I’m sure you have heard people say, “Go travel or study abroad, you won’t regret it.” To me, those words were like, “Yeah sure I’ll do that eventually – when I’m older, or when my parents think it’s right.” And last month (August), at the very last minute, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime.

My freshman year at DePaul ended last June. Spring quarter freshman year was one of the hardest times in my life, mainly dealing with family issues. School was not really my first priority at the time because my family was always on my mind. As school ended and summer began, I knew that I needed to do something for myself, but I didn’t know what…I just felt this extreme void in my life and went into a mild depression. I had expressed interest to my mom about potentially going to Europe to study abroad down the road, and her response was, “Yes, Grace, do it! Save your money and make it happen!”

So around the middle of August, my nanny family in Chicago didn’t need me for two and a half weeks. My mom approached me and said, “Grace, would you be interested in going somewhere overseas before you start sophomore year?” She had a few ideas as to where she thought would be the easiest last minute options, but those weren’t really speaking to me…so a few days went by and I thought about it. Then I said, “Mom, how about Paris?” I had never been to Paris before, I speak literally no French, but I’d always wanted to go. I worked out a budget and a list of places to see and pulled an all-nighter doing so. Three days later, I moved out of my summer housing at DePaul and that same day, hopped on a plane. Scared, intimidated, and excited I left the U.S…on my own.

I’m not going to go into extreme detail about my trip, however if you’re interested in specifics on what I did you can check out my blog that I did on Facebook (I ended up going to London too for one of those weeks!) What I found, is that despite my fears of getting on a plane and leaving the country on my own, I was more capable and stronger than I ever realized I could be. I navigated a train system in a country where English isn’t the first language spoken, I stayed in nice hostels where I met amazing people, and I saw some of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen. Every day was a new adventure and every day I was there, I felt like the luckiest girl alive.

Two and a half weeks on my own overseas changed my life, as cliché as that may sound, it really did. Traveling is a gift; it’s an opportunity to expose yourself to new cultures, new environments, and new people. Coming back to the U.S., I feel like I have a better perspective on challenges and I am more open minded, flexible, and most importantly confident than I ever was before. I will be forever grateful to my mom for believing in me enough to give me the opportunity to “find myself” again.

My advice? If you ever have the chance to travel abroad, do it. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years, it will be worth it. You can find a way to make it affordable, travel doesn’t have to be insanely expensive (I stayed in hostels the entire time.) And if you have the crazy guts like me to go on your own, more props to you. Happy adventuring!