As I rode down the Seine on the final night of our trip, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much the City of Love gave me.
The expectations that I had for this trip were unmeasurable, yet somehow the reality exceeded the presumptions.
I knew going to the Olympics would be a highlight. I knew being abroad for the first time would be exhilarating. I knew seeing sports played at the highest level would be unforgettable.
What I didn’t expect was that 24 of my peers would be the most memorable part of the experience.
I’ve always been an extremely outgoing person.
Meeting new people and making new friends has always come easy to me, but the people on this trip took the word “friend” to a whole new level.
From the moment we all met, it was like we’d known each other for 20 years.
We talked about our desires, goals and dreams. We laughed about taking the metro the wrong way, lost our voices cheering for Team USA and cried about going back home.
We made exhaustive lists of reasons why we should all move to Switzerland but ultimately just agreed on a bowling night together in Baton Rouge.
What two weeks ago was a bunch of aspiring storytellers on a plane to Paris is now an inseparable, newly-established friend group, bonded with the experience of a lifetime.
I can’t thank the Manship School of Mass Communication enough for giving me this opportunity and a new group of friends that I can call family.
With love,
Ava <3
