Maria Chimes In: Episode 3 – From Here To There and Back
KTB presents Episode 3 of Maria Chimes In. This week, Maria welcomed back fellow NYU alum Kathryn Tam discussing their adoration for New York City, its maddening and intoxicating elements, and the importance of studying abroad during college. Last week, Maria and Katherine discussed the impact of social media.
From Here To There And Back
I spoke in detail with Tam about her decision to leave the comforts of NYU’s Washington Square campus in the spring of her sophomore year to study in Shanghai, China. After spending three doe-eyed semesters in the Big Apple, Tam knew it was time to explore a foreign land. She discussed pre-departure anxieties and uncertainties that occupied her thoughts leading up to the trip, though, it was all worth it and necessary to personal growth.
As a media/politics enthusiast, I took an alternative route and studied in the nation’s capital during the spring of my junior year. I took in the invigorating energy of spending a semester in Washington, D.C. during the 2012 Presidential Elections, and reveled in every passing moment. I lived, worked, and studied in a city close to New York City, but grew both personally and emotionally, developing an unyielding commitment to my career path and values.
We spoke about the necessity of leaving New York City for a while — even later in life. For the two of us, we were brought back just a few months after graduating from NYU’s undergraduate program, but relished and seized the opportunities we had to explore unfamiliar places, both near and far. We left our comfort zones and friends behind, knowing that we would change as individuals, and that our campus life, NYC too, would change with us.
Through our experiences we found unshakable ties to other cities, fell in love with their distinct characteristics, while also realizing everything we hoped for exists within the, seemingly overwhelming and deceivingly uninviting, metropolis that is NYC. Leave the city for a short while — a long while — but if it pulls you back, return.
