"Nothing is more limiting than a closed circle of acquaintanceship where every avenue of conversation has been explored." - A.J. Cronin

     Being at YSS is an intense experience. You arrive in a new environment that you need to ease into quickly to maximize and get something out of your experience. You need to make friends quickly too and in an intense way because you only got 5 weeks before leaving the campus and probably not see them again for a long time. You need to work in an efficient way to balance your homework and your activities. You also need to accept the fact that you're going to start being exhausted as soon as the second-week start because you're doing a lot of things every day in class and out of campus with friends.

    In the end, you'll rapidly fall into all kinds of circles: social circles, work circles, party circles, places circles, time circles,... And you really need to be open to them because you'll get used to them, to the point that it something feels like it's been 3 months since you've arrived there, even though it has only been 3 weeks. Those circles can be terrifying at first, especially as an international student, because they are so different from the ones that we have in our home countries. But you really get accustomed to them and start appreciating them for what they offer you. Don't stay in circles you already know, you're at Yale to break those circles.

    I would say that the circle that brings me the most in my opinion is the social circle. Being at YSS really gave me the unique opportunity to make friends from all over the weeks in a really short time. It's sometimes that would be almost impossible back in my school in France, so I'm really thankful for that. This international aspect really gave me the chance to open my mind to new cultures, new ways of thinking, lots of new languages, new experiences,... and I love that.

I love you all my friends!

See ya! 🕺