My travel to the United States around 2 weeks later was eventful, but not very exciting. After many tearful farewells to family and friends, and promises to FaceTime at least once a week, we finally said goodbye. Aaron was there to see me off at the airport, and parting with him was the hardest.
We promised to keep in touch, and hopefully maintain a long-distance relationship - but it really doesn't seem very plausible. However, we had to hope for the best; what else could we do?
Navigating New Haven, Connecticut was a challenge for sure. Having been shielded under my parents' wings for my whole life until now, I had to step outside my comfort zone and try new things, even if they seemed very daunting.
But seeing Yale University for the first time took my breath away.
The architecture, the grounds, the sheer size of the place - how was it even humanly possible to achieve such a feat in design and construction? Little did I know, that would be the first of many surprises I would encounter. I felt like I was in a dream, and I to keep repeating to myself, Liv you're really here, you deserve this! to remind myself that this was real. All of this was real.
I collected the key to my dorm, went inside and unpacked as much as I could before I collapsed onto my bed in a heap of exhaustion. My dorm was a single dorm - we had the option to choose single or double, but since I didn't know anyone, I didn't want to risk being put into the same room as someone I didn't like and having to deal with them for a whole year.
I knew all the students at Yale would be the nicest human beings imaginable, but I guess those were just my boarding high school instincts kicking in.
Another factor for deciding not to share a dorm with someone else was probably me not wanting to 'betray' my friends. It sounds so unreasonable written out but you have to believe me: it's the worst feeling for me when I feel like I'm not remaining loyal to my friends back in Australia. When, or if I get a new friend, it feels like I'm prioritising them over my existing friends or that I will start to forget them.
It's an irrational thought, but it had also driven me to avoid talking to anyone on my way to my dorm room, despite seeing all the smiling faces and bright minds crowding into the blooming school grounds.
Over the next few days, I unpacked everything and decorated my dorm room. Even though I tried to make it feel as cozy as possible, the atmosphere of the room could not compare with my farmhouse in the Australian outback.
Sometimes I would burst unexpectedly into tears - I was feeling extremely homesick and lonely. With classes not starting until a few weeks later, I had nothing to do to occupy my time, and I was too scared to go out and explore the city, or make new friends. I tried calling and FaceTiming friends and parents, but I stopped doing it after I found that they only increased my longing for home and made me feel worse.
How was I going to survive 4 years of this?
STAI LEGGENDO
A Crowded Place
Storie d'amoreI breathed in his sweet cinnamon and autumnal scent, relishing in the way his lips moved with mine, his sensual touch as his hand moved to the small of my back. A euphoric symphony seemed to crescendo from the silence as we kissed, complemented by...
