When I dropped out of high school and got my GED I honestly didn’t think I would go to college. I was hoping to find something I loved to do for a living, even if I didn’t know what it was, and live a comfortable existence somewhere and anywhere but where I am now with people I love. But I changed my mind.
Life always has a way of surprising people. It’s a cliché expression, but a truthful one. It always seems to show you things that were right in front of your face, reveal people, or facts, that were so blaringly obvious for such a long time you feel idiotic for not seeing them sooner. Maybe it’s not life, or any grand universal plan actually revealing itself, but the human conscious finally catching up with what the subconscious already knew.
I was beginning to change my mind about college about four months ago. And one day when I was talking to a friend, I asked him what major he thought I would pick if I ever went to college, and he answered spot on with either History or Archaeology. Both of those subjects are passions of mine, I couldn’t even tally the number of books on my Amazon wish list or all of the documentaries I’ve watched on the Discovery and History channel even if I you gave me several hours.
Gradually my mind began to change about going to university (and I say university because there is no way I’m going to pay $10,000+ per year at an American college when I could pay £3500- per year at a European university). So I decided to make the “adult decision,” I like to call it the first adult decision I’ve made in my life, and I called off Paris. No learning the locals’ French, no French bread, no French parks, no French museums, no France, and no Paris.
Heartbroken and severely torn were a few words I could use to describe the first few weeks of internal debate before I decided that perusing my degree was the right thing to do. So I told my mother, who made me laugh when she seemed more heartbroken than I did, and decided to find my future school.
Fast forward and I had chosen UCL (University College London). I smiled at myself as I realized I had made a full circle back to my 12 year old self who was determined she would go to college in London and “do something awesome with my life!” For a while I was unsure with which degree I wanted to pursue, UCL isn’t like American colleges where you have 2 years to get through your general classes and then 2 years to finish your major, it was either 3 years of History or 3 years of Archaeology. I settled on Archaeology – how couldn’t I with the classes they offer? Past societies, Introduction to Roman Archaeology, Introduction to European Prehistory, Early Medieval Archaeology in Britain, The Emergence and Spread of Modern Humans, etc. etc. etc. I could continue going on and on.
But for weeks now the History buff inside of me has been so conflicted. It’s like playing tug-of-war with my brain and I have to make a decision fast. Because my grades weren’t as spectacular as they could have been in high school I decided to take earn my AA in a subject, and I decided since I love history so much I would earn my AA in American History. That way I could do spectacular, have a professor write the required letter of recommendation, and I could go on to earn my BA in Archaeology.
Only now I don’t know whether or not I want to earn my BA in History or my BA in Archaeology and I’m so, so conflicted. I called several friends and all none of them could give me any advice that really helped. But it was my mother who suggested Paris. Because what broadens your perspective more than travel? I was too confused and undecided to tell her that I had been put off at the idea of au-pairing because of my dislike for small children, but then an idea popped in my head.
3 month Eurail pass - $1500
3 months of cheap but “it’ll do” hostels - $500
3 months of spending money - $500
Me, myself and I traveling to all 30 countries the Eurail passes through for 3 months. Surely after that I would be able to make a decision I know I wouldn’t regret afterwards. Surely then I could finally put myself on the track to London towards whatever I decided.
The key is saving every cent I make or can that I can steal from homeless men from now on until February. Surely I can do that…
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