hhhhh

Having grown up in the giant playground of New Zealand, moving to America for college was a big change, but I guess I loved the new experience so much I decided to pursue my abroad’s abroad! I’m currently a rising junior at Duke majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Philosophy. My DIS core course is Psychopharmacology and the rest of my classes are pretty diverse being Innovation Through Design Thinking, Philosophy of Mental Health, Danish, and Existentialism! I’m especially excited for my two Philosophy classes at the University of Copenhagen where I’ll have the chance to really immerse myself!

You might be wondering why I chose Copenhagen. Well, there were many reasons, including the great classes it showcased, hearing amazing stories from friends who went in the past, and having never visited Denmark before. But the key factor was actually Denmark’s incredible track record as being one of the happiest countries in the world. To me, being happy is the single most important thing in life, because I believe it’s what makes life worth living. Whether that’s sharing special moments with friends, helping others, doing something absolutely crazy, or just being content, I am open to trying everything. So of course Copenhagen’s happiness and the ‘Hygge’ that many believe is the key, drew me to the city.

Growing up in New Zealand I also played a lot of sport. I’ve done swimming, surfing, waterpolo, field hockey, volleyball, and tennis. But my real passion was Netball – a commonwealth sport. One of the hardest things about moving to the states was giving up the sport I loved, so I’m really hoping I might be able to join a team in Copenhagen! Although I have heard the chances of finding a netball team are pretty slim. But I’ll let you know how it goes.

Giving up netball put a lot more free time on my hands, and how did I spend that time? I have absolutely no idea. That’s another thing you should know about me, I’m a master procrastinator. Although contrary to popular belief, I don’t think this is always a bad thing. For me it’s led to new friendships, memories, and interesting conversations that will last much longer than the impact of that lower grade (I hope).

Eventually my semester in Copenhagen will come to an end, and while I don’t expect my life to dramatically change because of it, I do hope that it will be full of new friends, a lot of good food, exciting experiences, and especially, hygge.