Never did I ever think my college years would fly by so quickly. Endless days of watching the clock in class, stressing over papers and running to office hours eventually landed me here; 9 months from graduation. Scary huh? I'm positive that this year will be over before I know it and looking back, there are a thousand and one things that I would have done differently in college but there is one stand out decision, which I will never regret; studying abroad.
When I was a "baby" (which I kindly call freshman) I was craving to study abroad. I read the literature and went to the sessions regarding travel on campus. Two years flew by and I found myself going into my junior year, some friends having already studied in foreign destinations and a handful of others making plans to do so. I jumped on the bandwagon and started planning a semester in England. I spoke endlessly of my travel plans and talked myself into being excited about spending Fall semester on the English coast. One night, after an argument with my parents ending with them being right (always) and me being stubborn (typical) I decided to look in to the renowned study abroad program offered by the University of California Davis.
I decided to go on “The Grand Tour” a journey similar to that of aristocratic youth in the 17th and 18th centuries. I was thrilled to be accepted into the program and eagerly awaited to spend all of July 2011 in England, France and Italy. I could spent hours writing about my days and adventures gallivanting around London, Paris, Mont Blanc and Rome but what I was more interested in when I arrived home was how unchanged I was.
I went on this trip with hopes of coming back a changed person. I wanted a better attitude, to get over an ugly break up and have a more clear vision of the world outside of my bubble. I learned that in order to make changes on a fundamental level, one has to want to make a change. Frankly when I was in Europe I was so energized simply by being there that I felt happier most of the time but I knew that I wasn’t changed. As much as I wanted to come home to innovative ideas and bliss, I knew that these things would come with time and growth. I learned that when I am challenged I make it or break it; I’m never really just ok. My extreme trip came with some intense realizations.
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