Caught in Between

My summers before "abnormality."

As someone who has taking statistics classes before, I believe in “norms.” And that when it comes to graphing many things, let’s say height, there have got to be some people that are on the shorter end, some people on the higher end, and let’s say, assuming a normal distribution, around 68% of people within one standard deviation of that “average” height. When it comes to height and weight, I’m the one having a party with the 68% of people in the “average” population. But when it comes to summer vacations, suddenly, I’m not in that party anymore. I become that “abnormal” one sitting over two standard deviations away from the average with just 0.3% of the population joining me.

Sure, not all of us believe in “norms.” And maybe there isn’t a “normal.” But, when it comes to summer vacation, I begin to imagine that 68% of American students are enjoying some kind of “normal” summer. You know the kind I am talking about; the kind filled with pools, a part-time job, barbecues (stocked with veggie burgers, of course), and a trip with the family to a beach. I somehow believe that, by September, 68% of the population will describe their summer as “relaxing” and will have found the time to be in a bathing suit.

The post-"normal" era begins.

The “abnormalities” of my summers started in middle school. At the end of 6th grade, I decided to spend my time in California (visiting my relatives) and at a farm camp for a month. I participated in two farm shows: in the first show, I showed a pregnant goat named Briana and then, in the second show, I showed an adolescent cow (aka a heifer) named Miranda.For the four summers after that, I moved on to a whale camp, where the ocean became my classroom. I spent a total of sixteen weeks whale watching on a schooner off the island of Grand Manan in Canada. When I wasn’t whale watching, I spent time in Hawaii visiting my grandparents.

Well, after that, summers became a little less relaxing, but still weren’t “normal.” After my junior year, I participated in a four-week New Jersey sponsored-program: Governor’s School on the Environment. For the rest of the summer, I interned at a local assemblyman’s office. The summer after my senior year I volunteered in an orphanage in China and interned at a local congressman’s office.

And when college came around, I was still finding ways to build-up an “abnormal” summer history. After my freshman year, I piled on part-time internships by working at a non-profit that promoted art programs in hospitals, working on child nutrition programs with my local health department, and promoting a conference on maternal health disparities. After my sophomore year, I ran off to Brazil, and as a grant recipient, assisted on an epidemiology study on HIV/TB co-infection.

This summer I add to my summer repertoire but similarly to the way Sarah wrote about this year’s summer, in a slightly more “normal” way. I am an intern at the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in New York City. Although, I feel rather “normal” interning in NYC (it’s practically a high school reunion when I get on the bus to go to work), I find my experience with GBC unique.

I’m exposing myself to an area of public health that I haven’t been exposed to yet: the financing side. GBC has made around 220 partnerships with the non- and corporate sector, including businesses (such as, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, etc.). The mission of GBC is to turn business assets into disease-fighting assets by joining the corporate sector with governments and civil society. The more time I’ve spent at GBC the more I’ve begun to appreciate their role in the public health world. Public Health has also become even more interdisciplinary. Suddenly, I’m working alongside experts in business, economics, and marketing, all with a different academic background than mine will probably will ever be, but all of whom are focused on public health.

I’m working on two major projects with GBC. Half of my time is spent strengthening our tuberculosis projects (my supervisor for this project actually happens to be a Peace Corps friend of my academic advisor’s – maybe the public health world isn’t so big after all). Tuberculosis fascinates me and I’m really glad I’ve been given a chance to incorporate that interest into my summer days. The other half of my time is spent working on building up our memberships with the ICT industry (Information and Communications Technologies). The ways in which these companies can help fight diseases is staggering and something I would never have even researched if I hadn’t interned at GBC. Don’t believe how powerful this industry can be? Wikipedia “mHealth” and you’ll see how.

Nevertheless, the relaxing days of my “abnormal” summer vacations have long past. I quickly went from my internship at the WHO to my internship at GBC and will transition, even more quickly, right into my senior year classes at the JHSPH. My days have been tiring: every weekday I work from 9 am-6 pm with a 3 hour commute. It still amazes me that I don’t have to go outside in NYC if I don’t want to (my bus enters Port Authority, I can enter the subway station there, and exit at a subway station that leads to my office building).

It’s these days combined with the piling of odds and ends: deciding on and applying for programs for future life steps (just the idea is stressful; this should take up all of July), fitting in time with my boyfriend (he headed off to Cambodia yesterday), recording and watching all of the World Cup games, doing some independent research, reading development books, and, with my remaining time, helping with Public Health Student Forum and Student Admissions Advisory Board.

Although I may be having a more “normal’ summer than years past, I have definitely reached an “abnormal” point of exhaustion.

But, as I learned the hard way after my first week, as long as I make room for six and a half hours of sleep and a NY bagel, there will be no complaining on my end. No matter how “abnormally” exhausting my summer gets, I love all the opportunities that I have been given and wouldn’t want the life history of my summers to be written any other way.

Until next time,

Jessica

How did another year go by? And so quickly? What exactly did I do over the past 9 months at school?

It’s always so nice to get off school for the summer and ease into a more relaxing schedule, but it does prompt some reflection, and I guess some soul searching if you’re a little more brooding than I am. As shocked as I was when freshman year sped by, the milestone I’ve reached this time around is far more terrifying….I am officially at the halfway mark of my college experience.

Looking back on the past year, and particularly the past two years is both satisfying and a little scary. I’ve done things at Hopkins I didn’t even know were possible, things I never thought I’d do (stop being pre-med, join a sorority….decide to study abroad in Africa?!). I’m certainly different than the person who stepped onto the Hopkins campus nearly two years ago, and I’m proud of how I’ve changed and grown at Hopkins.

At the same time though, there are those nagging feelings that I’m running out of time to do those things on my college “bucket list.” Why is it I have yet to take an Art History class? Why didn’t I stay for Intersession my freshman year? Am I really working as hard as I should be in school? I still want to do research while I’m at Hopkins, maybe pick up a language class or two, and a number of slightly less academic things as well. The halfway point put things into perspective, and I must say I’m mostly thrilled with what I’ve done and how Hopkins has been these past two years, but it’s still making me feel elderly and a little scared.

But if I just focus on the past year….

This year I settled into Hopkins. I declared my major and minor (Public Health and Economics, respectively). I got a job, I got an internship, I thought about what I might want to do in “real life.” I got the chance to take classes I really loved, I got more involved in school, I spent more time than I knew was possible working to find the next great incoming class at Hopkins. I decided I loved Hopkins enough to maybe even leave for a semester and seize the opportunity I’d never have again, to study abroad somewhere amazing. But when I look back on this year what sticks are those smaller things, things like lunches at Carmas, deciding to run the half marathon, going to New York to meet accepted students, making 50 glittery visors for the Phis, and a million other great memories. I’ll try to wrap up the year as best I can, suffice to say it was a great one.

Most of my memories of this past year revolve around a very strange place known as 1221.

A four person suite in Charles Commons that we fondly referred to as though it was a clubhouse, decorated for holidays, birthdays, and because we felt like it, this standard issue dorm room really became my home this past year. I was lucky/unlucky enough freshman year to have a single, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from this year, living with two of my best friends. It turned out to be incredible. No matter how insane school was getting, how tired I was, how many times I had slipped on the breezeway in the rain that day, I could always head back to 1221 and spend time with my roommates…whether it was curling up in bed one Saturday night to watch The September Issue rather than go out, packing 20 Phi Mu girls in there for dinner, having Lady GaGa dance parties at 3 am, making strange gluten free treats in a toaster oven, or whatever else I needed, I don’t think I would have enjoyed sophomore year half as much without the lovely 1221.

1221 Residents dressed up for Halloween.

Naturally, I had to dedicate a blog to this fabulous room. My Cribs post is essentially a shrine to 1221.

http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/shared/2010/04/cribs-charles-commons-1221/

I remember sitting at the kitchen table for a groggy Saturday morning breakfast during Snow Week with Becca K and another lovely freshman, Ashley (before I knew that both these girlies would be my twin littles!) when Becca leapt up from the table announcing she was going to brave the snow to go to Towson and get her ear pierced. Clearly 1221 brought out the best and weirdest in others as well.

Becca and Ashley a few weeks later, at Revelation!

I loved being a part of rush this year, painting huge Candy Land signs over Intersession, getting tons of themed t-shirts, trying to be enthusiastic for hours on end, meeting all the freshmen, and then as Bid Night neared, covering my entire apartment in foam letters, glitter, paint pens, candy necklaces and who knows what else to make pink visors for each “baby” to wear on their first official night out with the sorority. Rush week ran right into Snow Week, definitely one of the most memorable times of my sophomore year. As I’m sure everyone heard, Baltimore was buried under more snow than this city has ever seen, and things all but came to a halt. Stores and restaurants plastered signs on their doors with the word “SNOWPOCALYPSE” and “we’re open till we run out of food!” It was great see all of Hopkins sledding, having snowball fights, and playing in the snow, but by the end of our 9 day holiday from school, I was more than ready to get back to things as usual.

Snow, before the second storm came.

As Spring Break and then Summer neared, I enjoyed a wonderful ski vacation with my family, tried (unsuccessfully) to keep Big-Little week a secret from my lovely littles, applied to study abroad, worked at Merrill Lynch two days a week, studied for midterms and exams, worked at Open Houses, wrote papers, celebrated with my little sister when she decided to go to NYU, tried to say goodbye to everyone before we all left to go abroad, visited Ohio, and packed a years worth of stuff into a very small car to return to NJ

Sophomore year in photos! It’s been a good one.

-Lauren B.

This amazing Jackson 5 song’s title will probably be used many times for blog titles, hence the roman numeral in the parentheses.

anxiousness! Wait...is that a word..

This is my wrap up blog entry! Sounds trite…but I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM GOING TO BE A JUNIOR! This means I have to start looking at master’s programs, career stuff, concentrations within my major, interests…guess it’s time to grow up.

But here we go…enjoy the recapitulation!

9.26.09  Wanna Be Startin’  Something . First blog post of the year, and I talk about my first semester classes. Very basic.

10.12.2009  Enjoy Yourself Here, I talked about my birthday, which is in October, always during school (lucky you to those who have summer birthdays!) But anyway, friends can make it special, even if it is in the middle of the school year. We have fun at Hopkins!!

10.21.2009 Whatever Happens was about what happened when I got sick. There is a hospital right near ( short walking distance) Hopkins, so I talked about how convinient that was and as few other things.

11.1.2009 Got to Be There. It’s really  important to take time off for yourself, because too much school will make you mentally and physically sick. Each  year I go on a retreat with my Christian fellowship and we go to a nice campsite in Western Maryland. You need time for yourselves, so don’t forget that!!

11.13.2009 Come Together . I love my alma mater (high school) because it enabled me to attend and afford JHU…so I wrote about our annual football game at the Raven’s Stadium against our rival (both  my high school and our rival give JHU the most Baltimore Scholars each year! ) and how it is still a part of my JHU life.

11.23.2009 Keep The Faith Each semester, I spotlight-blog one of my non pre med classes, to show what Hopkins has to offer in terms of social science and humanities courses…and these are always my favorite ones. This entry was about a sociology/public health class I took and loved…about education!

12.06.2009 Someone in the Dark Yea…at this point, finals were getting ready to start and I was having trouble in  organic chem…my grades were not that great. So I wrote about how EASY it was to talk to my professor about it and the advice he gave. Many times, students are afraid to approach professors…..but don’t be. They are here for you!

this is how i felt. sorry for the stock footage url on the bottom, btw.

12.26.2009 You Can’t Win This is probably my favorite blog to date. Because it is honest yet positive. Orgo didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked it to, and I griped and moaned about how unfair it was and yada yada…bad  grades happen, especially at a place like Hopkins where sometimes your best is a C or C-. Check this entry out if you haven’t, I give some advice too!

1.18.2010 Hopkins Christian Fellowship This blog is about my Christian fellowship group…what we do, what we’re here for, etc. It’s not preachy or anything like that, so if you’re interested take a looksie! And welcome to the new year!

2.02.2010 This  Time Around I spent all of Intersession at school this time, and I LOVED IT. Read about my classes too…I’d really recommend staying for some of Intersession (three weeks of easy but cool one, 2, and some 3 credit classes before Spring Semester starts).

2.17.2010 Ease On Down the Road Just a list of my second semester classes.

3.03.2010 Scream Hopkins isn’t cutthroat. See how here.

3.16.2010 Scream 2 Hopkins isn’t anti social. See how here.

4.06.2010 CRIBS Check out my crib!

4.19.2010 I Want You Back My biggest regret freshman year? NOT  HAVING ENOUGH FUn. Sounds weird but it happens way too often to way too many people…I’m just cool enough to admit it B)

5.06.2010 Push Me Away Read about my second attempt to take a poetry class here (I HATE poetry classes…not because I don’t appreciate poetry, because I do…but because I can’t write it and I don’t think poems can be fairly graded.)

5.25.2010 Stranger in Moscow Just a teaser entry about the end of the year and my summer internship.

I hope you all enjoyed my blogging for the year…but for now, look for several more summer time entries..and feel free to comment!

-D

I’m a senior in college. Wow. Where did my junior year go? In order to prove to myself that my junior year did not simply get stolen from me, let me recap on my junior year blog entries (written on three different continents!)

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June 22^nd, 2009 – Aventura -

“I will admit that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I left for Brazil. On June 2nd, the day of my departure, I had concluded that I was indeed crazy for going on this trip….”

July 21^st, 2009 – Aventura Parte Dois -

Featuring a long list of all the things I have learned about Brazil from food to men.

August 27^th, 2009 – Vamos, Let’s Go… -

A wrap-up of my last couple of weeks in Brazil, a vacation to South Carolina, and the feeling of homelessness that began as I looked into the coming semester.

September 30^th, 2009 – Indecisiveness -

I entered my junior year realizing just how indecisive I can be: What would my courses be? Where would I study abroad? And even on smaller topics, like should I go home for my Mom’s birthday? All of the answers were discussed here (along with two links to blogs that I wrote for Center for a Livable Future).

October 20^th, 2009 – Working at Hopkins -

“It wasn’t until this year that I realized how much of an impact being able to work at Hopkins has done for me. You’re always told to seize activities in college, but you are never told to work in college. I don’t think most prospective students when they envision college envision being a part-time worker. However, maybe they should. So, yes, this won’t be the most exciting blog, but I hope that it persuades any prospective student who may be reading this to at least consider working in college.”

November 8^th, 2009 – Public Health Student Forum -

An informative blog on a student group that I’m co-president of: Public Health Student Forum.

November 21^st, 2009 – A Reflection -

I reflect on how many opportunities I have gotten from Hopkins and how they would have been impossible for me to have predicted from my campus tour of Hopkins as a high schooler.

December 4^th, 2009 – “Because, because, I am the wizard of ooh’s and ah’s and fa-la-la’s…”

A quick hello before I went right back to studying for finals.

December 26^th, 2009 – AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study -

“It may have finally hit me that I won’t be returning next semester. I think it’s been the combination of saying “goodbye” to my room, friends, the admissions office, co-workers, etc. combined with logging into ISIS (the website that allows students to check billing and financial aid, register for classes, view grades, etc) and seeing my ’schedule’ for next year. Now instead of my usual semester’s list of five courses it simply says: AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study. I really do not know what’s in store for me next semester. All I know is a typical spring semester at Hopkins–filled with cherry blossoms, lacrosse games, and Spring Fair–will quickly be replaced with a semester in Geneva, Switzerland.”

December 31st, 2009 - AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study II -

A blog I wrote about the study abroad process: How do you pick a program? How much does it cost? If you’re a student looking to study abroad, check out this post.

January 25^th, 2010 – Public Health…is awesome! -

A long academic blog where I answer the questions: What does the public health major give its students? What has the public health major done for me? A good read for any student thinking of majoring in public health.

January 31^st, 2010 – AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study III -

“Sometimes I wake up in Geneva and think I’m still dreaming. Perhaps it’s because for months I knew I was going to be in Switzerland for the semester and so it sometimes feels weird that I’m finally here. However, I don’t think that’s entirely the reason why I feel like I’m dreaming because as I go through out my day I keep thinking about how I must still be dreaming. It must be because Switzerland often seems like a giant fairytale in itself so I feel as though I’m just one of many characters in a fairytale entitled Switzerland, or Suisse, or Svizzera, or Schweiz, or however you say Switzerland in Rumantsch.”

February 20^th, 2010 – AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study IV-

An overview of the classes I took while abroad in Switzerland.

March 8^th, 2010 – AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study V -

“Sometimes I don’t believe this crazy planet that we call Earth and this crazy life that I live in. I finished my French final and then… one day I’m in Amsterdam, the next day London, then back to Switzerland, and then, you know, just a weekend in Paris followed by my first day at the World Health Organization as an intern. No biggie…just kidding.”

March 28^th, 2010 – Hopkins Cribs: Study Abroad – Geneva, Switzerland –

“By the end of May I will have spent four months in my lovely efficiency in Homewood in Baltimore, two months total in my room in New Jersey, two months in my apartment in Vitoria, Brazil, and four months in my apartment in Geneva, Switzerland. Nevertheless, every “crib” I’ve had this year I’ve managed to make into my home. So without further rambling, I’ll welcome you to my most recent place…Geneva.”

April 17^th, 2010 -AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study VII -

An update from Geneva: “Life is going faster than I can take it. And it’s a tough balancing act between trying to make the most of each and every day, staying in touch with those at home, planning out the next step(s) in my life, interning, studying, and well, sleeping. It’s a balancing act, but one that I have learned to enjoy. I honestly came back with just a few hours of sleep on Thursday and still happened to have a smile on my face.”

May 3^rd, 2010 – AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study VIII: “School’s Out for Summer?!” –

Here I reflect on my internship at the World Health Organization and introduce my readers to my summer internship at the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

May 29^th, 2010 – Hello USA. Hello Uncertainty. –

“I thought college was supposed to be a period of certainty. But I have quickly realized that if you go out there and seize opportunities as good college students are supposed to, how quickly it turns into a time of uncertainty.”

June 1^st, 2010 – - AS.990.990(01)-Off-Campus Study IX: Top Ten -

Here are my top ten reasons to study abroad from gaining new friends to taking a break from Hopkins, check out my reasons here.

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Well, I guess I actually have done a lot this year. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to be a senior.

Curious about my freshman and sophomore year adventures? Check out my other year wrap-ups here: freshman year and sophomore year.

Top Ten Reasons to Study Abroad: What better way to wrap up my four months spent overseas than to explain why you too should study abroad?? So, in no particular order…

1. A BREAK: What could be better than running away from the MSE library to a place of your choosing.
2. A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Sure, other places in the world are a lot like how you have come to imagine them from reading about them in the news and in books. However, to experience culture requires you to actually go to the place. How else would I have been able to taste Rivella (a Swiss soda)? Realize just how expensive it is to live in Switzerland?  Seen just how clean the water and air is in Switzerland? Learn that Switzerland is a lot like Disney World? And how else could I prove to myself that with an amazing public transportation program  it is possible to never get into a car for four months?
   
3. Gain INDEPENDENCE: Simply said: there are few other ways that you can gain so much independence (and freedom from your parents) than to run away (…I mean, study abroad).
4. Learn about YOURSELF: Many people think study abroad is a time to learn about other people and their culture. But perhaps just as much, it is a time to discover things about yourself that you may not have realized. How easily can you make friends? Are you willing to try food that you’ve never tried before?  And honestly, by the end of it, I think you gain self-confidence knowing that you are able to survive even without your closest support network.
   
5. Develop LANGUAGE skills: No, I did not learn Switzerlandish nor Brazilian. And yes, I have been asked if I learned both of these languages. And although I took a French class, I did not get too far. However, simply being able to read menus, ask for directions, and learn how to get by with simple words in the native language are great skills. For others, that are nearly fluent in a language, study abroad is an invaluable way to immerse yourself in that language.
   
6. A unique ACADEMIC experience: The academic part of STUDY abroad can really range. Some people I know have decided not only to run away from Hopkins to study abroad, but also to run away from their academics. For example, to take a break from science or engineering classes to study the humanities. For me, I decided to continue my interest in public health. However, I definitely would not have been able to get the same academic experience at Hopkins. One of my classes included field trips to several NGOs. Another class included an internship at the World Health Organization. Others I know who studied abroad have had independent research projects in third-world villages. Although the Homewood campus can offer a lot, these unique experiences simply cannot be offered in Baltimore.
   
7. An appreciation for the UNITED STATES (this includes Hopkins): You know what they say: you never truly appreciate something until it is gone. And just as I did not fully appreciate my study abroad experience until returning home, I also did not truly appreciate the United States and Hopkins until I returned. Seriously though: Hopkins students are one of a kind. And they can’t simply be replaced by people from other schools. I also believe that I appreciate my family and closest friends by having to live without them. And, of course, I appreciate bagels, a relatively low cost of living, and the English language even more so than before.
   
8. A supportive PROGRAM: So maybe now you think that traveling abroad is important. Or that even researching or working abroad is important. And, well, it definitely is! However, one of the great things that comes with study abroad is that it means you are studying through a program. Many of these programs have been in existence for years and years. This means that not only is the study abroad office at JHU there for you if you experience problems (whether health problems or academic problems), but the program itself is set-up for people just like you and they can help you answer questions about getting a cell phone or help you with housing problems, etc.
   
9. New FRIENDS (and adventures!): Sure, there are plenty of people to meet at Hopkins. But there are a ton of more people to meet outside of the JHU bubble. I loved being able to meet other people with a public health interest from across the WORLD. And, well, I now also have plenty of new stories to tell around the dinner table. Like that time I went camping in Venice, tried to feed a Swiss cow a piece of grass, and went to the World Health Assembly.
   
10. A CHANGE for the better: Before I left, I was told by multiple staff members at JHU that people change when they return from study abroad. The idea of me changing makes me uneasy. And although I do not want to fully admit that I changed, I am already realizing little changes in me. I think I have come back more confident about myself in my abilities to adjust to new situations and to grasp public health problems. But more importantly, I think my time in Brazil and Switzerland (two countries that are often seen as polar opposites) have made me more accepting of other cultures whether this simply means trying new foods or considering other political systems. I have changed and, let’s hope, for the better.
    

Still torn? Let me just say that I have never heard of anyone regret studying abroad. So, with that, go out there and explore the world!!