Pockets of Peace - CAMPUS REPORTER ARTICLE OCTOBER 2024

 Pockets of Peace

Abigail Thurlow  - October 2024      

    It’s difficult to believe that it has been a month since my airplane landed at the Charles de Gaulle airport. It has been a month full of meeting new people, making new friends, learning new words, and discovering a new culture. A month of living with welcoming strangers, getting into a new routine, trying new foods, and learning how to politely say no to said food because it’s “not your favorite.” It has been a month since leaving my family and friends. A month since the tears of saying goodbye, a month of learning to let them dry, and a month of learning to be okay with missing someone. It has been a month filled with new experiences, and I have never had a dull day. However, amidst the bustle of daily life, I have managed to find small pockets of peace. Though it has been a month of running around, it has also been a month of studying in cafés, reading on park benches, listening to the silence of libraries, appreciating the power of a painting, and finding comfort in the ambient French chatter—the repose of simplicity. These peaceful moments in the day have taught me more about myself. Not only do I now know that I prefer cow’s milk in my latte over goat’s milk, that my favorite park is Parc du Thabor, and how much hot chocolate is too much hot chocolate (just kidding, I still haven’t figured that out), but I have also learned how to be comfortable being alone. 

    I always thought of myself as an independent person. However, being independent is a different feeling when you are forced to do things alone. In America, I could choose to go places by myself or bring a friend with me; in France that has been different. Towards the beginning of the month, I didn’t have many close friends and had to do most activities alone. I felt uncomfortable going to new places alone or experiencing events by myself. I was used to doing an activity with someone and then laughing together about it later. Now, instead, I have to laugh about it at the moment and acknowledge that the person I want to talk to most is still asleep on the other side of the world. At first, I felt lonely. I wanted to go to a café with a friend and talk, read on a park bench with someone beside me, share a cool book I found, discuss a painting, and be part of the ambient chatter around me. Yet, I did not have the opportunity to do those things; I had to learn how to be okay with doing them by myself. However, with the overwhelm of school and adjusting to a brand-new world around me, the parts of life that felt lonely began to feel peaceful.

    Instead of looking at those moments with a lonely perspective, I started to appreciate the break from the noise. I found little moments that made me feel at peace and helped my mind unwind from the constant movement of life. These pockets of peace helped me understand feeling lonely doesn’t make you lonely. There are still people in my life to share moments with even if they are not physically there with me, and it is okay to experience things alone. I’ve become more comfortable being by myself and taking moments out of my day to find peace. I also have now made closer friendships to share experiences with, but I will still value my time alone because of the lessons it has taught me.