This quote was edited for clarity and narrative flow, as printed in The Griffin. See below for the full transcription of the interview.
“[Since moving here] I got better at like, like taking a step back and being able to look at things a little more…I don’t know how to explain that, but just being able to take a step back and not let the emotions get too hard, and take that space. Just live like it’s supposed to be. And then, think clearly and smart, because I think especially at the beginning of freshman year, it was full of emotions. Sometimes, you know, it just builds too much and then you don’t see straight and you don’t think straight. I just got better at being, like, not overwhelmed, more thoughtful. Just maturing.” - S.V.
Full Transcription:
Sam: I’m Sam. I’m 21 years old. Uh, I go to Canisius. I am a journalism major, a swimmer, I’m French, so I am from kinda far away. But, worth it and it is a whole experience. I think it’s fun.
Maddy: Are you enjoying the US and everything?
Sam: Yeah.
Maddy: Tell me about that transition from France.
Sam: It’s a big change, obviously, but I think, like, going away from home for like, everyone is–it's difficult. Even if you’re like 30 minutes away, but, yeah, I'm a little further. Yeah, it's a bigger commitment. That's all–because you can't really go back as much as you'd like, but it was, like, intense enough, so that you don't really have time to struggle or anything. It’s a little hectic at the beginning of freshman year. So like, getting here, and then it was like, what the whole English part was, was tricky, but yeah, you can get used to it with time and and trying and all of that. And then classes kind of force you to actually get better. But it was, yeah, tough.
Maddy: Tell me about that experience, speaking majority French at home and now…How fluent were you when you left home compared to now? Would you say that your English has gotten, like exponentially better?
Sam: Oh god, yeah, absolutely. Well, I thought I was like, fine, because I was like, well we have English at school all the time since, beginning in sixth grade, and then all the way to the high school so, and I always had, like, really good grades in English, and I really liked English, so I thought that was like, I was definitely like, not to brag, but like, among the, like, better people of high school, but still, so far from actually being any kind of, close to being fluent. So, like, I don't know how to say it but, if fluence is like, 100 percent I was like at 40 percent. Enough to survive, but far from fluent fluent.
Maddy: I imagine that it’s a struggle to transition to that academic thought.
Sam: Yeah, it’s tough. It's class, actually, not the worst, because especially in the first semester of freshman year, I had a lot of, like, reading slash writing classes. So you end up doing a lot of, like, the work on your own on the side. So then you can use Google and translate a lot, so that wasn't too bad, thankfully, because I didn't have classes where I had to take notes or with an in class exam like that would have been, that would have been rough. I remember taking math that semester, a math exam and reading the thing, and having to ask the professor to come and help me, because I didn’t understand one of the questions. And then she had to, like, explain to me what the question meant and then I was like, “oh, okay, you can go now.” I know how to do that. No, it was more tough with the socializing thing, yeah, but I was lucky enough to be on the [swim] team. So, you walk on campus already having friends. So that made it easier, because you don't have to meet people. Like, you have to, but…
Maddy: Like forced friends?
Sam: Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Like that works well, absolutely. You have people to sit with at dining hall and you already have a roommate and everything, yeah, like, that made it easier.
Maddy: So, why leave France?
Sam: So I’ve been swimming since I was a kid, and I didn't want to stop swimming after high school, but at home, it's really, really complicated to be able to keep doing your sports at a high level and go to college. Usually, I would’ve kind of had to choose one or the other, and I'm not good enough to go pro and also do swimming. So, you can't really be a part of swimming unless if you're, like, winning the Olympics. So I wanted to go to school, but I was so sad to have to quit swimming. And then when I finished senior year, I realized one of my best friends from home, who's a year older than me, left to go to the US. He went to Kentucky, and did really good. Yeah– The University of Kentucky, yeah, he's really good. And so, like, he told me about the whole thing and stuff, and I was just like, “oh, that's, that's so cool.” Like, I want to! I want to do that. So then I had to take a gap year to be able to prepare the whole leaving thing, because it's– there's a lot of things to do. Like, get an agent, and then, contacts, and universities for you. Then the TEFOL, which is an English leveling test. And then, like, go through the whole recruiting thing. And then, you know, I talked about to maybe 20 universities or something. And then you like, narrow it down. Like, how good are they at school? How good are they at swimming? Then I had, like, Zoom calls with coaches. And then it's like, okay, like, do I want to go, in the countryside or in a city? And like, you narrow it down, and then I cut down to like, two or three. And then I had, another zoom call with Scott, which is our coach. And I was like, yeah, really, like, he looks really cool. All of that. He also did something when we had a call. I had, I was on Zoom call with Scott, and like 10 swimmers or something on the team at the time that, like, took time to be on the call, and that's the only school that ever did that. So I thought that was really cool. And then they offered me a good amount of scholarship because tuition was very expensive. And it was like, okay, like, I can go there, and I want to go there. So, yeah, I'm gonna go there.
Maddy: Why choose journalism?
Sam: That's the thing I was interested in, I guess, yeah, out of high school. I liked the idea of something that keeps doors open. Also, I thought that’s something that I would like to know more about and be good at.
Maddy: Yeah, earlier you brought up the Olympics and going pro. Did you go home during the summer? And, with the Olympics being there, did you get to see or experience any part of that?
Sam: Well, I don't live in Paris. I live in the very south. So that's, yeah, very far. But we had the relay of the Olympic flame that went all around the country. So I got to see that when it went through my city. And I actually have friends who carried the flame around. So like, we got to, like, go and see them when they were doing it, and cheer for them and stuff. A very good friend. She's, she's handicapped. She had cancer, so, like, one of her legs doesn't really work anymore. And she's a swimmer, so she does like para swimming, and so she got to run with the flame. And that was, that was super cool. That was cool.
Maddy: Did she compete in this year’s Paralympics?
Sam: No, she didn't, because it's complicated, like all of the Para sports, because you have like, categories that you need to fit in, and the category that used to swim in…not like, doesn't exist anymore, but like, the rules got changed, and she would, basically, she would get to swim against girls that would have all four…like their legs and their arms working when her leg doesn't work. It’s because they're trying to make it as fair as possible, but…
Maddy: That's super interesting. Tell me about home– about Montpellier.
Sam: It's sunnier, it's very different. Looks very different when you walk in the city, where it's like European cities, everything's more like narrow and close together, and like when you go downtown, everything is very old, made out of stone and, it's very different than when you go downtown here and you have, like, skyscrapers and stuff, which I think is really cool.
Maddy: I got to go to Europe for the first time this past spring, and that's, I was like, Oh my God. I was like, this is, this is what cities are meant to look like, not what we have.
Sam: It's, it's so different. Yeah, I'm very you don't have, like, the very long and very straight roads all of that. Yeah, it's quite different. It's more tricky for traffic.
Maddy: yeah, yeah, yeah. I imagine. Anything you miss most about home, like, I'm imagining, like family is hard to be away from.
Sam: Yeah, food, the food. It’s kinda stereotypical, but
Maddy: No, tell me more about it.
Sam: It's difficult. Well, yeah, obviously, like, friends, family, but it's kind of the same for everyone. Anyway, things like, with time difference. It's a lot of you have to be good, like, be careful to be texting and calling people and, plan it a bit, because there's only a six hours time difference, but it's still, like, messes you up a little bit. Like, it's not as easy as it seems, yeah, like, I have after this, I'm gonna call my parents. Like, that's what's planned. This morning I had class, I had lift and had class and practice, and like, now I'm gonna call my parents because it's not too late yet.
Maddy: Wow, it’s already 3 here, that means it’s 9 at home. Anyone at home that you want to tell me about. Like, if you could pick someone up and place them right here in Buffalo with you, who would it be?
Sam: Probably, my sister. Yeah, I have a younger sister. She is three years younger than me, and so she just started going to college, like, two weeks ago.
Maddy: Where did she go?
Sam: Cinema school.
Maddy: Oh cool. Like, for acting or to make them?
Sam: To make and I know she's loving it because I've been texting her and I've just watched the first short movie they made in class. It's like, eight minutes long. It's really cool.
Maddy: Alright, a pivot. How do you think that you’ve changed from freshman year to now?
Sam: Oh, wow, that’s an interesting question. I got better at like, like taking a step back and being able to look at things a little more…I don’t know how to explain that, but just being able to take a step back and not let the emotions get too hard, and take that space. Just live like it’s supposed to be. And then, think clearly and smart, because I think especially at the beginning of freshman year, it was full of emotions. Sometimes, you know, it just builds too much and then you don’t see straight and you don’t think straight. I just got better at being, like, not overwhelmed, more thoughtful. Just maturing.
Maddy: And you know that comes with, like, time for anyone, but I'm sure it's like, a heightened sense when you're in a new environment.
Sam: And you're like, going away, like very far, and everything's new, it's. I'm serious, you're gonna have to, like, adapt quickly.
Maddy: So post grad? you're a junior, so you're halfway. What's the plan? Do you think you're gonna go home? You're gonna stay? Any plans? Any thoughts?
Sam: I don’t know I'd like to, I don't know. The thing is they both sound really cool, yeah, so it's, it would be difficult to choose. I'm trying to get an internship for next summer. I'm trying to get it at home, but I don't know if that's going to be possible, but I would say see how that goes and like, if that opens some doors and opportunities and stuff. Maybe go to grad school for a fifth year. Can’t swim anymore though. Some people were able to get those fifth-years and get an extra year of swimming. Such a cheat code. I wish I could do that.
Maddy: Do you guys have the same rules at home for collegiate swimming? Wait, you said that there really isn’t that level, right?
Sam: No, after that, there's no really, there's never, really, ever, like sports with school, even for high school, middle school and stuff. So, like, I would go to school in high school, and I would leave school and go to my club and swim in my club. So it's completely separate. And if you do that, if you want to keep doing sports where you go to college, you have to do the same thing. And the thing is that college at home is a lot more, like, you have a lot more time in school than here. So like to get a degree, where we get it in four years here, it's in three years at home, but my friends that go to school at home, they're like, they're at school from eight to five every day, and then they have to do studying at like night every day, and then they have, like, exams on Saturdays and stuff. So, like, it's fitting, like, high level sports in there is just like…There’s no time.
Maddy: It’s just not realistic.
Sam: It’s just the thing where, like, you end up doing kind of meh at both. And it's just like, No, that's not worth it. Yeah, if I do something I want to do it well.
Maddy: Thank you for talking. I was gonna say, I don't know. I just really appreciate you talking about, like, home and stuff, just everything overall.
This transcription was edited for gramatical correctness, clarity and narrative flow.
Comments