Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Journey to Phil, Part 2

(Read Part One here)




So there I was at Franciscan University of Steubenville in August of 1997. 13 hours from home, and all alone. I was missing my high school friends, and most of all my boyfriend whom I had just begun dating 4 months earlier. They were all still in Massachusetts. What was I doing in Ohio? My roommate was just okay, and my classes were a bit of a repeat from high school. I was a biology major because like most of my older siblings, I was going to be a doctor or at least something in the medical field.




My very first biology class was Botany, and the super-hard professor called on me the first class asking me to identify a plant. I had NO idea, I'm still not good with anything that grows green, and I felt really embarrassed. That class was my hardest class, and I eventually dropped it because it made me rethink the whole biology major. If I had someone to turn to for advice, I may not have made that decision, but in the end I am glad I switched. The next semester, I decided to become a double major - Theology and Journalism. Mostly because I had to pick something, and I liked to write and we had the greatest theology professors right on campus (Scott Hahn and Mark Miravalle, just to name a couple).



That major lasted for only one semester (Theology requires deep thinking, and I'm more of a worker bee) and by the beginning of my sophomore year, I switched again, this time to Accounting. I must admit, I picked this without really knowing what it entailed, but I LOVE math and the computerized tests I had taken in high school said I should become an accountant. And who's to argue with a computerized test that picks your career?? ;)



Luckily, accounting and all the business classes came easy to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I think growing up in a family business really helped! I was still missing my old friends, and still dating the boy from back home, who now was going to college in Maine. But, I was also making lots of new friends, most of them from other countries (they used to joke that I was the minority when we all hung out) and joined a volleyball team. I was enjoying the whole college experience, yet still felt I was missing something. I began thinking about when I would go to Austria in our study-abroad program. Part of me didn't want to go and be away from home and my boyfriend for a whole semester, but a bigger part of me knew this was an opportunity I couldn't miss. I worked extra hard that school year, making money by scrubbing toilets in the dorm, working as a secretary on my Christmas break, and taking extra business classes during the summer.



(not me)







By the time January 2000 came along, I was ready to start the second half of my Junior year in Gaming, Austria. After a teary-eyed departure from the Boston airport, I waved goodbye to my parents and boyfriend and began an adventure that would change my life...

11 comments:

  1. austria? didn't see that one coming...lol.

    I changed my major a zillion times too and I wish i had a better advisor too.

    scott hahn is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haha I didn't know that you had originally thought of majoring in biology, that's what I majored in! But I could never be an accountant..

    ReplyDelete
  3. aaaaaaaaggghhhh!
    oh colleen.. your killin' me here!
    cannot wait to read more.. this is really fun!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Funny . . I was a a bio major at first and did not like Botany either, but I only switched to biochem, which I loved.

    Love hearing your story, cannot wait for more!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Colleen!!! So glad that you found my blog. We are strangely more similar than just out names - I went to college in Ohio, started as a biology major (of course to become a doctor), switched to Business Finance, studies abroad (although mine was in Maastricht, Netherlands), etc. Woah! :) Anxious to read more of your blog!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Austria??? That sounds so exciting...way better than cleaning toilets. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. AHH! More, more! Love it. It's awesome how you intersperse the pics in with your writing...it makes the story even more intriguing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Okay, you lost me at the "lovin' math" part. What?! ;) Seriously loving these posts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. maria on lap or i would say more

    can't wait to hear more!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Okay, Maria's busy and NOW I can type!

    Exchange to AUSTRIA!? How cool is that?? Jeremy went to France for a semester. He studied PHYSICS in FRENCH. Now that's one smart dude.

    How cool is it that you had Scott Hahn? I've got five of his books sitting in my reading corner! I think that one of his kids moved here to our little Catholic bubble. Anyone else?

    So I'm eager to hear more!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Austria-how fun! I spent a semester in Rome! Great experiences!

    ReplyDelete

Talk to me...