Oh, London. How I miss you.
In just a few days, it will be the year anniversary since I left for what would be the biggest journey of my life. (Is it weird that I used to think anniversaries were silly until I studied abroad? I think I may be in a relationship with London.) Looking back on my first blog post, I laugh at how nervous I was. Not to say I didn’t have a right: I was devastatingly homesick when I first arrived, and I won’t downplay the difficulties of moving to a country you’ve never been to all by yourself at 20 years old. What makes me laugh, though, is that I had no idea how much studying abroad would change my life — for the better!
To first and foremost state the obvious, I’ve grown in more way than I can count. (I really wish there were a less cliche way of saying it, but here we are.) I’m more independent and confident, which has opened up a lot of doors for me. I maintained my position as Editor-in-Chief of my university’s Odyssey community while I was abroad, and dealing with 30 eager content creators on a 9-hour time change alone felt like a huge personal feat. I was hired on as a student blogger for AIFS, as well, which was a nice balance of writing content for other people and keeping up this blog for myself. Now, a year later, I’m an Alumni Ambassador for AIFS, and I get to talk to students and potential applicants about studying abroad every day.
In the eight months since I’ve been back, the connections I’ve made abroad have brought me to Connecticut, New York, and California for Ambassador training and visiting my friends. As we speak, my core friend group from London are booking their tickets to come see me in Seattle. (Don’t tell my mom, but we even talk about moving back to London someday.) Before you go abroad, you know, logically, that you’ll make friends no matter what. However, I wasn’t prepared to meet my best friends — five women I know will be a huge part of my life forever. Going abroad alone is scary, but you meet people who will make the experience exciting, because they know exactly how you’re feeling. When we came back to the States, they were the only people who understood what I was going through then, too. Even a year later, we talk every single day.
In just a few days, it will be the year anniversary since I left for what would be the biggest journey of my life. (Is it weird that I used to think anniversaries were silly until I studied abroad? I think I may be in a relationship with London.) Looking back on my first blog post, I laugh at how nervous I was. Not to say I didn’t have a right: I was devastatingly homesick when I first arrived, and I won’t downplay the difficulties of moving to a country you’ve never been to all by yourself at 20 years old. What makes me laugh, though, is that I had no idea how much studying abroad would change my life — for the better!
To first and foremost state the obvious, I’ve grown in more way than I can count. (I really wish there were a less cliche way of saying it, but here we are.) I’m more independent and confident, which has opened up a lot of doors for me. I maintained my position as Editor-in-Chief of my university’s Odyssey community while I was abroad, and dealing with 30 eager content creators on a 9-hour time change alone felt like a huge personal feat. I was hired on as a student blogger for AIFS, as well, which was a nice balance of writing content for other people and keeping up this blog for myself. Now, a year later, I’m an Alumni Ambassador for AIFS, and I get to talk to students and potential applicants about studying abroad every day.
In the eight months since I’ve been back, the connections I’ve made abroad have brought me to Connecticut, New York, and California for Ambassador training and visiting my friends. As we speak, my core friend group from London are booking their tickets to come see me in Seattle. (Don’t tell my mom, but we even talk about moving back to London someday.) Before you go abroad, you know, logically, that you’ll make friends no matter what. However, I wasn’t prepared to meet my best friends — five women I know will be a huge part of my life forever. Going abroad alone is scary, but you meet people who will make the experience exciting, because they know exactly how you’re feeling. When we came back to the States, they were the only people who understood what I was going through then, too. Even a year later, we talk every single day.
The thing about study abroad is that it changes more than just your everyday life. I have new friends, a new job, memories that I interact with on a daily basis, but I also have so much to look forward to. Most importantly, my experience abroad changed my goals for the future. I can now see myself moving across the country, and even to a different country. My dreams are bigger, and not only that, but they feel more tangible. Living in a different country for four months may not seem like the biggest deal to some people, but it’s been a year and I still have a hard time grasping all it’s done for me.
One of the biggest reasons I accepted a job as an Alumni Ambassador on my campus is so I can help other students find what I found abroad. The experience is different for every single person, but I would argue we all come out of it with similar conclusions (which is why I am so thankful for the community I have in my fellow Ambassadors across the country!).
So, until I inevitably find London again, I’ll write about it. (And post about it on Instagram, because if we’re being honest, my life since I got back is pretty boring in comparison.)