When someone hears that you are studying abroad for an entire semester they are like, "Oh, wow that is totally awesome!" Yes, I completely agree it is awesome and I am about to go have the experience of a lifetime. I am excited to get to know the people I am travelling with and to meet other students at the school we will attend. I am also excited to see some friends that live over seas and to travel to the many wonders that Europe has to offer. While there are so many great things that this opportunity will give me, I do think about certain aspects of this trip a lot. Some are positive. Some are, unfortunately, negative.

I will just hit you with what is probably the biggest issue to worry about. If I am going to be completely honest with you, the thought of a terrorist attack makes me want to jump out of my skin. I know what everyone is thinking-- I cannot let that stop me. Well, is it? Nope because I am still going. But I believe it is definitely something that we should worry about. I do not live in a big city where things like this happen. I just hear or read about them so that makes it hard to fathom that they actually are happening all the time and all over the world. There is no way to predict when they will happen and what will happen. I am still allowed to worry! It is definitely a relevant matter in today's world and everyone should just be aware of their surroundings because it could happen at any moment any day. It is just scary to think that I am travelling over there and this is happening a lot. But like I said, there is no way to predict when it will happen and where. So I guess we will just have to be aware all the time. I am not going to let it ruin my fun though.

I plan to do a lot of travelling when I am abroad. I mean a lot of travelling. So that is something else to be slightly worried about. I do not know any language other than English except for just enough French to get me through Paris. But what about other countries? The language barrier might become a little bit challenging at times. I have traveled a lot in my lifetime and I do travel by myself sometimes here at home but no more than two or three hours away from my home. Now I am going to be flying places I have never been before and do not know that much about. I guess the fear here is that I am going to get lost. Might be time to go buy some guidebooks!

Money is another point of discussion. Oh boy, do I love shopping. Whenever I go away I say that I am not going to go crazy buying random items. But that is 100 percent false. I had this strange policy for myself the past couple times I visited Europe in high school. I always said that if I really like something then I should just buy it because I will not be able to buy it anywhere else. I am working this summer to earn spending money but it will be difficult to budget myself and try not to overspend on souvenirs. I should just focus on spending money on experiences rather than things to remember the semester by. But for a shopper like me, this will be a challenge.

Those are my biggest worries but I am also excited for a few aspects of this experience. Like I said, I am excited to get to know some of my fellow students that I will be travelling with. We have already studied at the same school for a year but I do not know any of them on a personal level. It will be awesome to leave Europe with some new friends that I will go to school with for two and a half more years. I am also excited to make new friends from around the world. That is something I have always been good at for some reason. I was friends with the exchange students in my high school (the very few that we had) and have a lot of friends from around the world in college (some of them unfortunately had to go back home). I think that overall this is just going to be a great experience where I get to meet so many people and reconnect with a few others!

Even though I am nervous about certain aspects of this upcoming adventure, I know that in my heart everything is going to be fine. I cannot wait to get across the pond and experience what it is like to study in a different country!