Alysha Moles: Carpe Diem

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes”. (Winnie the Pooh)

            It’s been thirty-one days, thirty-one days since I boarded Air Canada flight 550 and I can still feel the tears running down my cheeks. The cabin was freezing but it felt like fire trickling from my eyes. It was 8:00 o’clock in the morning and the city looked gorgeous. I knew I was going to miss the fresh air and the spectacular mountains, I felt like I was leaving a part of myself behind. I was on my way to an unfamiliar location with seven strangers. I told myself that I was not afraid, but you can only lie to yourself for so long. The next six months of my life was too much for me to comprehend, I couldn’t even look past the first month. Well that month has now past and I can’t even begin to reiterate what has happened. To look back on the past four weeks, is to look back on some of the greatest memories of my life.

            Living in Riverside, California was an unbelievable experience. Although the internet and room keys were useless, everything else was better than I anticipated, especially the beds. Living with close to 120 new people was what most people would expect. On our first full day, the European Cup Final between Spain and Italy took place. The thirty plus Spaniards were so patriotic. It was fun to partake with them and the post celebrations were just as exciting. Fast forward forty eight hours and it was time for us to start school. If I recall correctly, not a single one of us was looking forward to it. Seven hours of school a day was not something we thought we would enjoy. To our surprise, the classes were quite interesting and we got to know our classmates quite well. After two weeks of classes my biggest fear was growing and approaching far too quickly. I have done presentations in front of small classes of twenty or so people, but 120 was a completely different story. It was unbelievably nerve racking but I did it and am so proud of myself.

            To celebrate, the seven of us drove to Las Vegas for the weekend. We stayed at The Excalibur and had a blast. We were absolutely mesmerized by the night life, it really is a city that never sleeps. Walking down the strip and exploring the hotels was amazing. It felt as though you were visiting different parts of the world; Paris, Venice. They were all so different. When we got to the Stratosphere I knew I had to do it. I had heard about it but didn’t realize the extremities until I was standing their. Yes, I jumped off the Stratosphere tower standing at 855 feet. I have always wanted to bungee jump and skydive so it was finally time that I walked the walk. The fall is a controlled base jump with a couple second free fall before they gradually slow you down. You don’t really process what you’ve signed up for until you walk through the sliding doors and out onto the side of the building. You then begin to wonder why you spent so much money to jump off of a building. The sweating begins and your knees begin to shake so you tell yourself it’s now or never. I don’t think i’ll ever know what made me jump but I did it. I don’t how else to describe it but amazingly thrilling. It was amazing. Definitely a huge adrenaline rush.

            It was time for us to leave California. The two weeks in Riverside were so much fun it felt as though we were all going home from vacation. Settling in Orlando has definitely been the hardest part for me so far. It was sad to think that everyone from UCR won’t all be together again until graduation. When we arrived in Florida the first thing that hit me was the heat. After living in Vancouver for 21 years it’s not something you easily get used to; the humidity is painful. Upon arrival at Vista Way we were excited yet anxious to find out where are who we’d be living with. Luckily we were all placed in Vista Way but I was one of a few that were placed with domestic college program students that had already been here for several months, whereas the rest of  us were put together. My roommates don’t really get along so it was a tough environment to live in. On the day I arrived I met the roommate that I share a room with and she told me how much she hated living here and how much she hated her job and how much she was looking forward to going home. It was an incredibly tough first couple days for me. I began to feel home sick and was sure I was never going to see anyone I knew. Thankfully I was wrong about that, as we all hangout and go out together and i’ve limited the time spent in my room. My job at Hollywood and Vine has kept me busy and i’ve started to really enjoy working their. The people were very welcoming and friendly which I was very thankful for.

            The past few weeks have taught me a lot. Through educational courses i’ve learnt more about the industry which will no doubt benefit me as I further my degree but i’ve more importantly learnt more about myself and the people i’ve met. You begin to learn more about your boundaries and how  to safely stretch them so that you push yourself outside your comfort zone. The interaction between the different cultures i’ve found to be the most interesting. How each of them behaves, reacts and their actions are quite fascinating, but it is something to be careful of because those behaviors can be interpreted far differently than they were intended.