I have dreamed of studying abroad since I was in middle school. My friends and I would stay up late planning our detailed lives in England, or France, or Australia. It was an idea that seemed so distant that it felt almost impossible. When it felt this way, it was easy to plan out the detailed aspects of my fairytale life. In this fairytale, I knew exactly what my apartment looked like, where my favorite coffee shop was located, and I would even get a glimpse of the notes my foreign boyfriend would write me before he left for work. It was a piece of my mind that I could always run away to when my situations in the present weren’t so enticing.
As I got older, my fantasizing never seemed to waver. When situations got more difficult, it was only that much more appealing to slip away into my fairytale. My fabricated apartment acted as a safe haven to the cruel and unfair reality. I would remind myself that my current situation was only temporary and that one day -one day- I would make this dream a reality.
In my first year of college I remember sitting on a bench waiting for one of my friends to meet me. As I was surveying my surroundings, my eyes wandered across a bulletin board. It contained the typical college post: tutoring for various STEM courses, a welcome back poster that should have been taken down months prior, etc. Next to these was a small flier from the International Programs Office on campus that read, “Study abroad in London, Paris, and Berlin!” I snapped a picture of the sign, and continued with my day. This decision seemed so innocent and casual at the time, but it has now impacted my life greatly.
In the following weeks I would attend the information session for this program. As I walked in, I was shocked to see around twenty other students with a similar interest in traveling. Coming from a small town in Texas, it was exhilarating to find others who held this interest. I left that meeting only more determined to participate in this program, eagerly awaiting the next meeting.
Finally, it was time to depart for my trip. On the drive to the airport the realization set in. Of course I knew what I signed up for. I had gotten a detailed itinerary for the next few weeks, sat on my suitcase to make everything fit, and had even met my friends for a goodbye celebration the day before. It wasn’t until this car ride, however, that I truly knew I was going. I was faced with the reality that I would not see my family for over a month. I would not be able to see my sister on her last day of school, eat with my family at our favorite Tex-mex restaurant, or play fetch with my dog, Oliver. It was a bittersweet feeling to say the least. I was so excited to experience everything that studying abroad had to offer, but I was also extremely upset that I would miss out on all of these moments with the people that I love.
Leaving my family in the entrance of that airport that morning was a more difficult task than I cared to admit. I kept looking back as I walked onwards, their faces getting smaller and smaller until they were completely out of my view.
As I stepped off of the plane in Heathrow Airport, I was surrounded by new accents and languages. Never in my life had I heard such variety. Even though I was exhausted from the long trip there, my excitement allowed me to forget my exhaustion, as I eagerly followed our guide out of the airport. This excitement would be a common theme throughout the trip as I allowed myself to become fully immersed in the culture of my surroundings.
In this time, I saw many great sights, including: Big Ben, the Louvre, the Reichstag, the Churchill War Rooms, and many more. Not only this, I made many memories that I can only hope to carry with me for the rest of my life. Below is one of my favorite memories from the trip:
On the last night in London, a couple of friends and I decided that we wanted to see Abbey Road, in tribute to the Beatles. We hopped on the tube, expecting our night to go rather quickly. Soon after arriving at our stop, we noticed that the signs were reading, “Abbey Lane.” We shrugged it off and left the station in search of Abbey Road. As we walked further from the station the roads began getting darker and empty. I remember we all thought how odd it was that no one else was looking for Abbey Road. Not only were the streets getting emptier, but we also were having no luck finding Abbey Road. Finally, we saw an older gentleman on the side of an upcoming sidewalk. We asked him if he could point us in the direction of Abbey Road, to which he responded in a surprised manner. He thought for a moment before hesitantly pointing us in the direction from which he just came. Starting to grow impatient, we thanked the man and followed his path. After about five minutes of walking a couple of us wanted to just go back to the hostel. While discussing, I look around and see a small sign with the name, “Abbey Lane.” Surely we were not on the wrong path to Abbey Road. Surely that gentleman had not pointed us in the direction of Abbey Lane instead of Abbey Road.
Sure enough, we had accidentally entered directions for Abbey Lane instead of Abbey Road. By this point, it was already well into the night, probably around 11 p.m. or so. Right as we were about to give up and head back, we decided to get a picture on Abbey Lane.
So, we never actually got a picture at Abbey Road, but they do always say, “Leave something for next time,” right?
In the time that I have spent reflecting on my study abroad trip, I have come to the conclusion that sometimes the most memorable moments are the ones that, from an objective standpoint, amount to nothing. I could say that my favorite memory was seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time, or seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. While these moments hold a special place in my heart, I tend to find myself reaching for memories that were “small” in comparison. I find myself thinking of my favorite cookie shop in Paris, discussions with new friends in our hostel bunk beds, or even the new phrases that we had to learn in each city that we visited. While these small moments were certainly not as grand as the famous landmarks that we saw, they have certainly shaped who I am as a person.
So, if you ever find yourself with the opportunity to study abroad, I implore you to just do it. If not to see the great landmarks that each city holds, to find small moments that feel like home while you are away. From the time that I left my family at the airport to the time that I returned, I learned an extraordinary amount about myself. I gained new perspectives, stepped outside of my box, and wandered.