Australia, a place of true adventure and self-discovery.

After weeks, maybe even months of looking into different study abroad programs, I finally found the Education Abroad Network (TEAN) and that was when my dream started becoming a reality. Throughout the entire process of filling out papers and getting my classes together, TEAN was very supportive and open to helping me. Even while abroad, the support didn’t stop. The occasional check-ins and activities were great additions to my study abroad experience.
I came for new experiences and to meet new people; I came to make memories. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this goal, especially on weeks when I feel like I have so much to do and so little time.
But some of the best experiences I’ve had while here are the moments I’ve spent with friends, even if we weren’t doing anything “significant” or adventurous. Walks along the coast, movie nights with lots of junk food, learning a new position on the aerial hoop, brekky after circus training, all of these little moments, although they may seem insignificant at the time, are some of the best experiences I’ve had. Not everything has to be a grand adventure or getting work done.

They say that studying abroad is a great way to find yourself and figure out what you want to do in life. But what I learned is that I don’t. I don’t want to be on this journey to find myself or figure out what to do with my life; I just want to live it. Since grade school, I’ve been conditioned to think about my future and make decisions based on how it’ll help me in the future. Will I still think in this way? Yeah, of course, it’s kind of ingrained in me. But now I have the choice to try to unlearn this mindset and really start winging it and seeing where life takes me. Australia is a country where the day to day pace is much slower and people are truly just taking it one day at a time, which is much different to the general mindset back home especially in college where everything is about your future. I’m definitely going to have moments where I freak out about future and if what I’m doing now will be worth it, but I just have to keep reminding myself, whatever happens, happens and that it’ll be okay eventually.
Australia will always have a special place in my heart and I’m so glad that I got multiple opportunities to travel around the country and even outside it. I can’t wait to be back one day and see how much it has changed while I was away.