The One with the Idea

I decided to go to India on a Bolt Bus on my way back from a weekend in New Jersey.  The time away gave me clarity and I realized that I was, for the first time in my life, burnt out from school.  I was no longer appreciating the opportunities that Georgetown had to offer and it scared me that I was no longer making the most of my time at school.  I recognized that I needed a break, a change.

As an International Health major I was originally supposed to spend my senior fall abroad involved in an internship.  The prospect of spending a semester helping children in some remote village in Africa is part of what drove me to choose Georgetown in the first place.  When I decided to change majors, I knew I was going to miss two things from the NHS- the incredible people and my opportunity to volunteer abroad. As I remembered this on the long bus ride back, I began to google volunteer abroad programs on my iPhone.

After a few (read many) conversations with friends, advisors, deans, professors, and family members, I decided that a semester off is exactly what I needed.  So here I am 26 days away from my flight halfway across the world- a bit nervous but extremely excited for the opportunity to embed myself in a culture completely different from my own and to hopefully make a difference in the lives of children in Varanasi.