The Dawn of New Interactions
As the New Haven sunrise bursts through my window at 8 AM, I head to breakfast at the Pierson Dining Hall. The dining hall is already alive with conversation from the kitchen staff and my fellow YYGS students, each eagerly discussing their seminars and lectures for the day. Breakfast is where my morning truly begins, a time where I got my first interactions with students from all around the world I now get to call friends. Each new breakfast brought me the opportunity to meet someone new, to exchange our experiences, and to discuss the day’s upcoming seminars.
Height of Intellectual Engagement
Lunch, in contrast, is when my thoughts and conversations crescendo. It’s a time for me to recollect and share insights gained from my morning seminars and lectures with peers from other tracks. Lunch is the moment for deeper discussions, where we dissect what we’ve learned, debate the nuances of fast fashion, or ponder the increasing political involvement of CEOs. It’s during lunch that I catch glimpses of other intriguing seminars from the PLE track or the LPC, IST, and SGC tracks, sparking my curiosity and challenging me to think critically about topics I have little knowledge of.
Reflection and Camaraderie
Dinner arrives as a time for reflection. Seated in the Pierson Dining Hall, I reflect on my seminars, debate their implications, and discuss my capstone projects, often sharing my current results and laughing at my progress. Dinner is when I introduce new friends I have met through the day to ones I had made prior, and our conversations at the table can last for hours. It’s a time to unwind and deepen connections formed throughout the day.
The Sweet Finale
We would walk to Ashley’s for ice cream and milkshakes at the end of the day. The store was always already buzzing with joy and laughter from other students. As the sugar high hit, we’d share stories about our lives back home, our ambitions, and our fears, all while ice cream melted down my fingers.
Afterward, some of us would discuss the day’s events, like the elections, in the common room, while others headed to the residential areas to play foosball or pool. No matter how I spent the evening or who I spent it with, I always felt like I was forming meaningful connections with people from all around the world. It made me realize how small I am in the grand scheme of things, yet how much I belong to something bigger within the YYGS community
Grace, YYGS 2024, Kenya and Germany