I had a couple of striking thoughts when I was reading Pruce's chapter in relation to my life. First of all, I got a smile on my face when she immediately mentioned how she visited Poland to study the history of her family and how they were affected by the Holocaust. I am in a class called Borderlands this semester in which we are studying unknown lands in and around this region so it was a nice breathe of fresh air that an American wanted to identify with her roots through Poland as opposed to say Germany. Moving on, I was greatly touched by her discussion about living abroad the year before college and how it changed her life. I think any abroad experience for an adolescent is life-changing and eye-opening so I fully agree with her recollection. Although I did have a (beyond) amazing time studying abroad in Ireland traveling and meeting new people, I think it is safe to say that I had quite a different experience than Pruce. She was 100% culturally involved in her time in Israel and took advantage of having first hand resources at her finger tips. For that, I am a little jealous, but am glad to know that such experiences are being had.
It was also interesting to read Pruce reflect on her time in college and how she became so involved in issues she believed in. It made me reflect a little bit about my four years at Colgate, as I will be graduating in a couple of weeks now, and how (again) I have a very different experience. Though I would not change my time at this campus for anything, I do wish I had grown a passion for something, a cause, course study, subject, etc., and ran with it. As Pruce points out, college is a great way to make your mark and have people listen to you. Where else will you have such a diverse mind set of people either ready to listen or to challenge you?
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