Before First-year orientation, there was the University of Tulsa’s TU-Closeup. Straight out of being a senior at Sapulpa high school, I headed out into a world unbeknown to me armed with only the connections I made at the first meeting of TU close-up held at Hardesty Hall. There was only a couple of others student that had attended that first meeting. I do not remember their names, but I do remember one virtual calling to join the meeting. After this first step into the great unknown, I was ready to journey to the foreign country of Panama. I wanted to experience all that I could from this opportunity afforded to me. TU close-up has been so far the first and only time I have ever left the United States, and it was magical. The environment and Panama City seemed both familiar yet foreign. The outskirt towns and rainforests were breathtaking in how they could vary from what I had experienced and seen so far in my life. The people of Panama were kind and gave me a new Lense with which to look at the world. I experienced the highs and lows of Panamanian life, from the impoverished to the wealthier sides of life, from the businesses to the environmental conservations. TU-Close up helped to make me see the bigger picture of being a small fish in a big ocean.