Brisbane, Australia

I wanted to study abroad my entire college career.  I always had a reason as to why I couldn't go though. I don't have enough time. It's super expensive. I have too much going on here. I don't want to miss [insert some extra-curricular activity]. Grad school. These are just some of the many of the reasons that keep most people at their home institution, rather than venturing out into the unfamiliar, but exciting, experience of studying abroad.

I feel as though for many, getting through the initial excuse-making phase is just the first of the obstacles that often get in the way of people taking the jump. As your time to depart slowly gets closer and closer to becoming a reality, the excitement and optimism turns to planning and anxiousness. The reality of your decision begins to set in. Suddenly, you start thinking about the drawbacks of leaving a world that you are so comfortable and so heavily involved in. The people you are accustomed to seeing on a day to day basis will not be there every day, but their lives will continue while you are away. Everyone who you have ever known will soon be 10,000 miles away, including your family, your friends, and your dog.  All of these things hit you at once, and suddenly, you find yourself caught inside of a whirlwind of different emotions as you realize at once that the place you call home will go on without you, and you will not be there to share in it.

It is overwhelming.  But you get on a plane anyway and fly to the other side of the world. The scary stuff lasts for awhile.  I miss my friends.I have no idea how to get to the grocery store. Public transportation is confusing. Everyone at home is going to that [insert event you won't be attending] without me.  I have no friends here. I literally don't know anyone.  My new roommate is actually the Tasmanian Devil in human form. Maybe this was an awful idea....    

It isn't though. Time passes and without even realizing it, you're not scared anymore.  You make new friends.  You watch a really beautiful sunset from your apartment window.  You lay on the beach in February.  You watch a pro-surf competition.  You hold a koala. You big-spoon a kangaroo.  You see the Southern Cross for the first time.  You go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. You see a sea turtle.  You buy a lot of Tim Tams from the grocery store, which you know every aisle of.  You take the 109 like it's the LX you've been riding since freshmen year.  You call your apartment home.   You fall madly in love with the city.  You forget about all the scary things and, without even realizing it, you just live your life.  

Your friends will call you from home: "Tell me everything about Australia."  
"Ummmm, I don't know," you respond.  Because it isn't "Australia" anymore.  It's your home.  It's your life.  It's normal to you.  

Then, one day, you're standing on Story Bridge watching the sun rise over the Brisbane River for the last time.  Your plane leaves in 12 hours.  Suddenly, it isn't just your life anymore. How did 5 months go by that fast?  You try to hold onto every moment that you're still there, kicking yourself for not appreciating every single second of your time abroad.  

If there is one thing that being abroad has taught me, it's that you cannot let your fears get in the way of doing what you want to do.  You have to take risks.  You have to leave your comfort zone.  Experiences like this show you who you really are.  As cheesy as it sounds, I don't know who I'd be if I never went to Australia.  When you get back, the same faces you missed are still there.  Your dog still loves you.  But you're different.  You've grown and learned.  

So what's the bottom line here?  Study abroad, because it's incredible and when else are you going to get to drop everything and move here for five months: