"This semester, I've had to define what Notre Dame means to me. I grew up with Notre Dame all my life, since I grew up in South Bend. Notre Dame has been a part of my earliest memories, from feeding the ducks with my mom to learning to ride a bike. (The quads aren't easy!) This semester, I'm studying with two other Notre Dame students in Norwich, England -- where nobody has even heard of Notre Dame. That's a huge change. All the memories, feelings, and lessons I associate with Notre Dame are not universally understood. I'm learning how to define them.
"Being faced with this challenge has been hard, and, honestly, not always pleasant. But it's also important and much-needed. When I applied to out-of-state schools in high school, I had to define school and home on a much smaller level. I've come to appreciate how Notre Dame actively facilitates deepening your relationships, deepening your faith, deepening your sense of community. It's only by being away from campus that I see how extraordinary it is. Now I know what to appreciate, and how to appreciate it, when I return to campus for my senior year."