When One Door Opens…

… Another door closes. That’s the saying, right?

I find that to be very true. I started at Central Ohio Technical College, not thinking I’d do too well, that I’d have all the opportunities that I did; make the connections that I did.

But here we stand.

A year into being there – and I applied for a chance to go to Italy, not thinking I’d actually be accepted. Imagine my surprise when I got the email saying that I was one of fifteen students going to Italy for two weeks in the Summer of 2023.

The experience itself was surreal and life changing, but I’ll write about that in a different post. I’ll have to sit down and think back on everything I remember, pull forth some photos I took while there.

In addition to Italy, I was a student worker (at the beginning of my time at COTC) and then with AmeriCorps and the Student Resource Center (at the end of my time), both providing their own unique connections to the school.

I was terrified to start in-person classes, because I had such bad experiences when I was in high school (12 years prior). However, it was those classes that provided me with so many new friends and opportunities to grow- both as an artist and as a person. For that, I am eternally thankful.

My time doesn’t stop there though, because it seems like everything came to a head, or climatic high, in my final semester. I was invited to join Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year colleges, due to my grades being consistently high. I was invited to a Scholarship and Student Leadership dinner. At the Portfolio show, I was invited to join the local Art Foundation, which is made up of extremely talented artists in the area. To top it off, a week after graduating with Honors and as a part of PTK, I took another Study Abroad trip. This time, for 9 days, to England, Wales, and Ireland.

That was a surreal trip- one that I had dreams of taking as a little girl. England in particular was always on my mind, and a part of me felt like I was born in the wrong country because of the deep connection I felt to it. I won’t go into too much detail on this here though, because just like with Italy, I’ll make a different post just for that experience.

Doors opening and closing though, that’s why we are here.

Well, my door at COTC closed when I graduated. However, in July of 2024, I began a new path at Arizona State University, working on my Bachelor degrees (again, that will be a whole different post because there’s a story to it). Just last week, the first week of August, I completed my first semester at ASU. Two classes done out of numerous more that I need for my degree. Somehow, in the last two weeks of the semester, I managed to get one grade up from a 68 to a 90 (don’t ask me how; skill or luck).

Then I realized I could officially apply for one of their study abroad programs. I just had to pick a destination and a time frame. Did I want to go for 1 month? 3 months? 6 months? Could I afford any of them- as there were some out of pocket costs? What location did I want to choose, out of my ideal locations- Rome? London? Dublin? Berlin? Kyoto? It honestly didn’t take too much thought, as deep in my heart, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Where I felt the most at home. Where I wanted to spend more time- because the time I had there just wasn’t enough. So, I filled in the application and waited. It took maybe a week before I got my answer.

I’m approved!

So, come Spring, January 2025, I’ll be spending three months in Dublin, Ireland.

Not exactly where you thought I’d choose, eh? Once I write up the travel post on that experience, you’ll understand it more. I’m so excited though, and honestly, I cannot wait for January to arrive!

One door closed.

One door wide open.