On the way to college

Mariko Furukawa

On August 19th, I was supposed to leave the Narita Airport, which is located out of Tokyo, at 15:00. Here I was, though, still talking to friends who are in my hometown, on my cell phone which I would not be able to use in a couple of hours. What happened? The bad weather prevented us from taking off and a delay made us wait for another good two hours!

The airplane took off into the dark, heavy, melancholy sky, as if it was reflecting my anxiety, uneasiness, regret and all those feelings which come along with studying abroad alone. After I said good bye to my mother, I was all by myself. I could no longer talk to my friends either.

"Hi!" The guy who sat next to me said. He was a skinny, tall guy with black curled hair. He was wearing glasses that had broad black frames, which made him look very intelligent.

"Hi, what are you going to America for?" I asked.
"Well, I am studying abroad in Chicago," replied.
Great! Here is someone I am related to! Now we could share all the feelings about studying abroad and I was not alone anymore. We really clicked with each other and started to talk about our backgrounds and what we want to do in America. Later, he turned out to have studied chemistry for his undergraduate degree, which is what I will probably be studying for the next four years.

He began asking me questions such as "What kind of chemistry are you interested in?", "Have you ever done this experiment that uses ethylene glycol?", and he even said "Let me tell you how to chemically make fish eggs!" As I expected, he was smart. He said he was going to study the Natural Remedies. He was really determined to study and seemed burning with high hopes. He inspired me to study a lot.

Do you know what was weird? This smart guy was sitting on my right side, and this other man sitting on my left side, who I thought was over thirty years old, was the complete opposite person. He was an exchange student, also. He was, though, drinking alcohol the entire flight, and he talked about how he was excited about his future. Future? What does he mean by his future? Oh, yes, he meant that he could drink a lot, throw parties and do all kinds of fun stuff in America. Get a life! He did not mention what he was going to major in and I did not even want to ask either. He seemed to have no desire for studying.

He did make me realize that he is the type of person I do not want to be. Though I am still not sure what I want to pursue, I do have enough desire to study. At that time, I also knew that I had to. Studying abroad costs a lot of money and it is not worth it if you do not learn anything. Why would I want to waste money to drink and have fun in a country where I can not even meet my friends nor speak my own language?

This guy on my right side was my mentor. I thank him a lot. He told his story of why he changed his major and said to me that I did not have to like chemistry. He meant that I should give it a try so that I know if I like it or not and I will find my way some time. That made me feel a lot better and relieved my anxiety that was urging me to decide my major in college.

Meeting these two guys on the way here was such a weird, coincidental experience. It was good, though, to keep myself on the right track. This experience made me realize what kind of person I do not want to be and what kind I want to be. Here I am at Lebanon Valley College, where I study every day. Whenever I do not, I think of the guy on my left and it helps me keep myself on my work. Maybe this drunk guy should be the one I really thank!