Bonjour Tout le Monde!!
Oh my has it been such a long time since I have visited this blog. The last post I made was in May of 2019. So much has changed since then. I could go through a recap of what I've been up to since then (Paris and Madrid, college visits, my senior semester of high school, committing to my dream program, graduating HS early, then being hit by a world wide pandemic pretty much sums it up). But I am going to skip most of that and just talk about being in college.
As many of you know, I am a student at the University of Northern Iowa. I am participating in the unique 2+2 French program here! I started studying at UNI in the fall of 2020 to earn a BA of Individual Studies: French Language and Culture. But starting in the fall of 2022, I will be moving to Besançon, France! In Besançon, I will be studying at l’Université Franche-Comté to earn a License de Lettres et Arts: Lettres Modernes. It’s a really unique experience and I am very ecstatic to be a part of this program.
As of when this blog is being posted, I am almost done with my second semester here at UNI. I have made so many great friends and my experience here has been incredible. Hard nonetheless, but incredible. I have taken a few French classes, and I’ll be perfectly honest, they’re easy. In high school I was always told that college French will be hard and if I don’t get a 5 on the AP test I won’t do well in college French. I’m sure that is true with some college French courses, but with the 4 classes I’ve taken so far, high school French prepared me perfectly. That’s not to say that it won’t get harder and that I don’t make mistakes but that’s what the best part of learning a language is! Outside of French, I have been working on my LAC (Liberal Arts Core) or general education credits in math, humanities, communication, and art history.
Outside of academics, I have filled my time with so many things! First semester I was an employee at the school dining center, Piazza, and I hate to say it, but it was the worst job I’ve ever had. Nothing bad happened per-say and my experience was good, but the pay wasn’t great and it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Now this semester, I’m in a job with the department of Information Technology as a customer service representative and I love it! My coworkers are so nice and the job is actually kind of fun. It’s just answering phones and live chat messages on technical issues across campus, but I love it.
But the cherry on top, the peak experience I’ve had so far was joining a sorority. I had some reservations to joining one initially, but after going through informal recruitment last fall, I have found a home with Alpha Sigma Tau. My sisters are some of my best friends, my roommate is even one of my sisters. I get the opportunity to see my sisters every week and they all fill my heart.
That’s about all I’ve been up to since being here in college. Covid has definitely made it a very interesting year. I’ve been lucky to be able to choose between having online or in person classes, I chose to have mostly in person (I will admit, I haven’t done amazing in my online classes. It’s just not my learning style) but I’m hopeful that things will get better soon! I’m scheduled to get my vaccine in a few weeks, as Iowa has broadened the eligibility as of April 5. I have had covid. I had it at the end of January, and I am very lucky to have had a mild experience with it, but that doesn’t mean I take it any less seriously. Wear your masks everyone! The end is in sight!
Well that just about rounds up this reunion blog post! Over the next year I don’t have too much planned trip wise, I am waiting to hear on a special experience this summer. I will potentially be going to France for a few weeks next May (2022) for a capstone experience as well as moving to Besançon in September of 2022. But until then expect random content from me!
A toute à l‘heure! <3
Emily Mae Wilding
p.s. enjoy this photo of my hamster, Rémy
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