{"id":1954,"date":"2016-07-11T12:33:15","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T16:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=1954"},"modified":"2019-06-03T15:22:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T19:22:44","slug":"lost-before-found-looking-back-on-my-travels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/2016\/07\/lost-before-found-looking-back-on-my-travels\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost before Found: Looking back on my travels"},"content":{"rendered":"

They say you must lose yourself before finding yourself. I have also always heard lean into the discomfort. \u00a0It has been over a month since I have returned from France, and I must say I believe both of these statements are completely accurate.<\/p>\n

In going to France, I had no idea what to expect. I was going to a new country where they spoke a language I did not know (at all) without my parents for a month with the realization that I would be exposed to new things and lessons completely unfamiliar.<\/p>\n

My month in France taught me that this interdisciplinary view of agriculture exists- and that there are educational and occupational opportunities in such. I began to see my past experiences, present life and future goals winding together and directing me on a path with a new found excitement.\"IMG_0143\" I started realizing that everything I had done, all I cared about and everything I hoped for was intertwined, and I found\u00a0faith, confidence and peace in the future unknown.<\/p>\n

Before college, my time was consumed of loved ones, animals and service\/leadership organizations. In my three years at college, I learned that: A. I am a people person and B. I wanted to know more and cared about agriculture as a whole (versus just animals). However, I kept searching for a way to combine my interests… how did being an RA, working with social justice and service break trips and agriculture come together? I saw that agriculture and people are connected more than we all realize from food security and poverty to the environment, education, public health and beyond. However, I didn’t see what I<\/em> could do. France opened my eyes through lectures in integrated agriculture; I embraced their holistic approach \"IMG_7842\"to Ag, and this continued once I returned home. I began searching for interdisciplinary agricultural grad programs and was beyond excited to find some, and have even made several visits up to Virginia Tech as a result. \u00a0I have a long way to go and there is plenty of uncertainty still in the future, but the puzzle pieces are coming together in a way I never could have expected prior to France.<\/p>\n

I still cannot justify in words the
\nimpact my trip had on me personally, but I will say that\u00a0I had no idea where I was going, what I wanted and what my next steps were before I left. \u00a0To some extent, that is still true, but I have returned with some direction and a greater appreciation.\u00a0I feel found and my genuine joy is apparent every single day. \u00a0I thank God for this place He lets me call home, for the mountains that surround me, for both the biological and extended families and the countless friends that give me so many reasons to be thankful for and have taught me\u00a0a mutual unconditional love. I recognize that I have so much to me happy for, to laugh about, to smile for- so many reasons that I will never fully be able to grasp. I see that the less favorable moments are necessary to appreciate the simple ones and truly value the wonder in this life and world. And I think back to my french adventures and experiences daily- the good and the bad. Between my month in France, the time at home and with old friends, keeping up with college friends, I prepare to end summer with\u00a0comfort in mind of what’s next and\u00a0the goal to recommit myself and time to another service organization with some essential me time activities back in Athens.\u00a0Life may be a great unknown, but that’s part of the ride.<\/p>\n

Athens, I’ll be back soon. And Salem, it won’t be too long before I return again. Both of my homes and such special places- solidified in more ways than I imagined in a month abroad.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0119\"\"DSC04132\"
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They say you must lose yourself before finding yourself. I have also always heard lean into the discomfort. \u00a0It has been over a month since I have returned from France, and I must say I believe both of these statements are completely accurate. In going to France, I had no idea what to expect. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,26,23,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","category-france","category-maymester","category-reflection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1954"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1964,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954\/revisions\/1964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}