Ready, Set, Grow!

Welcome to my first blog post! Yes, in the 13 minutes I’ve been sitting and brainstorming at my computer that is the intro sentence I came up with. I settled on this “hook” because my goal for these blogs during my CR journey is for me to reveal to you the thoughts I am thinking and emotions I am feeling in a way that feels like I am sitting in front of you talking to you. While I can turn on the professional elements when I have to, I prefer to keep this almost conversational because I feel my reflection is more authentically “Augusta” this way. Structure wise, I have no set plan, but my ultimate goal is to see my growth between each post. I apologize in advance, because when I get started talking, it’s hard to get me to stop!

Coming into this blog post, I actually felt a lot of pressure to perform a certain way and to compose the perfect blog post that was perfectly wrapped up with a pretty bow on top, but that’s just not me. During this process, I have really held onto something Dr. P said at our first dinner. Each of CR 12 was chosen for a reason, and part of that was because each of us was a “hot mess” in some way. Hearing this was daunting because I felt like there were parts of me that I try to keep closed off, that were public knowledge in a way. However, hearing that was also reassuring because I knew that I could truly be myself and give my everything during this process. I will always be curious exactly what part of me Dr. P believes to be a “hot mess,” and, while I know it is written in that purple book, I am excited to discover that myself through this journey.

So, you may be asking yourself, how did Augusta get here? Picture this: I had just had my final college audition and decided to stay the weekend with my older sister who was a freshman at the time. On our way to Billy Bobs, my sister’s wonderful roommate and CR 11 alum, Cooper Gollier, started telling me about this amazing study abroad experience she was going on in the summer. While it sounded incredible, I didn’t fully grasp the uniqueness of CR until I followed along with Cooper’s Instagram. Eventually, I started reading the blog posts and realized how different CR was compared to other study abroad options. The growth that each student experienced was evident, and I knew I wanted to be a part of that. I am a firm believer that you can’t go through change or experience a difficult time without coming out a better person, and I know that CR provides the opportunity for that growth. Through reflection, I have realized, outside of genuinely loving to learn and experience new cultures, that is the main reason I applied to CR. 

Writing the application, I approached the responses in a similar way to how I am approaching these posts. Initially, I was frustrated because I felt like this application was different than any other type of application I had ever written. Typically, I would be very straight to the point with very little to no conversational elements; however, I had been encouraged to be myself as much as possible so that Dr. P could get to know me. Ultimately, opening up and allowing myself to be genuine and vulnerable in my application led me here, after twelve long pages. Needless to say, I was almost shocked when I got the (not automatic) email with my acceptance. I remember shaking, holding my phone, and thinking that, after hoping for so long I would be able to have this experience, that it was finally real. It didn’t sink in until the first dinner when I got the color coded schedule with cities and dates on it, but I still thought about it! 

To conclude, I cannot wait to have these blogs to track my growth and record the memories we will make throughout this process. This whole process has already been extremely surreal, and we haven’t even left yet! I am so grateful for this opportunity and am absolutely thrilled to be “all in 24/7” these next few months.