Greetings from Melissa
My 6 year-old self's proclamation that "I want to be an anthropologist when I grow up" was met with no shortage of raised eyebrows from skeptical adults. Since then, I have continued with a life of passionate fascination with world cultures. I just graduated from a rural Indiana high school and am taking a gap year to travel beyond the cornfields before attending Indiana University next fall to study International Studies or Cultural Anthropology.
I saw this year as an ideal opportunity to travel and explore different cultures, and what better place to do that than in the land of diversity that is India? Many of my greatest memories and learning experiences have been the product of travel, and I've been fortunate to have done a homestay in Japan and a study tour in China. Studying the languages of the places I visit is another major interest, as are art, music, photography, and writing (both creative and journalistic). Lucky to be living in a community integrated with the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and 3 blocks away from Lake Michegan, I enjoy hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities.
--Melissa Dittmann