“The greatest danger in life is not to take the adventure.” – George Mallory
Today, I will embark on the most note-worthy adventures of my almost-twenty-year old life (my birthday is October 14th in case you were wondering). I’ve traveled to fifteen states and been out-of-the country once, but none of those experiences can compare to completely immersing myself in a new country away from friends, family, and all I’ve ever known for the entire duration of my sophomore year.
Studying in an English-speaking country will make the transition slightly easier, but that won’t eliminate the need to make new friends, get used to a new university, and adjust to new customs and traditions. As my departure time draws closer, the more excited yet nervous I seem to get. It’s like the feeling that comes when you are about to jump off of a cliff into water, but you have last-second worries until you finally decide to take a leap of faith. Once you finally come up from the water, the thrill and excitement of what you just accomplished finally hits you. The worries you had while at the top seem like a distant memory. That’s how I hope I’ll feel once I’ve settled down in what will be my new home for the next school year. Good byes to friends and family have been tougher than I originally thought, but with difficult good byes come sweeter reunions later on. There might never be a chance for me to do something like this again, so the difficult partings are a small price to pay for this incredible journey that I am about to begin.
If you’re a student reading this who is thinking about studying abroad, I encourage you to take a leap of faith and start the process! Look for programs that work best for you and talk to your friends who have studied abroad and ask them about there experiences. Many people that I’ve talked to about my upcoming trip tell me how much they wished they could have studied abroad during their time in college but never took the opportunity. You only have one life to live so do your best to experience as much as you can while you have time!
Cheers!,
Anthony