I was abroad this past Spring of 2018 studying at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. It was the most amazing experience. From the new places I visited, the cultures I was immersed into, the people I met and all the fun foods I got try - it was all amazing. There is one big flaw to my program that no one prepared me for; making best friends from all around the world. I know that sounds cool (because it totally is), but I have no idea when or if I'll ever see them again. It's such a strange feeling that the people I lived with for 5 months, who became my best friends and family while I was abroad, are countless miles away living separate lives that none of us will ever truly understand. Everything about us is so different, but for a little while, in our little downtown apartments in Sydney, our lives were shared.

I am so thankful for my experience abroad. I found Nemo in the Great Barrier Reef; I climbed Australia's tallest building; I pet kangaroos and koalas; I played in the July snow in New Zealand; I wandered around the Elephant Temple in Bali. It was all so amazing, and I experienced it with even more amazing people. People I will never be that close with again, yet are a key part of so many memories. That is what no one prepares you for when you study abroad.