I cannot believe the semester is over! Since I left in the middle of January, I have been abroad for 6 months. The time has flown by. Finals were way more stressful abroad than they were at home because each final was worth either 60 percent or 75 percent of my final grade. Throughout the semester I did not have any homework assignments to turn in or any chapter tests. Therefore, it was hard to gauge how prepared I needed to be going into finals. After living at the library for two weeks straight, I successfully completed finals and completed my semester abroad.
I did not realize how difficult it would be to leave. In my opinion it was harder to leave New Zealand than it was leaving the United States. I had made so many incredible friends and lifelong memories. The friends I met traveling are going to be best friends for life. We all went abroad and were looking for the same experiences, so which made it easy for us to connect with each other.
Now that I have arrived back home, I am realizing all the positive benefits studying abroad had on me. Since I went alone, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to meet new people and I came back with a newfound confidence. I also recognize that I have a lot more to be proud of than good grades, I am proud of the new me. I discovered a love for hiking, camping and the outdoors. Although I had to leave, I will definitely be visiting New Zealand and Australia again in the near future.
