A Brazilian reflects on her college choice

Throughout my life, I’ve been asked this question over ten times now, and my answer remains unchanged: I have no idea. This inquiry extends beyond my imagination, and I never manage to actually answer it because I never thought about it. I never thought about what I am doing in Philadelphia, because when coming to Philadelphia, I chose it for the college, not the city.

Now, how did I end up at Saint Joseph’s University? I remember the extensive twoyear process of applying to an international college with all the testing, writing, and interviewing. The constant pressure and expectations are everywhere, and I am pretty sure that’s not reserved for only international students. We all went through this experience—mine just happened to include a lot more legal issues than other’s. After applying, there was visiting, and finally, choosing a college. I know St. Joe’s was a first pick for many, but not for me.

I was on the fence about the life-changing decision because wherever I chose would mean a nine-hour flight away from home and a completely independent life away from my family. I could just hope to choose the right place, because to be truthful, I was amazed by all the colleges I visited, but there was something about St. Joe’s. My guess is that the campus looked so beautiful that I couldn’t not chose this one.

Before coming here, I learned a lot about Philly. I made sure to do some background research about the city, along with watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” One of the things I learned is that Philadelphia is a historical city. There is an incredible amount of culture and the museums provide endless entertainment for the ones that were born here in the U.S.A., and for the ones that come only for a short vacation. The music scene in this city is amazing too and there are great alternative show houses scattered around. If you look, there is always something going on in the city.

Since I have arrived, I discovered so many amazing new places and opportunities on and off campus and that kind of blows my mind.

I am one of those people easily impressed by anything new, and I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing. It makes life interesting, and I guess this is what I am doing in Philadelphia—just enjoying as much as I can and accepting any opportunity, because I didn’t move 4,029 miles away just to study.

I am here for more than that, and that’s pretty cool.