Choosing to come to Heller was a big step for me. Not only because of the rigorous academic life one encounters during grad school, but also because it marked the first time I moved away from my island, Puerto Rico. During my undergraduate years, I stayed in the dorms at my school, but I was just an hour's drive away from home, so I would go back every weekend to spend time with my family. My dad also worked in the same city where I studied, making it easy for us to have lunch plans very often. And if anything happened to me, like feeling a little sick, I knew my parents would be there in a heartbeat.However, to attend Heller, I had to move a four-hour flight away from home, not as easy to go home during the weekend. It has been a bit difficult to get used to a different environment, with different weather, language, and lifestyle, but I have enjoyed the freedom that comes with moving away from home. Especially, coming to the realization that this opportunity has allowed me to grow as a person and solve big-girl issues independently.
A big part of this experience has been sharing it with roommates that I get along with very well. Moving in with people you don't really know is always a gamble, but I was very lucky in this regard. One of my roommates is from Honduras, and the other is half-American, half-Puerto Rican. This has been really nice because we understand each other's backgrounds, and most importantly, I can go home and speak in SPANISH!
The story of how we met is a little funny and very stressful. We met while trying to find housing to pursue our graduate degrees. Initially, we found a three-story, five-bedroom, three-bathroom home right by Moody St—a great location to catch the shuttle and have fun on weekends. However, while we were in the process of signing the lease, two weeks before moving, the landlord informed us that the property would not be ready by the expected date. We all panicked and started looking for other places available before the semester began. There was a turnover of roommates during this process until we finally found a first-floor, three-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment also near Moody St. and, bonus points, the Brandeis shuttle stops right at our street!
Using the Brandeis shuttle is a great way to get around. Back home, I used to have my own car and thought I would miss it once I moved here. That has not been the case. The Brandeis shuttle works very well for moving around Waltham, and there is even a shuttle that runs to Boston and Cambridge on weekends. When in Boston and Cambridge, the MBTA, called the "T" by Bostonians, will get you pretty much anywhere in the city. Also, when I take too much time to get ready and miss the shuttle by a couple of minutes, I can wait for the MBTA bus to come and drop me right in front of Brandeis.
Overall, living in Waltham has been really nice. It is a calm, beautiful neighborhood with some nice places to hang out on Moody St. Nonetheless, if I want a faster-paced, city-girl experience, I can just take the shuttle (or the MBTA) to Boston and/or Cambridge.
In short, I would not want my grad school experience to go any other way and I realize I am exactly where I need to be, with the people I am meant to be with.