Submitted by Jasmine Pennington on the 2024 Spring semester program in Athens, Greece…
Today, plans changed and I was dropped from a friend group because of my demeanor. What I mean by that is, my bag wasn’t dior and my bank account wasn’t my parents. So, today I planned a solo trip to the Acropolis and ended up meeting this group of 5 girls who actually were super sweet and went out to lunch with me. I think that when I have been traveling alone after being ousted from this elite group made me feel unworthy in a sense, but others actions don’t deserve a reaction. I spent too many nights trying to fit in and make myself more marketable as a friend. Moving on, I saw Acropolis and it was better than the pictures. It is still very insane to see such ancient buildings. I just can’t fathom the walk up the hill with those fat rocks. I took many pictures and not really any stood out except the one not facing the acropolis.
In lieu of meeting this next group of friends; i have been invited to go out to breakfast tomorrow in downtown Athens and make plans to visit places all over Greece. I just hope this new group of friends actually is not materialistic. I swear I was ignoring the other group’s five hundred instagram videos before I could eat my food. I don’t understand why I was trying to be friends with people who were not that kind to me and didn’t value my time. Also, School is picking up and it’s only the first week, the teaching style is completely different. I think taking 3 history courses would be easy, but it is all solely verbal and zero material implemented. (Submitted January 20, 2024)