A little over a year ago, I boarded a plane that was going off to a foreign land, away from my family, friends and school that I have grown so comfortable with. For five months, I was alone, traveling the world and going out of my personal comfort zone. Before you leave, adults, councilors, family, and cheesy little pamphlets will all try and tell you what you have to gain from studying abroad and all the things you’ll learn. In some ways, they’re all right, but there are simply some things adults can’t describe to the nervous young man or woman that has the butterflies about studying abroad. When you study abroad, you will go through changes and you may even be a totally different person when you come back home. There were some things people didn’t tell me when I left, and even though there are some things you just have to experience for yourself, there are a few things I want to share with anyone who is preparing for takeoff.

You’ll miss mom and dad more than you think.

When I was getting ready to go past security and leave my family behind, my mom immediately started crying – as did I, but not as much. I was sad to be leaving my family behind, but the excitement of being in a new country with so much to explore softened the blow a little bit for me. However, a month or so in, after the honeymoon phase of my trip was over, the home sicknesses started to kick in big time. You’ll very quickly miss dad’s lame jokes and mom’s good advice – and being on the opposite side of the world means you won’t be able to call them or text them and expect an immediate response. After coming home, I never wanted to leave for a long time again. Even a year later, when I’m back at school in the States, I can’t go more than a few weeks without going home to see my family, which I credit to the fact that I missed them so much when I was abroad.

You’ll learn how to be independent.

When you first move to college, it’s scary being in a new place with people you don’t really know, but chances are you are close enough to home that you can always keep in touch, and your high school friends are probably at a school the next state over for you to visit. When you’re abroad – it’s just you. From the moment you board your plane, you are on your own and have to learn how to navigate things pretty quickly, despite the fact that you are entering a foreign country with completely different customs from your own. As scary as this sounds, it is a great and even exhilarating experience. Some of my favorite days in London was when I just wandered around by myself, finding the coolest little things you wouldn’t normally find if you were afraid of being alone. Even now that I’m back home, I love to take days for myself, and you learn to be so much more comfortable being alone ad do things for yourself.

You’ll learn how to appreciate the differences people have.

I lived in London for five months, and I expected the only big difference to be the English accents and lots of tea – we came from England after all, how different can they be? Well the answer is a lot. London is like a cultural haven for pretty much everyone everywhere, and you’d be surprised at how many non-Brits are residing in London. Chances are, if you’re studying in a non-English speaking country, the differences are even more apparent. I had the opportunity to take an intercultural communication class when I was studying abroad, and there were about 5 native English speakers in a class of 30. Every class we got to talk to one another about the differences between our cultures and what our customs and traditions were. Intercultural communication classes in my school and many American schools are quite lackluster compared to this, usually consisting of PowerPoints that say spaghetti comes from Italy. Having the opportunity to study abroad gave me the opportunity to meet so many interesting people learn how much you can learn from individuals everywhere.

You’ll learn that America is actually pretty cool.

There is dwindling number of young people who actually appreciate America these days, I’m not going to get all nationalist, but our country is one of the few countries that gives so many opportunities to its citizens, and that’s why so many people want to live here. When you study abroad, there’s so many little things that are just a tiny bit different that make you realize how much you appreciate your home country. At school you can just leave your cell phone in your pocket and your bags unattended, and pickpockets won’t snatch them, and men are more respectful to women, believe it or not. And we have American cheese, which is the superior cheese for burgers and omelets.

There are so many little things that you won’t realize you miss when you’re studying abroad, of course you’ll miss your friends and family, but there are so many little cultural differences with every country, that even a person who can adapt to any new scenario will miss their roots and where they are from. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t appreciate every moment though. Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and college is the only time in your life that you’ll be able to pack up your things and move to a whole different country for a few months, so carpe diem, au revoir, hasta la vista, and have fun!