There are many decisions people make that they regret. I’ve made plenty of decisions that I have questioned why I ever thought it would be a good idea, but my decision to study abroad is not one of them. Deciding to study abroad was literally the best decision I’ve ever made and I highly recommend to do it if you have the opportunity. This is why leaving my home university, hopping on a plane and going to a new university overseas is the best decision I made and why I encourage everyone to do it.
Not only am I in an incredible country and city, I’ve met some of the best people while I’ve been here. The people I met in my study abroad program are actually some of the greatest people I know. We’ve had some extraordinary adventures traveling, going out at night and just wandering the city. Coming here alone wasn’t easy but spending time and adjusting to my new lifestyle with them made it so much easier. The hardest thing about leaving is going to have to say goodbye to everyone who I have met while here.
It made me open up my mind to a completely different type of lifestyle and culture ultimately causing me to fall in love with all of it. I grew up in a semi small town on Long Island so going from that to a big city was incredible. Although there isn’t a huge culture shock in London, I fell in love with the way of life here. The fast pace atmosphere of the city, to the kindest people, to the history, there wasn’t one part that I fell in love with. I could walk 15 minutes to the river Thames and be sitting in front of something that has more history than New York City; I walked the street where the Beatles once walked and went to my first soccer match, which was unlike anything in the U.S. Everything was so different and so incredible I couldn’t help but just fall in love with it all.
Before I left several of my friends who studied abroad before me told me it’s a journey of self-discovery and I didn’t believe them. As I’m coming into my last month here, I realized I learned so much more about myself and who I wanted to be than I thought I would. From my experiences here, while traveling and what I learned for the people around me, it helped me realize a lot of things about myself. I went to places that I could see myself living and starting my career. I realized that there is a lot more outside of my personal bubble back home and I loved it. I stepped outside of my comfort zone while I was here and tried so many new things it made me question why I never do it at home.
Overall, I wouldn’t change my decision on studying abroad if I could. Yes, I missed an entire semester at home and missed being with all my friends, but how could I have passed up something like this? I’m the happiest I’ve ever been since I’ve come here. I’ve made incredible memories that I’ll always be able to look back on and have ties here that will never be broken. If it were possible and if I had the time, I would definitely come back here again for another semester. If you’re on the fence about studying abroad my advice is this: take the chance because if you don’t you’ll look back and wonder why you never did it.
