Oh…the strange travesties obstacles I’ve confronted this summer (thus far)…

After spending the last three weeks camping out in Canaday Library [1]and there, cultivating what is to be known as the great Canaday Gypsy Commune, comprised of my closest and most studious chums, I was ready to cheerfully depart with what I will one day consider the first of the best years. Frankly, I left BMC (Bryn Mawr College) with great expectations as to what my summer would entail—the adventures I would partake in, the sites I would see, the great projects I would take on, (the first-year blubber weight I would lose)! Surely, these three months I would bask in the glory of fulfillment and accomplishment without the constraints of school-year-obligations—perhaps these three months would not suffice in length to accommodate all my dreams!  However, the forces of the universe would not have this—no, Lady Fate made a mockery of my summer aspirations. I was wildly wrong in believing that my summer was going to consist solely of lemonade and having my single most difficult daily task entail the hunt for the most promising spot in which to bake in the glorious rays of the sun.

For starters, I was broke. This being a problem due to the fact that I had a long anticipated trip to Spain[2] (that was thus far, only half paid for) to pay for on top of the money I would have to save for fall semester tuition, and text books.  Being a college student so well learned in the ways of being constantly on the prowl for paper[3], I had secured a summer job at a learning center conveniently right across the street from my house (no gas money required!) , where I had also worked all four years of high school.  This job is fantastic in many ways, but the greatest aspect of it lies in the work itself, which is constituted in assisting four to seven year old kids acquire fundamental math and reading skills.  While this might be many people’s nightmare, it’s an experience that I not only enjoy, but also one that will ultimately help me determine my career path (I’ve been stuck between medicine and education).  So, here I was ready to make said paper as entered the center at the beginning of my second week home—only to find my boss asking me to come in next week, for at the moment she was “completely overstaffed”.  I dragged my disillusionment back across the street. As subsequent to most disappointments many questions arose in my head; Are there any guarantees that I would have this job? Who else will employ me just for the summer? But the most troubling of these, How will I pay my expenses? I decided I would wait for the verdict decided in the next week.

During this time I was also anxiously awaiting a response to a volunteer application I had sent in to the local hospital—an opportunity that would grant me insight into the world of medicine, and help me in selecting the career I want to pursue.  My unanswered application threw me into anguish, especially now that I had the time to panic. In my frenzy, I called the director of college volunteers, left more than one clumsy voicemail, I even walked over to the hospital and spoke to someone in the office who took my name down after informing me that I was, “in the system” and also advised me to, “call and leave a voicemail,” so, I left after pretending to be appreciative of her advice.

What used to be my father's car...

Fast-forward two days to the street in front of my high school. Scene; my father’s totaled car, a bumper-less navy Lexus, myself (bawling my eyes out) and two other Mawrtyrs [4] standing in complete shock as a police officer took down the report. That’s right, I had totaled my dad’s car. Completely smashed in the front my ramming into the car in front of me. Really the whole thing played out like a movie sequence; Happily driving to the duck pond to feed the ducks our unfinished pancake breakfast, Rolling in the Deep by Adele was playing on the radio, I slowly looked to my friend in the passenger seat, not realizing the diminishing speed of traffic ahead, and right there the loud pang, my air bag deploying, exploding in my face, my friend’s body wrenching in response, and then the hissing of my father’s car. After completing the necessary business, with the police, and my surprisingly calm father, we walked home. My parents took it all really well, reminding me that although it was terrific that my friends and I were intact, there were consequences, and in this case, the consequences involved paying the expected increased insurance bill. As you might imagine, I was terrified—not only was this another hefty debt to add to the list of expenses “to be paid”, but there was also no guarantee that I actually had a job that would alleviate these costs.  All my efforts at anything seemed to be in vain—at this point I was begging Athena[5] to toss me a bone.

Luckily my friends, I write to you from a better place, most of my “misfortunes” either resolved or on their way upwards. My trip to Spain is a paycheck away from paid (I cut open my kid piggy bank and discovered what a stingy kid I was), I have my job (for keeps!), and after much persistence many voicemails, e-mails, and office visits, I attained an interview at the hospital and a volunteer position in the Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU; where most premature and sick newborns go). I knew immediately when I stepped into the NICU that things were looking up. Everything is feasible when applied to with perseverance, especially through doubts, fears, and hesitance. These babies in the NICU are the greatest example of this, that even in their minuscule size, they strive to live (really! Some manage the strength to roll over their crib bumpers and push themselves up against the plexiglass!).  I’d say all in all, the misfortunes of my summer have been blessings in disguise, all demonstrating the solid foundations Bryn Mawr has inculcated in me so far, showing me what I am really made of, and what I am actually capable of.