The Shaw Life: Week 1 Completed

It's been quite a while since I last posted... and a lot has happened in that time.

I've been done with a quarter of my undergraduate experience for two weeks now but I still haven't had much time to process it. This past year has been a hard one and sometimes I wish I pushed myself more, but I know that much of the pain and discomfort could not have been avoided. I was in a difficult situation and I did the best I could. I still hope that I can do better next year.

After I took my last final and struggled through the horrifying task of packing up my room, I headed up to Maine with my friend India. I had a week to kill before my summer program started and she graciously offered to let me stay with her. At first, I felt slightly uncomfortable about taking advantage of such generosity, but I'm glad I did. Maine was beautiful (see the picture below for evidence), India's friends and family were wonderful, and I got to know her in a new way. Now I'm even more excited about living with her next year!

Then I headed back to BC and moved into a house on campus with the rest of the rising sophomores from my scholarship program. We each have two community service placements in the city; I'm working at Rosie's Place (a women's shelter - look at the community garden I found near it during my lunch break!) and the Suffolk County House of Corrections. Both my placements are filled with amazing people who have a lot to teach me; I'm excited to see what I discover over the next five weeks.


So that's all there really is for now... I'm just focusing on learning as much as I can from the people I'm living with, working with, and serving. I'll keep you posted as my adventures continue!