Never in my lifetime did I think a trip to an international city would make me completely change my life plan. Coming into Cal Lutheran I was an Economics major who quickly switched to Business Administration. Soon after my first couple of weeks I attended the Matthews Leadership Forum and I was able to meet professional individuals in different industries. After attending the forum I decided I wanted to attend medical school, as per my previous life plan. I was going to get my MBA and then attend medical school in order to become a plastic surgeon. But this past summer, one city changed all of that.
On May 25, 2016 I boarded a plane with my mother and aunt not expecting anything but a gorgeous city to bask in for a week. Paris had always been my mother’s dream city and I was happy to come along for the ride. I wasn’t as excited as I should’ve been. There were thousands of other people in the world that would have killed to go to Paris and I was taking it for granted. It didn’t even hit me until we got to our Hotel, checked in, and walked around the Vendome, which was the region of Paris our hotel was in.
Walking around Paris, there was so much history and beauty in every little thing. All of the architecture looked as if there was a story connected to it. There were generations of families who had lived in the gorgeous apartments. The museums and parks were breathtaking. I have been to my fair share of museums and parks in California but I haven’t seen any as beautiful as the ones in Paris. The Louvre was gorgeous and gigantic, I couldn’t even fathom how much history was documented and stored there. Generally, no museums have any information regarding Iran however the Louvre dedicated over 7 rooms to Iran. I felt a connection to my heritage and culture.
There have been few moments in my life where I have been in blissful serenity, but I can definitely say being on top of the Eiffel Tower was one of those moments. Everyone always talks about how gorgeous it is and I always shook it off. A person can’t truly understand how amazing and breathtaking the view is until they experience it for themselves. I walked around the entire level and was able to see Paris and beyond from a 360 degree view. I would just close my eyes, feel the breeze on my skin, and feel at peace. I would do anything to be able to return to this state every time I’m stressed during the school year.
Now, back to my life realization. I decided I didn’t actually want to go to medical school. That was just what I believed was expected of me. But I actually want to obtain my MBA, take a year off and volunteer in a third world country, and when I return go obtain my MBA. My goal is to open an International Marketing Firm to call my own. I want people to walk around their streets all over the world, and see my different marketing campaigns. However, I want to integrate the culture of each country into my advertisements and hopefully make the locals fall in love with the campaigns. Paris was so good to me– I also plan on studying abroad there next year. I can’t wait to return to the city that helped me decide how to live my life for myself and accomplish all of my personal goals. Je vous verrai bientôt Paris <3