At the end of the summer when many of my classmates, and most of my friends, jetted off to their new and exciting locales for this semester, I hopped on a plane headed straight back to junior year in Philadelphia. Assuming my social life would be less busy, I intended on using this semester to concentrate on my work. Little did I know that this semester at Penn I would find myself, much like my friends abroad, trying to acclimate to a new and somewhat foreign experience here in West Philly.
During the first week of school, I looked through the names in my phone and felt the way many of us do when we look through our closets and whine that we have nothing to wear. Needless to say, there is always something to wear, and scrolling down the list of names on my phone, I came across many with whom I'd either lost touch or never got to know well enough. And so I began to spend time with those not on my speed dial, and found that while I may not have been in Barcelona or Hong Kong, I was out of my comfort zone and about to enjoy a semester filled with different faces. Take one night at LT's: I ran into an old housemate from freshman year who I hadn't gotten to spend time with since way back then. We decided to get together later that week, had a great time catching up, and have subsequently been able to introduce each other to our respective friends.
I know you've all heard of the Penn bubble, but have you thought of all the little bubbles inside of it? It's easy to stay within our little groups of friends, especially as the semesters pass and we're forced to spend more time doing work. But I'm glad that I've been forced to move outside of my bubble. My friend likened my situation to how many French women dress: they only need a few trustworthy articles of clothing, and from there they accessorize. So why not try wearing those new earrings? Who knows, they may become a staple in your wardrobe.
