“I don’t have a niche here at Georgetown. I know, it’s been close to four years on the Hilltop and I have yet to find that perfect fit. Georgetown offers such a range of activities and opportunities; I spent most of my first year just trying everything out, like most freshmen. The difference is, I never settled down after that. Every year, for the next three years, I led with the motto “New Year, New Me,” and look where it has got me: niche-less.
In retrospect, however, I’m not too bothered by it. Essentialisms are vastly overrated, and in any case, so is finding ‘yourself.’
Rather than finding a space of true belonging, my time here is categorized by quite the opposite. As a Georgetown student, I have really enjoyed getting lost.
I got lost my first week at Georgetown, all the way in downtown D.C. I was looking for the Zipcar office, because I was determined to not be that student that got stuck in the Georgetown bubble; instead, I ended up being that student who gets lost between Federal Triangle and Chinatown. At one point, I just sat on a bench and watched as people, who presumably possessed a better sense of direction, blew past me. I remember it as a great day. I realized how much I loved D.C. and unexpected discoveries.
Above all, I will always remember the best and most difficult time I got lost–across the Atlantic Ocean in the vibrant din of the Rabat Medina. I was lost for four months in Morocco; reeling in the blur of languages, and people, and music, and difference. Yet, I never perceived that as a bad thing. For me, getting lost means pushing boundaries, re-examining what you took for granted. I never felt that more than I did in Morocco, and it is because of Georgetown that I even made it there. The four months I spent abroad in Morocco taught me the merit of ‘losing yourself.’
To be honest, as a senior I am feeling a little bit lost right now. The dreaded F- word (future) is now upon me, and I am not sure which path to take.
At times, it feels overwhelming, but that is okay. When I look back, this is what I’m good at: trying new endeavors, testing the boundaries of my comfort zone. I live in that space of perpetual discovery and I stand indebted to Georgetown for offering all these pathways, all of these roads ‘less traveled by.’
So, here’s to never settling for a niche and always seeking out the fringe. As they say, if you aren’t living on the edge, you are taking up too much space.”
