Back in New York

So I have been back in New York for a few weeks now. It has been really great to see some familiar faces and spend some time with my family, but at the same time there has been so much new stuff going on that it doesn't quite feel like a homecoming. Where after my other stints abroad I always had Columbia to come back to, I am now in a different part of the city, living with different people, and studying something new. A lot of those things are really positive and being closer to down town Manhattan is great, but at the same time it adds to a general feeling of insecurity as I try and figure out where I sit with things. As much as I feel more at home in New York than anywhere else, I have realized over the past several weeks that this is more of a new beginning than a continuation from where I left off last. I still have all of my college friends and am extremely thankful for that, but at the same time I am spending most of my time with an entirely new group of people and don't really run into people from college unless we make plans (though I do run into lots of people from jr. High School apparently). It is sort of the same with my studies, I do have some experience with studying law having taken a number of courses on European and international law while in Vienna, but I have no experience with American law, which is what I will be spending all of this year doing.

So it is a new beginning. Did I mention I don't like beginnings? I like knowing where I stand with people, what I am good at, what I can expect. With languages I always hated the elementary classes. Preschool, however, I remember fondly. Anyway, that's about it so far. Mainly a lot of confusion and bright lights.