“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
Overall, I was extremely excited to be selected as a Victory Scholar. I mean, who wouldn’t be? I’ll be able to make a positive impact on the community and children around me. While continuing to play the sport I love and get a free master’s degree. Let’s not forget, the fact that I get to experience all this in the beautiful country of Ireland. My family is proud of me, everyone tells me “you’re so lucky” or “I’m so jealous”. So you could understand my confusion, when there was this slight internal fear that was being masked by my external happiness.
I know you’re probably like, “Kollyns of course you would feel a little scared, it’s a new place and you’ll have more responsibilities now.” Which some of my fear did stem from those reasons, but mainly I feared losing touch with my friends back home. I wouldn’t consider myself the best at long distance communication. So knowing that, I set up a game plan. Weekly scheduled Facetime calls with my friends and family were set in place so I couldn’t possibly lose contact. I even got to a point were I was willing to sacrifice making relationships in Ireland if it meant being more focused on my relationships at home.
Well, that plan blew up real quick! As soon as I started meeting my fellow scholars, I knew there was no way my previous plan would hold up. Every one of us just clicked! By the third day of introduction week it felt like I knew everyone for years. Everything we did during introduction week helped us unconsciously bond at a level that I’ve never thought possible. Whether it was working our first ehoops group or just having lunch, there was this positive energy that we all fed off.
I started to see a change in myself. I didn’t have that underlining fear anymore. I was more and more excited about what was to come as the days went on. I was just happy to be able to bond with so many amazing people. In a bizarre turn of events, it caused me to start calling my friends and family more. I was excited to share my day with them and tell them about all the people I’ve met. It’s crazy how the relationships I was willing to sacrifice, are the same ones that has helped strengthen the ones I was afraid to lose. With the week now ended, I miss all my fellow scholars dearly. However I can confidently say I do not fear losing touch with them, but rather I am excited to see how this journey strengthens the friendship between my new 33 friends and I.
Now if you excuse me, I got a friend to call.
Until Next Time,
Kollyns Scarbrough
#IBelieveInVictory
