Student Bloggers

As you might have gathered from the title, I am currently typing away on the floor of an airport. Not exactly the most sanitary of places, but it does provide me with good people watching (like the really cute baby next to me in the adorable tie-dye socks) and a place to put my coffee. Besides, I’ve been wanting to put my figurative pen to the figurative paper and write my first blog, I just needed a relevant subject. After a couple days of contemplation, I’ve decided to write about something that all of us will go through once we commit to the idea of studying abroad: how I feel now that the time for me to leave home has finally arrived. I had been wondering how I’d feel in the moments leading up to my flight to London and I finally have my answer: jittery.

Part of the reason I’m choosing to write this post at this very moment it because I need something productive for my shaking hands to do. In hindsight, the aforementioned coffee might be making said shaking hands worse, but you live and you learn. That being said, I knew that all of this was coming. Call it a gift or call it a curse, but I have a tendency to bury my nerves until the last minute when they break through to the surface. It’s a terrible test-taking strategy, but I just can’t help it.

All during this past week I’ve been in a state of slight panic. While I’ve traveled abroad plenty of times, this is different. I’ve never flown internationally by myself and the nerves have been on high alert all week. In the back of my mind, I’ve always been conscious of the fact that I’d be doing this on my own, but this week brought that thought to the forefront. Suddenly everything was amplified. I began hounding myself with questions. What do I need to pack? Will I struggle to make friends? Do I really have everything I need? Am I about to break down in tears? This post is as much for myself as anyone else as I attempt to sooth the internal inquisitor that is my brain by answering those questions.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to pack. I’ve never been to London in the fall/winter, just the summer. I obsessively looked at the stats for the average weather during the months that I would be there and packed the best I could. My luggage is full of jeans, boots, sweaters, jackets,and everything else that I deemed necessary. I went shopping for everything I thought I might need. I consulted my dad, who is constantly in London and had actually just returned from a business trip there. I went through the checklists provided by my school and Arcadia. I’ve exhausted all my resources when it comes to figuring out what to pack. Granted, I could’ve started packing earlier, but I’m me and that’s just not how I do things.

Another daunting thought is that I won’t make friends. I can be extremely shy and that cripples my social life. The first semester of my freshman year was essentially spent in my dorm room because I didn’t put myself out there and try to meet people. I don’t want a repeat of that. My dad actually gave me some really good advice when it comes to this. He reminded me that this is an opportunity to start fresh. I can be the person I want to be. No one knows me, so there aren’t any preconceived notions about who I am as a person. Am I still nervous about making friends? Absolutely! But I refuse to let freshman year happen again. I’m going to make an effort to put myself out there, meet new people, and make new friends. Let my internal doubts just try to stop me.

The next question, regarding whether or not I have everything I need, is actually the simplest to answer. Anything that I forgot, I can get via borrowing from a roommate or by purchasing in a store. If I left something at home, I can easily get access to it. This is, without a doubt, the easiest of my problems to solve.

As for the crying, well it hasn’t happened yet and I doubt it ever will. I plan on keeping myself plenty busy. I want see the world and studying in London gives me the chance to actually do it. I’m well aware that there will be days that I will miss home more strongly than others, but I won’t let that ruin my experience.

I’m sure that plenty of others will have their own doubts when the countdown begins, but they’re only doubts. They aren’t facts or anything that can actually hurt you unless you let them. I hope this helps any readers settle their own nerves and lay any doubts to rest. I know that after reading this particular post it might sound like I’m slightly dreading my time in the United Kingdom, but I’m actually really excited! This semester is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to document it all on this blog!