I don't know how, but my time studying abroad is over. My time as a study abroad student isn't technically over since I still have another paper to write, but all my classes are done and I am leaving London in two days.
Last Wednesday I met up with a GW friend studying at LSE to get a final dinner before we said goodbye. We're both seniors and she's staying for another semester, so the next time I see her will literally be at commencement. Before we went out separate ways, we talked about how crazy it is that it's all ending. Both of us could remember in March when we saw each other at Colonial Crossroads and tried to calm one another down about getting into the schools we wanted and getting all our visa and financial stuff in order. Last April wasn't that long ago, but it feels like it.
I've been walking around alone a lot this last week because all of my friends have left for home. So I've been ticking stuff off my London bucket list. And I'm happy to say that I managed to do the things I wanted. Which is a weird feeling because, in reality, I spent a lot of time in bed watching Netflix while I was here. I don't mean that as a joke--I really did spend a lot of time in my room watching movies and reading books. And I felt really guilty about those days. I felt like I was wasting money and opportunities and I was taking all of this for granted. I thought back to reading random blog posts off Google searches that warned me not to spend time on Netflix and to go out all the time and travel and explore and squeeze every ounce of joy I could out of this experience. Now that I'm at the end, I feel like I genuinely didn't do that, but I still had a lot of fun, and I saw so many things, and I feel like I got the most out of this.
If you're reading this, you're probably skimming to find some nugget of advice before you leave to study abroad or before you apply. So let my piece of advice to you be this: There's no correct way to study abroad. The experience is what you make it. And you have to be kind to yourself. And allow yourself to experience things the way you feel comfortable.
I did the bulk of my exploring and traveling at times where I felt most comfortable. I felt okay saying no to hanging out with people all the time in favor of having a night in. I felt okay deciding not to go to another club or pub with my friends so I could wake up early the next morning to do some solo exploring. A lot of people say that when you study abroad, you should just say yes to everything. And I think that's sound advice. But, also, please don't think you have to completely change who you are. We're all in our 20s and we have no idea what we're doing. So you don't have to change. Your growth will come pretty naturally. Don't feel pressured to do what other people do when they study abroad. You don't have to travel to 20 different countries and experience night life in your respective home country every weekend and try to shove yourself into a box in order to fit in. Be kind to yourself and the rest will come. I came to London looking for another world, and I found it. But the trip there was nowhere near linear. I had a lot of genuinely good days. But I also had bad days. Study abroad won't solve all your problems. But it will help you continue to grow and continue to learn. That's what college is for, after all.
So, if you're reading this and you're about to apply/leave to study abroad and you're as nervous as I was, take a breath. You're doing fine. And, undoubtedly, you're making the right decision.