CaitlinLea
Dec 20, 2011
Undergraduate / 'never been a funny person' Stanford Supplement-Intellectual Vitality-friend/social [4]
Thanks is this any better???
I've never been a funny person, or even an outspoken person. I did gymnastics for ten years and now work at the club I competed for. I'm a reasonably high achieving student but not as exceptional as I'd like to be; only fortieth out of about three hundred students. I've never been one to explore things on my own. Then I was invited to travel to Germany. It was three weeks without my parents, with students from other schools. I was going to have a hard time getting myself to be social. I mean, I was friends with the people in German Club, but it was still going to be challenging. Who really knows what to expect? I expected that the Montrose group would be cautious and judgmental. I know Montrose. We aren't the friendliest group, especially the German Club. When we finally arrived in Munich we waited, guessing which of the groups exiting terminals were joining us. Our bus showed up and we climbed on, still waiting. Shortly after, a group of students headed out toward the bus. The group inside exploded with rude comments. I was worried. What if they do the same to us? What are they going to say about me and who am I going to eat dinner with?! (Yes, I was worried that no one would want to sit with me.) But after spending the first day exploring Munich I decided that I'd had enough with the Montrose group's comments. I left the Montrose group and joined the North Dakota group. It was wonderful and I don't regret it. How could I? I made some of the best friends and I still keep in touch with them. Three weeks later I cried when I had to say goodbye to everyone in the airport. What had the world come to-- Caitlin being social? As much as I hated leaving my friends behind, it was the remarks that the Montrose group made that upset me most; their insensitive conversations made me unhappy. They were talking about my friends, people they didn't know. That's when I realized that friendship isn't a social thing; it's about being honest and trustworthy to people you care about.
Thanks is this any better???
I've never been a funny person, or even an outspoken person. I did gymnastics for ten years and now work at the club I competed for. I'm a reasonably high achieving student but not as exceptional as I'd like to be; only fortieth out of about three hundred students. I've never been one to explore things on my own. Then I was invited to travel to Germany. It was three weeks without my parents, with students from other schools. I was going to have a hard time getting myself to be social. I mean, I was friends with the people in German Club, but it was still going to be challenging. Who really knows what to expect? I expected that the Montrose group would be cautious and judgmental. I know Montrose. We aren't the friendliest group, especially the German Club. When we finally arrived in Munich we waited, guessing which of the groups exiting terminals were joining us. Our bus showed up and we climbed on, still waiting. Shortly after, a group of students headed out toward the bus. The group inside exploded with rude comments. I was worried. What if they do the same to us? What are they going to say about me and who am I going to eat dinner with?! (Yes, I was worried that no one would want to sit with me.) But after spending the first day exploring Munich I decided that I'd had enough with the Montrose group's comments. I left the Montrose group and joined the North Dakota group. It was wonderful and I don't regret it. How could I? I made some of the best friends and I still keep in touch with them. Three weeks later I cried when I had to say goodbye to everyone in the airport. What had the world come to-- Caitlin being social? As much as I hated leaving my friends behind, it was the remarks that the Montrose group made that upset me most; their insensitive conversations made me unhappy. They were talking about my friends, people they didn't know. That's when I realized that friendship isn't a social thing; it's about being honest and trustworthy to people you care about.
