Pauline stepping into the next chapter of her life

Home sweet home….I guess? After almost 2 weeks of being back in the states, I can pretty much admit that I feel like I am settled back into home. I constantly look at the photos I captured in Cape Town and reminisce about the lovely moments I’ve had during the 3.5 month stay! I didn’t expect to have too much of a reverse culture shock when returning back home to the urban city that I’m from, but the vibe in my hometown isn’t as calm as the vibe in Cape Town. Living in the southern suburbs of Cape Town at least, I felt like had a country-like vibe. This vibe is just hard to describe…During this short time back home I have reunited with my close friends, gained a few pounds because of the preservative-loaded foods and accessibility to fast food (I freaking love Chipotle!!), had conversations about my time in South Africa, caught up on T.V. Shows that I didn’t get to see while abroad and…….I graduated from UConn. I am now an UConn alum and saying these words is just so weird. As a first-generation graduate I knew that graduating from college was a huge deal to my parents and I’m glad that the commencement fell on Mother’s Day because it was my gift to my mother. But, though I knew that this day would mean that I would leave one chapter of my life and begin a new one, my mind was still stuck in Cape Town as I focused more on my experiences there and less on how I needed to prepare myself for the commencement. 

Gratefully, I have recently found out that I got a job offer as an administrative assistant at a non-profit organization in Darien, CT and I am also preparing myself to take the GRE’s in a few months. As a young women who sometimes considers herself lost about what exactly she wants to do in life, I truly believe that everything will come together the way it should. In my job interview, I was telling the woman interviewing me about my internship experience in Cape Town and she felt that working with a non-profit organization was the right fit for me. I know that I eventually want to go on and do other things but for now I can only be grateful for the opportunities that come my way! I write this journal entry as a changed woman with a new perspective on the world. I am now more open-minded and I complain a lot less than I use to. I have made connections with people in Cape Town and I still keep in touch with some of these special people via social media. These new friends give me even more of a purpose to want to come back to Cape Town. I once heard a saying that life is too short to travel to the same place more than once, but I feel as if Cape Town is an exception --- I will be back some day!