sends greetings from from Valparaíso, Chile this semester! I am here learning Spanish, taking classes at a local university, and trying to realize that reality and my dreams are beginning to become the same thing.
I am a junior in college studying Literature and Religious Studies, and if you asked me six months ago where I wanted to be in this moment, my eyes would have glazed over as I dreamed of where I am sitting right now, in this very spot looking out over a city that I call home.
If you asked me four years ago where I would be now, I would have never dreamed of living in a different country for six months, but what sustained me through high school and most of college has been my passion for writing and reading. A famous author once said that we tell ourselves stories in order to live. I just never forgot to tell myself over and over again the story of what I want my life to be and what I can do to make it real, to touch it, and to write it every day so that one day I can look back at exactly who I once was or was always meant to be.
No matter what you do, you need to fight for the things that you want to be yours, because you deserve them more than anyone. I am here today because I listened to the people who believed in me and took advantage of resources that are out there to support students that want to break the norm. I am here because one day I picked up a Chilean novel at a bookstore!
Danielle Palmieri
New Haven Academy 