Tag: AY1718

 

Believe it or not but a lot has changed since I started at GW four years ago. The President of the United States was Barack Obama. GW had a dining hall called J Street (trust me, you aren’t missing out on much). I was a baby freshman who naively thought that I would live in DC indefinitely after graduation. But in the past 1327 days since I lugged my suitcases into a Thurston quad, I have fallen in love with a city that I will soon be leaving behind.
In the little amount of time that I have left in DC, I am doing my best to figure out how to say goodbye to the people, places and experiences that have shaped my four years at GW. I will do my best not to be melodramatic while writing about the difficulties of saying goodbye; rather, I hope to remind you all of how lucky we are to live in DC and to have the privilege to go to a university like GW.

These seven semesters that I have spent on campus (plus one semester abroad) have gifted me with the opportunity to explore so many new places. In this city, I’ve found my favorite dessert place/spot to hang out: Half Smoke in the U Street Corridor. I’ve found my favorite artistic treasure of the city: the art restoration area in SAAM/Portrait Gallery. I’ve frequented the back portico of Lincoln, my favorite place to contemplate life, liberty and what I’m going to buy at the grocery store. I value the small, tightknit group of friends that I have formed at GW that would do anything for me, and I would do the same for them.
I have also discovered that not all food trucks are created equally and that “Mexican” food on the East Coast has a very different meaning than Mexican food in Southern California. And sometimes (read: most of the time) it’s more fun to stay in on a Friday and order Crepeaway than go out wearing a dress in 30° weather. Most importantly, I learned that a career in politics is not for me and that’s okay; there are plenty of other ways to use my education to make a difference in society.

As I prepare for my move back to Southern California, I cannot help but feel nostalgic about the time that I have spent at this school and in this amazing city. My life at GW has provided me with memories that will last forever, an education that I could not have received anywhere else, and a place that I will always call home and will be back to visit. At the end of each prospective student tour I give at GW, I tell the students that I hope they find somewhere that they can call home for the next four years of their lives. I found that place and I hope that all you UHPers feel the same. So I refuse to say goodbye to DC forever. But I may need a little help from George Washington to teach me how to say goodbye for now.
P.S. If you do not understand the title reference, please go listen to the Hamilton soundtrack or at least the song “One Last Time”.

The following blog post was written by Peer Advisor Ellie, a MISPH sophomore studying public health and philosophy. 
Since middle school, I have known that I wanted to study public health. I felt lucky to have chosen a major before entering college. Public health is a wide field, however, and I always thought that I would be able to narrow down what I wanted focus on within the field while in college. For some time, I wanted to be a doctor with a broader community health focus.
When I came to GW, I started taking classes on the public health & pre-med tracks. Instead of narrowing my focus, my classes opened my eyes more. I widened the scope of what I could see myself doing after college. After three semesters here, I started to become anxious. I still didn’t know what I wanted to pursue after graduation. I had been continuing pre-med to keep the possibility of being a doctor open, even though I was no longer confident I wanted to be a doctor. I realized that my challenging pre-med courses were taking up so much time and energy, and would only be worthwhile to me if I wanted to pursue medicine. I knew I wanted to work in public health. I didn’t feel passionate about medicine specifically, but I had no idea what else I would do if I didn’t become a doctor. I had a mid-sophomore crisis: should I continue pre-med just to keep the option of medical school open?
To deal with my dilemma, I reached out to a variety of professors and advisors to seek some guidance. One of my public health professors took the time to meet with me and help me sort through my interests. She had me write down what skills I possess, what skills I like using, and what topics interest me in public health. After examining my lists, it was clear to me that I wasn’t just feeling “eh” about medicine, I actively did not want to pursue it. I was still scared to close that door, however, as I didn’t know what else I would do with my life. She reminded me that closing certain doors opens others, that the field of public health is vast, and that I still have time to narrow down my search.
My professor was absolutely right. Since dropping pre-med, I have had so much more time to explore other academic interests, like philosophy, law, and statistics. I’ve had more time to spend with friends, and I’m much happier. I haven’t regretted the decision once. In retrospect, I think the anxiety I felt was not because I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but because I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor and was scared to say it aloud. In the end, it was scary to close that door, but I’m no longer scared of the unknown. I’m taking advantage of it!