For the past 12 years, I have remained confident in my belief that I have never, and never will see a movie better than "The Lizzie McGuire Moive." Laugh all you want, but this cinematic masterpiece has it all: comedy, drama, romance, beautiful Italian scenery, Grammy-winning music (or at least it should have been) and life lessons that will stay with its viewers forever.
When I made the decision to study abroad, many of my friends were nervous at the prospect of living, working and going to school in a foreign country for almost four months. Yet I felt completely ready and at ease about the whole thing. If Lizzie McGuire could manage to see the best of Italy with a shady pop star, become a pop star, and fall in love within the span of two weeks before even starting high school, I could certainly learn how to use London’s public transportation at 20-years-old. The movie really can’t be done justice unless watched in full, but I can sum up the key points that every person deciding to study abroad needs to know.
1. Your family may worry about you.
But assure them that you’re a mature adult ready to take on the world!
2. It’s also OK to be homesick before you even leave.
3. Chances are you’ll be too excited to sleep on the flight over.
At least try and sleep. Trust me, you’ll regret it if you don’t.
4. Your roommate situation might not exactly be ideal.
But it’s important to make the best of it.
5. Being thousands of miles away from campus makes it impossible to run into all those people you don’t want to see.
6. Every city is filled with sketchy people.
So don’t forget to keep your apartment locked at all times. You may end up having to call the cops at 2 a.m. your first week there. True story.
7. Dealing with new currency is tricky, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time.
8. Traffic rules in Europe can be very different than America’s.
As in there are none.
9. Be open to trying new things.
10. Living in a new city is beyond fun, but try not to neglect schoolwork too much.
11. But if you do skip school to explore the world, chances are it’ll be worth it.
12. You can score some amazing flight deals if you want to visit other countries in Europe, so dream big!
13. Look out for shady characters.
If half of a famous pop duo tells you that, “You shine like the light from the sun,” and that it would be a great idea for you to fill in for his singing partner at an award show, there is reason to be suspicious.
14. You can still have a life-changing experience even if don’t figure out the meaning of life or “find yourself.” Just have fun.
15. Who knows, you might just fall in love!
Or download Tinder for a week. Same thing.
