Vinayak Rao is a student at University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an ISA Featured blogger. Vinayak is currently studying abroad with ISA in Florianopolis, Brazil.
As I relax on my memory foam mattress, methodically checking Facebook and Instagram almost every five minutes, I wonder: what the hell am I doing? I see all my friends back at college posting their obligatory statuses about how crazy last night’s party was or how ridiculously swamped they are with Chem 420; I actually feel a sense of jealousy!
Believe me, usually I wouldn’t give two notices to these people and I would vent to myself about how America’s youth needs to find a proper and licensed therapist to complain about their mundane first world problems to, rather than the public stratosphere that is Facebook and other social media. I usually don’t care. But as I lay here in my comfortable bed, back home while my friends have been at school for over a month; these childish posts of people taking part in drunken revelry or talking about how they can’t handle a class they themselves chose brings a sense of yearning to me. I want to be with them so badly! I feel left out of the loop, and when I see these updates I wonder how much fun I could have had at that party or whether I would have struggled in Chem 420 (as a comm major, believe me I definitely would).
But alas, I’m here back in good old Belmont, hanging out with my parents as much as I can. If there’s anything the jet setting life my parents have has taught me, it’s that any time you get to spend with your family should be cherished. I’ll talk about that later in another post. To cap off, I lay here, counting down the days to my departure, the moment of takeoff couldn’t come any sooner. I’m going to Florianopolis in four days. I’m excited. All this longing I’ve felt to be back in school with my friends, I’m channeling into excitement for my trip to the Ilha da Magia (translated to Magic Island, which is Floripa’s nickname).
And besides, trading in white snow for white sand beaches? Who wouldn’t be pumped?