 months at one of the 'grand-ecoles' of France: ESCP-EAP. I'll be taking 3 French classes and 2 business courses. My main goal: become as fluent in French as possible. My secondary goal: travel and enjoy myself.

That's it for now, more to come (after finals!).