It has been well over two years since I came to America for education, and the journey is still as wild as I first expected it to be. Somewhere in the middle of this crazy adventure, I realized a few things that I didn’t think about at first. Some of them make me feel awesome, and some of them make me want to curl up into a sad human ball and roll back home forever. Living my life as an international student, I realized...

1. That it's best to not convert currency.

Or else a $20 eyeliner would equal a whole week's food supply in my country.

So... uhh, if I want them sleek cat eyes, I'd better not do the math.

2. That no one, literally no one, makes food as good as Momma does.

And the fact that I have to go for at least nine months without mom's cooking makes it even worse.

But I don't really complain, because...

3. That I can eat anything and everything, without even getting sick.

Leftover pizza for breakfast? Baby carrots for lunch? Ramen three days in a row? Bring it on. Whatever saves me time and money!

Which explains why...

4. I'm never going to lose my Freshman 15.

If anything, now it's becoming Junior 30.

But health is just one of my main concerns. The longer I've studied abroad, the more I'm freaked out about...

5. The fact that I need to find as many internship opportunities as possible.

Internships weren't exactly something I cared about when I first attended college. "Yeah, sure, I'm sure I'll find one later," I thought to my freshman self. And now...

How do people take 18 academic credits, one part time job, two internships, and still be able to function properly? Half of me doesn't get it, half of me wants to be like them, and one-hundred-percent of me is anxious and freaking out.

But I always try to tell myself that there's nothing to be worried about, because...

6. There is still so much for me to learn.

I'm half the globe away from my home, go to an awesome school, know tons of interesting people, and am still in my early 20s. I can still spend a little more time getting to know myself and the world.

Right?

7. How much I love my native language!

Not until I had to write a 20-page research paper did I realize how much I love speaking and writing in my mother tongue.

But seriously though, I love my native language! I love how I'm able to read, talk, and think in an entirely different language. I love how it connects me to friends from the same country. I love how it gives me a bit of an accent and it totally rocks!

8. That American names don't work for me.

A lot of my friends have American names for one reason or another, and so I thought, "Now what would make a cool name? Should it start with the same letter with my real name? Andie? Ashley? Abbie? Anna?"

"Or should I come up with a totally unusual name that no one has ever had instead?"

After all, my name is still An, and the Starbucks baristas still write "Ann" or "Anne."

9. That I'm an interesting human being.

Being surrounded by all these amazing people, I tend to forget that I'm a pretty rad human being too. I have cool stories to tell, foreign jokes to make, and a whole set of cultural knowledge to share.

10. And that I'm extremely lucky.

Last but not least, I realized that no matter how hard it might be at times, I'm forever grateful for this experience.