I grew up outside of Philadelphia, in an affluent suburb. I am Catholic and went to private, Catholic school from Kindergarten through 12th grade (all-girls in high school). My parents are both well educated--my dad hold three degrees and is a judge for the Commonwealth, while my mom has a Master's degree in Social Work and sits on the board of trustees for two local non-profits. My parents own our family home as well as a beach house. I grew up vacationing in Cape Cod and Florida. All of these things were commonplace among my friends. I was used to doing things a certain way, going out to nice places, having friends in similar socio-economic classes, and not having to worry too much about offending someone else.
August 2008:
Coming to Pitt literally felt like I had travelled to another country. Maybe it was just how college was supposed to feel, maybe it had to do with how I had lived the past 18 years--all I know is that I was definitely uncomfortable and felt like a foreigner. Suddenly I was in a city, with people I didn't know who were obviously from different socio-economic classes, religions, races, and had different thought processes than I had. I was incredibly upsetting at first because I felt like I couldn't be myself if I ever wanted to find and form friendships. I had to learn how this culture at Pitt was different from my culture. Gradually, I began to feel more and more comfortable in my surroundings. I started to make friends and I learned about where they had come from and their culture. I
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