It was September 2007, and I was standing in the doorway of a student bar in Edinburgh, Scotland, feeling like I was on the edge of a wild ocean. Waves of noise were coming from every which way, the low rumble of conversation broken by the higher pitched sounds of laughter and pint glasses. A comfortable camaraderie radiated from the groups at the low tables packed around the room, as they got ready to play trivia.

Every muscle in my body was tensed, waiting for something, anything to happen. But nothing did. People filtered past me, walking up to tables easy as anything to join their friends, while I stayed still.

This moment broke down neatly into numbers: I was only 19 years old, I was 6,000 miles from home for my junior year abroad, and I knew exactly zero people in this room. What o

See Full Page