There are few experiences more unsettling than being a foreign exchange student. I had the opportunity to spend five months in Costa Rica last year, and every day was a mash of awkward exchanges, misunderstandings, and the anything-but-secure feeling of, “I wish I knew where this car was taking me.” (In the Costa Ricans’ defense, I often feel this way in the U.S. too.) It wasn’t until two weeks ago, however, that I again began to experience the difficulties that time abroad can bring. Only this time, I was on the outside, looking in. Vicky is a 17-year old girl from Spain. Technically, she’s …

There are a lot of reasons I want to go to college. Some of them logical, some not so much. Some of them can’t be printed. But regardless of  the motive, going to college seems like the next step, a step I’m finally ready to take. I just didn’t realize how much of a hassle it would be. For me, the hardest part of applying to college may have been finding a college to apply to. As appealing as college has been to me for the last several years, it’s always been more of an abstract concept, a nameless heaven of distant parents and unlimited dessert. So it caught me off guard the first time I …