Coming Home
It is almost impossible for me to give one stand alone memory that I took with me from Australia. Everything that I got to experience with the people I met there were the most amazing times. I still talk to my abroad friends alot. It really surprised me how close I could become to people after only a few months, but I would now consider them some of my best friends. My fondest memories are those from traveling on our weekend trips. Deciding last minute to go to mission beach and skydive without having a place to stay and spending almost all night with all of our things outside of the shell gas station, learning to drive (or at least trying to drive) stick shift in a doorless roofless moke jeep on the wrong side of the road, and standing in line in Melbourne for a half and hour even though we had no idea what we were in line for until we got to the counter and found out what dim sims were. My favorite times were all of those adventures I had that weren’t planned. The most fun was when we just would see what we could find. I am usually a very organized person that would die without my day planner, and that is why I think I learned so much from this trip. I didn’t have a day planner or any plan at all. Every minute in Australia was open for me to learn and grow. This is why I think it is so beneficial for students to study abroad. You come home a different person. While you do take classes, you learn from the experiences outside of the classroom. I can honestly say I have never been so sure of myself in my life. The time away from everyday life teaches you more about yourself then you would ever learn living your life day to day. For me, it helped so much to step outside of my life to find out what I really want in my life. Studying abroad lets you look at the world differently and opens your mind to things you never imagined were possible.