Before going on you, I was scared out of my mind.

I didn't know what to expect from you. I didn't know if I would like the country or the people or the food. I didn't know if I'd get culture shock or homesick. Everything was unknown when it came to you. I was trying so hard to act fearless and excited, but in reality, I was purely nervous.

The flight to you was long, and I wasn't quite sure it would be worth it. As soon as I stepped into the guest house, however, I knew I was going to love you.

So, study abroad, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for teaching me so much. I wasn't just in a classroom studying a society, but I was living in it. I was interacting with the people who were born and raised in it. I was talking to the people affected by the things I was studying and understanding the real-life impacts.

Thank you for letting me see things I couldn't even dream of. From being above the clouds at Table Mountain to seeing penguins running down the beach in Boulders to watching an elephant cross the street in front of my van, the reality of you was grander than anything I could have possibly imagined. Your reality was beyond my wildest dreams.

Thank you for letting me experience things I will never forget. You brought me to a township and allowing me to bond with children over math problems and team-building games. You took me to an elephant sanctuary and let me look into the eyes of my favorite animal. You showed me sunsets that looked like paintings. You got me pushed off a cliff and swinging through the Victoria Falls gorge.

More than anything, study abroad, thank you for allowing me to meet the most amazing group of people I've ever been around. You gave me new friendships that are strengthened by an experience that nobody else can quite understand. You brought me to people who made me feel loved and appreciated. I was able to show people the real me, and they loved me for exactly who I was. These people inspired me and changed me for the better. You brought into my life people that I will never forget and that I can't wait to cheer on for the rest of our lives.

Thank you, study abroad, for changing the way I see the world and making me a better person for it. I will never be the same after you.