Herstmonceux Castle

3 courses x 6 weeks = time to take pictures

As the end of high school approached, so too did the need to decide what it was I wanted to do with my life, or at least what I wanted to start with. Should I go for an Arts degree? Science? And what exactly within those broad categories was I interested in studying? I applied to three different programs, at three different universities. And was accepted to all of them - no help there. By process of elimination, I finally chose to be practical (or my mother made me be practical). Engineering it would be.

By the middle of second year, I was fed up with the endless assignments and the monotony of math, math and more math. I was used to, and enjoyed having, a far more varied schedule. So I added an introductory German course. That was better. As the end of the year approached, with the need to choose an arts elective for the following year, I started flipping through the course calendar and rediscovered the Dual Degree. Why get just one degree, I thought, when I could get two? But did I want a degree in History, or Classical Studies? It took me most of the summer to figure it out: Classical Studies covered a broader range of subjects, albeit within the narrow focus of Ancient Greece and Rome. Plus, there was one classics course that was offered solely at the International Study Centre at Herstmonceux Castle in England - a very good excuse to go abroad.

I needed to earn some money, first, however. After third year, I did a 16-month internship at a company that is very generous with its student employees. So generous that I was able to pay for fourth year myself, go to the ISC for the spring term, travel around Europe for almost two months, and still have enough for one more term to finish off my classics degree. (Okay, so it also helped that I was, and am, a skinflint.)

I didn't want the hassle of lugging around a manual camera, so I left it at home. A decision I soon regretted. But I think my digital camera worked well - I'm rather pleased with some of these.

Kej