Introduction
Imagine yourself in the heart of a historical city in Poland: a city that holds secrets and many stories since it was founded in 1038. There are stories that you want to hear more about and stories that will leave you with a devastated heart. As you stand in this city, you cannot help but wonder, “What if I actually did live here?” It is a constant thought when I am in Poland. I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, but growing up, I traveled to Poland during my summers to visit my family. My favorite city in Poland is
Krakow. Not only because it holds so much history, but I have a fondness for it that I cannot describe. My heart beats rapidly when I enter the city and I look at my surrounding areas with awe. It was Poland’s first capital city, but in the 16 th
century, the union with Lithuania resulted in Warsaw’s ascendance as capital. I always do wonder what would happen to Poland if Krakow remained the capital? That is a thought that will never get answered, but I am content with that, because there are so many mysteries in the world that are unsolved.
I always enjoyed spending summers in Poland. I would travel with my grandma a majority of the times, but I would always have fun with her. I was always happy to see my friends and family in the country, but was extremely sad when it was time to depart.
They have always had a place in my heart and continue to do so in the present day. While most of my family resides in Poland, Charlotte is where my immediate family lives. I plan to establish my career in banking at Charlotte, as a Business Analyst at Bank of
America, and eventually start a family. More specifically, I decided to attend the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with a major in Finance, so that I can be closer

to my parents and be in the city I have grown to love. I became familiar with the streets and the best restaurants to go eat at. This city has been my home ever since I was born and I have grown an attachment to it. I am a very family oriented girl and since Charlotte holds my family and my job, it is a dream I cannot deny.
My four years attending this school has been filled with new happiness, new friends, new challenges, new love, and new opportunities. I have been immersed into a world that I have not been to before. I have always lived a sheltered life, and going into college without my parents always there has been something I was never exposed to. It was nerve wracking in the beginning, but I have grown to love it. I have taken responsibility in all aspects of my life.
Through my own curiosity and coincidence, I was provided with stepping-stones for my future after college. Every step I took to ‘cross the river’ (my undergraduate experience) contributes to my future endeavors. The beginning of the river is myself as a freshman in college, and at the end is myself as a college graduate. The steps I took were sometimes hard to take, due to the rushing water or how slippery they were, but I would always find a way to move on from my challenge and go onto the next one.
I welcome you to my portfolio. Feel free to explore each of my artifacts as they represent the stepping-stones of my journey and the foundation of my reflective essay.
The Secret

Growing up I had never been truly optimistic with life. Of course, I have had my moments of positivity, but I have always been uncertain about things. There was never any specific cause of my negativity, but I tended to be pessimistic about some things. For example, I would not think I would do well on a project, test, or paper. When I was younger, I believed I would not find a best friend that I can tell my deepest secrets.
Entering my freshman year of college, I did not know what to expect. I was completely uncertain of how things would play out my first semester: I was scared I would not make friends, test and projects would be harder than high school, living on my own for the first time, and everything after college.
Admittedly, prior to college I constantly struggled with what to do with my life.
In many ways, I felt pressured to excel in school and extracurricular activities. I questioned myself and wondered: “Would I succeed in my area of study?” and “Am I pursuing the right field?” This has been my one true hardship in life, and I began to feel helpless at times. I would let my negativity get the best of me until I was at a moment that
I just wanted to be alone. I spoke to my mom about my ‘issues,’ and she recommended me a book called The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. This is my first stepping-stone I took my freshman year to cross this river of my new journeys.
When my mom first told me of this book, I believed it was a ‘self-help’ book. I did not want some book to tell me what I should do with my life to make it better, because I am the creator of my own destiny. Initially, I shunned my mom’s idea of the book, and continued on with my studies and worries. During my spring semester of freshman year, I began to fret and was anxiety ridden, because I did not know what to do with my life after college. I was worried that I had nothing to offer to the world in

relation to skill-sets. I was stressed that I needed to find something to do in three years. I knew those three years would sneak up on me soon.
All this worry had an effect on my overall well-being. I would be so stressed that
I would not eat and be physically sick. On some days, I would lose sleep and be tired daily. I would have constant headaches, and I was not able to focus on neither school nor a social life. I found myself going home every weekend; even my own mom was wondering why I was coming home that often. I was being broken from the inside out, and I did not even realize it.
I was at the bookstore one evening, and I stumbled upon The Secret . In my curiosity I decided to give it a quick read. In the thirty minutes I read, I discovered that with the right thinking I can achieve what I want and my life was mine to command. The book explores how to use the secret in every aspect of your life – money, health, happiness, and relationships. According to the book, “ By applying the knowledge of The
Secret , you can eradicate disease, acquire massive wealth, overcome obstacles, and achieve what many would regard as impossible.” In order to do the things I described above, I would have to think differently about how I perceive the things in my life.
More specifically, I had to find a way to let go of all my worries. This had to be the hardest for me, and it took awhile. I am not quite sure how this happened, but one day
I decided to let go. I knew that there were other people in the world that was experiencing significant difficulties in their life. Mine was only a small pebble compared to theirs. For example, my dilemmas cannot compare to the struggles of a cancer patient. Ironically, I discovered that some cancer survivors where happier then I was. This gave me courage to let go.

By shifting my perspective, I felt like I began to see the world in a different light.
I was feeling more optimistic with things going on in my life, and I could feel the stress being lifted off my shoulders. I decided not to allow the small things that usually bothered me get the best of me. For example, in the past I would worry if I would get accepted into a program. I learned that I should be optimistic that I will be accepted and if
I did not, it was not meant to be in my life but something better.
I applied to be in the Honors Program my spring semester of freshman year. I told myself to believe I have been accepted into the program and if I did not, there had to be some reason why. In a month or so, I heard back that I had been accepted and was overjoyed. This had been one of my first ‘training’ activities, and I was not overly anxious or worried from what I would hear back from University Honors. Referring back to “training,” I gave myself this term when I had to think optimistically about anything. It was more of a concept in the book. So I would be training myself during the first months from when I read the book.
An example that I applied The Secret is when I applied for the internship program with Bank of America. I was optimistic that I would get the internship, but if I did not, I would not let it sadden me. I would look at it as an opportunity to improve my skills for the next interview that would be bigger and more exciting. In two months time, I discovered that I received the internship and was thrilled.
The Secret showed me the power of optimism. I was able to try new things and not let my worries and anxiety govern how I feel. It helped me proceed through my undergraduate years with greater confidence. I have made new friends during this process

and cannot wait to see what it has in store for my future. I knew that, with the appropriate tools, life would guide me toward the right path.
I will be able to use what I have discovered after college and for the rest of my life. This will help me in my career and during my life when things are not going as planned, because then I can find a way to work around it. I will be able to believe that things will turn to the good side with just positive feelings. I would try my best to not let the pessimistic feelings get into my head.
Also, for the wrong choices I make in life, I have to trust that those choices brought me to the right places. I still thank my mom for telling me about this book. My family has been with me during my hardest times in life and I appreciate them greatly.
Through them I am able to accomplish many things, and they help me in any way they can (showing me The Secret ). Knowing about the secret and conquering it, I was able to complete my first step across the river.
Family and Heritage
Family means different things to different people. To some, they can help an individual grow into a better person. For me, that is the case. They are my support system and much more. I look up to my parents, because they experienced tremendous hardship in their lifetime and they discovered a way out. My family and heritage plays an immense role in my life. I have used a photo of my family and the Polish flag (my heritage) to signify my second artifact. This stepping stone has been a constant in my life, and when I took my second step to cross the ‘river’ I was able to support myself in college with the strength of my family to guide me in my troubles.

Both my parents were born in Biala Podlaska, Poland. During that time, Poland was under communist rule. Government told the people what they can buy and what to do with their money. In this way, my family did not have a stable life and was constantly worried what the government would say next. It was not a good time in Poland, and many riots were happening against the government.
My parents believed that the country would not get better, due to how long the communist rule was going on. They decided to get married soon and try to escape the country together. Their journey consisted of sadness and heartache. They did not know when would be the next time they would see their family. With their one suitcase in hand, my mom and dad took a bus to Austria claiming to go for “vacation.” From there, they lived in a refuge camp until a family could sponsor them in the United States. Once they arrived in America, they began a new life and made new friends. After a couple of years, both my parents brought the rest of my family to the United States. My three aunts, two uncles, and both grandmas were thrilled to start a new life in a new country.
My parents worked extremely hard in order to support our family. My mom cleaned houses in order to send my brother and I to a Catholic school, and my dad was working as a mechanic at a trucking company. The sacrifices my mom and dad did for my brother and I made me appreciate everything I received when I was younger. Whether it is an education or a memory, they both are my heroes.
During my Spring Semester of 2012 I had taken an Honors Western History and
Culture class with Professor Bill Gay. I did not think much of what this class would teach me. I assumed it would be just be like any class in college. For example, a normal lecture where you are learning about something new, but have no connection to it. You are just

learning it because of the university’s general education requirements. I needed another elective, but I was curious of what Western History and Culture entailed.
Through this class, I was able to discover what my parents actually went through.
We learned how the country became in that state and what happened after. It made me appreciate them even more learning how bad it was in Poland. My parents have never gone in full detail what they have experienced during the communist rule. They would tell me bits and pieces, but I never fully comprehended what they had gone through.
There were many strikes against the Polish government and there was a set amount of things a person can purchase from the store. Meat was very limited in Poland, and only some people could have it. I now understand my mom’s stories she would tell me. For example, she was always thrilled when she received an orange or chocolate for Christmas when she was younger, and I never knew why until now. It was very rare to even find these small delicacies in Poland. Learning from this class, I noticed that I took small things for granted. Both my parents had limited things growing up, and they still were content to living that way.
I will never forget their story, and it makes me want to strive for better things. For example, I wanted a major that would challenge me to think more critically, and a refined understanding of something that was difficult. During my undergraduate years, I have studied many fields and disciplines, (Psychology, Public Relations, and Management) but none really caught my attention, and I wanted to be more challenged and was curious about Finance. Through this, I decided to get a major in that. Choosing Finance has been such a great choice, because it has led me to have a future planned after college.

I want to be successful when I am older, and repay my parents for all they have done in my lifetime. They have been a true blessing for me, and I will always be thanking them for what they have done.
They inspire me to be better then I am, and to reach for the stars. They want me to become friends with everyone and try new things. Throughout college, I have taken their advice and made new best friends and joined many new programs (Honors Program and
International Events). It has been a wonderful experience and it expanded my knowledge of the different cultures in the world. This newfound knowledge of diversity has been a wonderful learning experience. Growing up I went to school with the same students since elementary school. We did not have a big diversity at my elementary, middle, and high school. So coming into college I was delightful to see how much diversity the school had to offer. Also, coming from a Polish family it was a great way to relate to people who have a different culture in their household as I do. My family has helped me tremendously in college, and I would be lost without them. With that, they provided me a helping hand to cross the river to my second stepping-stone.
Bank of America
I was able to expand my knowledge of different cultures even more during my summer internship with Bank of America due to the many international people that I have met. I was able to find an internship with Bank of America and have a job lined up after college. I have used my name badge from my summer internship to identify my third artifact. Receiving the internship is my third stepping-stone toward my future career that I have been searching and waiting for.

I was curious about what this internship was, and decided to apply for the program. After a couple of weeks, I received a call from a recruiting manager to come in for an interview. I was excited and eager and did my best during the interview process.
After two months of waiting, I found out that I was accepted into the program and would start June 3 rd
of 2013. It was challenging, but taught me a lot about work and even life. I learned the stress and effort a team has to put into a project to meet a certain deadline.
This stepping-stone I took, had a hint of multi colors on it due to the new friends I made with the interns. Majority of them were international and I was able to ask about their culture. Some were from Venezuela, Brazil, Poland, but most of my fellow interns were from India. It was nice to learn about the different cultures, and I was excited when
I meet a girl named Anna from Poland.
Soon, I was making new friends and having plans to meet with them for the weekend. Also, some of the interns were receiving their masters, and they were able to offer advice to me about life. They told me to stay as long as I can in school, and I should follow my dream of getting my masters. I should try not to let anything hinder me from getting that. They told me that a master’s degree would help me in the future. I was happy they were able to offer me such great advice.
My major had brought me to find this internship which lead to an opportunity of a job that I can be thankful for after college. This job is going to be a wonderful opportunity for me to make new friends and acquaintances.
I have always wanted to learn about all the cultures in the world. I have been to a couple of countries, but I only visited them when I was younger. I believe this new opportunity at Bank of America will help me accomplish that goal, because I will be

working as a business analyst in the Global Market Risk Technology and Operations aspect of the company. This is a fantastic chance, because I will be working with people internationally and seeing the different cultures. Just over the summer, some of my teammates had to travel to India for business, and it was wonderful to hear their stories of the country. I also had the pleasure to help my co-worker with the BACI Assimilation
Program. This program allowed people who worked in Bank of America in India to travel to Charlotte for six months or a year. I had to make sure that their transition to Charlotte went smoothly. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet some of our new associates, and learned about India even more. This was an eye opener, because before my internship, I had no idea that India spoke so many dialects. Of course I knew they had a lot, but I was surprised there were about one hundred and fifty major languages spoken.
I have always lived a sheltered life growing up, and never did anything to drastic.
I wanted a job that will challenge my creativity and meet many new people. This job will give me a chance to see new things and to experience them on my own. I will be supporting my own self and get a feel of working in a corporate setting. Growing up, I have always wanted to work in the corporate world. I would even reach higher, and wanted to work for a company’s headquarters. With the right thinking and optimistic view on life, I have been able to achieve that dream.
This will be a new chapter for me after college. I think it is wonderful how my curiosity brought me to apply for the program and now I have a future planned. That curiosity pushed me to take my third step across the river of my undergraduate experience.

Figurine
Ever since I was a little girl, I have had a fascination with traveling. I am not sure if it was due being born in an international family or just my personality of wanting to experience different things, but I always knew it was there deep in my heart. I would always play make belief in my backyard, and I would pretend I was in an exotic country.
Sometimes my friends would join in, and we would go on adventures in this foreign world. I specifically remember being in ‘India,’ and we would try to escape the tigers that were chasing after us. Most of our story lines were based off of Indiana Jones. He had the opportunity to travel the world, so why not reenact his movies.
Currently, my dream of traveling the world remains strong. During my sophomore year of college, my friend traveled to Spain with her family for a week. When she returned, she gave my present of a flamenco dancer. This is my fourth step I took to cross the river. It was small, as big as my finger, but I loved it. She was colorful, happy, carefree, international, and had this aura around her. She reminded me of myself and had all the qualities that I had. She slowly became a memento for me to follow my dreams of traveling the world.
I should not let anything try to stop me having that dream. For example, I should not let my fear of unknown things hinder me. I have had this trouble in my past. In high school, I was set on traveling abroad for a semester in college. I was excited and ready.
My sophomore year of college, I went to the initial interest meeting of what to do. I had already chosen some colleges that I would like to attend. I was stuck between Italy,
England, France, and Denmark.

Then my mind started to wander, and I began to get more nervous. I was worried I would not make friends, and I would not fit into their culture or lifestyle. I felt like this was happening all over again when I was entering my freshman year of college. The most prominent fear was traveling by myself to a new unknown city. I was worried something horrible might happen to me; because of stories I would hear on the news about international students. I did not want to turn into them. This fear was the main reason of why I did not travel abroad. I also reasoned with myself that I had more opportunities to travel after college. Thinking now this had been such a big mistake I made. Studying abroad would not be the same as traveling after college. For example, when I have enough money to travel when I am older, it will not be the same experience. As a college student, I would have my youth, new adventure and exploring the nightlife in new countries to keep me going. As a young adult, I will be calm and more collected. I will have more of an appreciation in history and arts.
Keeping this in mind, it would be good experiences too travel young and old because you get the best of both worlds. Luckily, I was able to experience Italy at a much younger point of view. Italy had been such a wonderful time looking back. My grandma and I traveled there when I was in high school, but if I could go back, I would do it all over again. During my time there, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the different cities, but I never had that appreciation of the history and arts that I looked at. I distinctly remembering wanting food, and that was all. It makes me sad that I went to such a beautiful country and I only remember being hungry, but not the history that was told behind the walls where I leaned against or walked passed.

With this newfound knowledge of wanting to experience history, my desire to travel has been stronger then before, and I want to go everywhere before I die. So this figurine is a daily reminder for me to follow my dream, and to take a leap of faith to the next stepping-stone.
Speech on Kepler 22b
Growing up I have always been afraid to speak in front of people. My palms would get sweaty; I would feel hot, dizzy, and even sometimes nauseous. I would be a mess all day until after I presented, and I always received a headache from the stress I anticipated. I spoke to my mom about this problem I had, because I knew it was more then stage fright. It was beginning to get ridiculous of how worked up I would get. It was not healthy for my body and mind.
When I was majoring in Public Relations my sophomore year of college, I was required to take Public Speaking 1101. I was a nervous wreck coming into my first day of class. I know I had to present throughout the semester, and this honestly terrified me. I did not want to make a fool of myself in front of the class many times. I waited to take this class until I had to fulfill my last prerequisites for PR. I only needed public speaking and one more class.
On the first day, we learned the proper format that a presentation had to be in.
First, there had to be an intro grabber, then three main ideas for the body, and lastly the conclusion. I have used this in every presentation through the semester, and having a set format helped calm my nerves a lot. I even use this today in presentations I have to give in school and even when I worked at Bank of America.

In this class, we also learned why people are afraid to get in front of people. I learned I was afraid of people’s opinion on my presentation. I was scared they were going to talk to one another or secretly tell themselves how bad a presenter I am. I now understood the cause of my stage fright. I had to find a way to overcome this, because I knew I would have to do many presentations in the future, and I wanted to excel at it.
On one of the presentations, we could choose any topic we were interested in, and during that time NASA just announced to the public about a planet called Kepler 22b that was discovered 600 light years away. I have always had a fascination with outer space and decided Kepler 22b would be an excellent topic to present. This planet is my fifth step I took in my undergraduate experience. It was a step that made me overcome my fear of presentations.
I had everything I needed to prepare for this speech. I came up with an awesome introduction and had my body of my presentation. I was nervous before I had to present, but I was more eager to tell the class about this awesome planet that resembles Earth in so many ways that there was a high possibility that life is very possible to sustain there. I came up confidently and began the presentation. In the end, I had the classes’ attention and everyone was throwing questions at me right and left. A lot of people said I choose such a wonderful topic, and they were very interested to learn about it more.
Somehow, I had overcome my public speaking fear. I am still not sure what had triggered it, but after my speech on Kepler 22b, I felt I could present anything to anyone or everybody. Throughout my two years being at UNC Charlotte after that presentation, I have had the air of confidence when I had to go in front of a class. Of course, I am a little nervous but that is normal for everyone. It is even healthy to be nervous. I am beyond

grateful that I overcame this step; because this was a constant battle I had throughout many years. Finding a way to beat this fear, feels like I took my first breathe in front of everyone and jumped past the most difficult step in my undergraduate path.
Graduate School
Through my undergraduate years, I have found a strong desire to attend graduate school. It was strange, because this thought has never crossed my mind in middle or high school. My parents have never spoken to me about it, and I always thought that after college I would go straight to the real world. During college, I noticed that a lot of TAs were graduate assistants that helped teachers with grading and some assignments.
Currently, two of my teachers in the Belk College of Business have TAs. I always thought it was wonderful that these students wanted to get a higher education, and planning to be even more successful in their futures. This made me appreciate them even more.
During my summer of interning at Bank of America, I began to notice that a lot of the people I worked with received their MBA. I already have been thinking about going to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania or University of Chicago, and noticing how a majority of the employees had advanced degrees made me want to go even more. I wanted their advice about graduate school and decided to ask around. Every single person told me I should go and not wait. If I waited, then more likely I will not go to school.
It was then that I decided to go to graduate school, but when they offered me a job to work at Bank of America after college, I was more confused then ever. I spoke to my

parents and they said they would support me in which decision I choose, but they could not make that decision for me. I wanted to continue learning about different things, but I knew that this job would be a wonderful experience to meet new people and learn many new things.
I was sitting down one day, and realized that I should take the job. It just popped into my head randomly. This job is something that will be hard to find again, but you can always go to graduate school. I wanted to have some experience to give back to my graduate class that I could relate to. It was then that I made a promise to myself that I will apply to graduate school in the future. I asked my family and my professor, Brenda
Tindal, to help me keep this promise, because I knew it would be hard to go back again; as told from the people I worked with.
Deciding then what to get my master’s was easy. Currently, I am majoring in
Finance, but receiving a master’s in Management is something that I would want. I want to try to get an experience in something new. I have always studied Finance and learning how to manage and operate a business is something that will be fascinating.
Concluding, this was my sixth step I took to cross the river. Understanding my desire to go to graduate school has played a tremendous impact for me after college. It is something that I want to do, and continuing my education will benefit me in my life.
Even though it is a long way from now, I have the inspiration and promise of my family to help me not wander far from my decision.

Books
During my freshman year of spring semester, I met one of my best friends, Olivia, who lived diagonal from my dorm. My first time meeting her was not actually at the dorm, but freshman orientation at UNC Charlotte. She was a wonderful and very sweet girl to me. Through her I was able to discover my newfound passion in books. Novels are my seventh step I took to cross the river.
It began with her constantly telling me I should read this awesome book that she finished reading. I have not been much of an avid reader, and I only did it when necessary. For example, when a book had to be read during class. I was just not much of a reader, and I usually found myself going on spark notes from time to time during reading assignments.
I finally caved in to her request, and read her romance novel. It was by Lisa
Kleypas, and was called It Happened One Autumn. I soon found myself dragged into this book, and the adventure it entailed. I soon wanted to see what happened to the other characters and bought the rest of the series. From then on, I always had a book in my hands, and you could catch me reading during my spare time.
For that spring, I buried my head in books. I would choose to read rather than hang out with friends. Sometimes I wondered if I was a nerd, and I realized that I was allowing reading to take up my whole time. I was not focusing much in school and friends. I found a middle ground during my sophomore year of college.
Before books, I let TV take up my spare time, but now I feel like TV is not in my life. I have not even been keeping up with any TV shows. In some way, I found a remedy in books that calms me through stressful times. I feel like I can escape from all the

troubles in the world, and be in another world where I am a completely different person having a different life. It is exciting and refreshing at the same time. The genres I would read are love, adventure, mystery, and some self-help books.
Without books in my life, I would not know how to keep myself occupied during my spare time. I love taking a break from the world and dream about a different journey, and novels provide me with that. It is a great way to escape from your troubles temporary and to relax. I have always found this a calming method that has always worked in college. For example, when I was stressed out with homework, I would take a break and read my current book I was on; afterwards I would feel much at ease. I am assuming this is due because I immersed myself in a different world so much that my worries cease to exist. Finding this remedy has helped me to cross over my step much easier. It was something that I came upon during my freshman year, and I am grateful that I found this step in my undergraduate experience.
Multicultural
UNC Charlotte has expanded my worldwide knowledge of music and food.
Throughout my undergraduate years I have tried and done many things that made me learn more about the different cultures. Before coming to college, I had and still do, a fondness for Europe. It might be due because I am a European citizen myself, and have a special connection to the continent. Overall, I only ever wanted to see all the countries in
Europe, and had no interest in other countries. That had completely changed when I attended UNCC.

My freshman year of college, I met my new roommate Ayesha. I noticed she was not from America, but she had an adorable accent. I soon realized her and her family immigrated from Pakistan to Charlotte when she was a sophomore in high school. She said it was very hard for her to adjust to America. She had difficulty understanding what people would say. After all these years in America, she now understands everything perfectly. She introduced me to so many different types of Pakistani food. They were all very spicy, but delicious at the same time. I became addicted to the food, and eat it almost every other week. I have become best friends with her throughout the years and through her, she was my first step into the multicultural world. Adding on, this was my eighth step I took in my undergraduate years.
My junior year of college, had to be more of an eye opener for me in the different cultures around the world. My roommate, Maria, was an international student from
Mexico. Through her, I was able to hear stories and see many pictures of her home country. During that semester, I started to become more friends with the international students. I met so many different people. I was beginning to become friends with students from Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France, Austria, Italy, and even my parent’s home country, Poland. I was invited to their parties, which were nothing like an American party. They provided us with food and drinks. At every party, they set up a dance floor where you can dance the night away. Even though I was not much of a dancer, it was very fun to be twirled and to actually dance. This party reminded me of my summers I would spend with my friends and family in Poland and how their parties would be similar to those of the international students.

Fast forwarding to spring of 2013, my friends and I attended the International
Welcome Party for the new international students. I had met so many wonderful people, but two people stuck out the most. I met Qusay from Jordan and Mohammed from Saudi
Arabia. Even though it was a year ago, I still remain very good friends with them.
Through them I was able to understand more about the Middle Eastern Culture. I began to have a big fascination with it also. I began asking them so many questions, that I am sure that it irritated them at times. Since I did not have a chance to take any diversity classes provided by UNC Charlotte, my social multicultural experiences have been more of a replacement for those classes.
In conclusion, I have used the photo of international Coffee Hour to demonstrate how far I have come in my multicultural awareness. UNC Charlotte hosts International
Coffee Hour for a chance of American students to interact with the internationals. They provide board games and many types of coffee and tea. I have never had an interest in attending this program, until I met so many people at this college. They expanded my horizons even more. With that, I decided to attend it in hopes of learning even more, and meeting more people from different countries.
Learning about the different cultures and expanding it more then just the
European side, has been a wonderful experience. Through this, I now want to visit India,
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Kuwait, Brazil, Mexico, and many more. Their love and joy for their culture wants me to experience it first hand in their country. This has been such an exotic stepping-stone I took. It had many colors and shapes on it that it made my journey even that much more interesting.

Friends
To others, I am a person that needs to be surrounded by people. I tend to find myself lonely when I am alone. I love making new friends where I can go and sharing my experiences with them. In high school, I had two best friends (Carly and Juliane), and they still are my best friends. The summer before my freshman year, I was worried I would not make any friends. I confined to my two best friends, but they told me not to worry. “You will make friends everywhere I go,” they kept telling me. In my mind, I was set to make new close friends, but I knew it would take awhile to reach the point of friendship I have with Carly and Juliane. I was then ready to venture my four year at
UNC Charlotte.
Throughout my undergraduate years I have met so many people. I have been introduced to people that have different beliefs then I do, people who study every waking moment, people who go out every night, and people who are just rude. I think every person in their college life should have a wide variety of friends. That is what makes your college experience even that much better.
During those years I had many friends that came and went. I always love meeting new people, and it makes me sad to see them pull away when they discover a new group of friends. Even though we would remain in touch, it would not be as it was when we first met. For example, freshman year I was a close friend with one of my neighbors. We had dinner together, tanned together, and even studied. Sophomore year, she decided to join a sorority and from then on I felt I lost that closeness I had with her. Even though we remain in touch today, we are not as close as we were freshman year. I have learned that

this is a cycle of life, and Carly and Juliane went through same experience as well in college.
Going threw this sad feeling, I also experienced new friendship with people that made my college experience wonderful. My friends Olivia, Ayesha, Alicia, Karina, Matt,
GJ, and Qusay gave me memories that can last a lifetime. Without them my college social life would cease to exist.
I have always heard from others that friendship can grow into love between two people. I have seen this happen to a couple of my friends, but never expected it to happen to me. Freshman year I met a wonderful guy named Josh, and he was in a couple of my psychology classes. We would always study together and make sure we understood the material before an exam. After freshman year we lost touch, but we always said hello to each other during our sophomore year. Fast-forwarding to junior year, my friend Olivia and I went to a Greek cookout the day before the first day of classes our fall semester.
She nudged me and asked me “Do you remember Josh from freshman year? He is right there.” The next thing I knew, the three of us ended up talking for an hour and trying to catch up with each other. The next day, we noticed that we were in Marketing Concepts together, and with an unspoken decision we sat by each other for that fall. From then on we became friends for a year. We began to do everything together. Josh even invited me to his date night function for his fraternity, but it was more of a friendship date. During winter break of 2012, Josh invited me for dinner at Spice Café. I was a little nervous when he asked, because I have not been on a date for a while and asked my friend
Ayesha to join us. It went well, but I surprised Josh when Ayesha walked into the restaurant with me.

In spring semester, we discovered we had another class together and for that semester, we just remained friend but we knew there was a spark between us. Just over the beginning of summer, it blossomed into something else. We started to go on dates, and began to get very involved with each other. Through this he has ended up being my first love and me as his first real love. I could not ask for a better boyfriend as him.
Without my friends and Josh, I would have no clue where I would be in my senior year of college. With that, a photo of them is my artifact for “friends.” They have been my confidants and listening companions. They showed me things that I have learned.
They taught me to stand up for myself. Through them my college life has been wonderful, and everything a girl could dream of. With this in mind, that had been my last step in my undergraduate life and helped me cross over this mighty river that took four years to complete.
Conclusion
As I have finished my last step in my undergraduate year, I can see the end of the river: a river that took four years for me to cross, and a river that sometimes had rough current and riptides. Even though I would slip and fall from one step to the next, I would always find a way back on the soles of my feet.
I have overcome many obstacles through my steps at UNC Charlotte. Through this, I can expand what I have learned and apply it to my life after college. My multicultural awareness will benefit me in regards to the many people I will encounter in my life. Even though I am more aware of the different cultures, Poland will always have my heart. It is the country where my whole family is from and makes me “me.” I will

never stray far from one of my home countries, and will return there as many times as I can.
Poland has played some part in my awareness but through my own friends I have met at UNC Charlotte, they have helped me to grow more in diversity. I know that without them, I would not know where I am in my life or even have that multicultural awareness. They have been that constant calmness that I was looking for in the beginning of freshman year.
During my years at UNC Charlotte, I have always wondered how did I become
“me.” What changed me in the four years that I attended this university? I never thought too much about it until now. This is something that tremendously impacted me writing my own reflection. I can see how I progressed into this young adult and what qualities played a major impact. I have experienced things that have educated me to be a better
“me”: for example, learning and understanding the different cultures and how my friends played a major impact on that. I have found a remedy in books for me during stressful times.
Even though I have learned the things I have, I know it is only a small fraction of my life. I am excited and eager to see what my future entails and to expand my horizons even more. Bank of America will show me a different world then the regular college. I will be thrown into the world of business and finding new ways to find myself. Finding my own graduate school that helps me expand that as well. I truly believe that I will come across people that will significantly impact me as an individual and those that will hinder me. It will be my job to make sure I have enough power to overcome that, but with the help of my family and friends I know I can achieve anything. So I conclude here with a

quote that has driven me to be the best I can be, “The biggest mistake you can ever make is being too afraid to make it - Anonymous” I have learned that I did not do many things in college due to failure or just being too afraid to do something. My deepest regret was not being able to study abroad from being too nervous. With this quote in mind, I am ready to see what my life has to offer after college.