Being gone for six weeks of the summer meant not seeing family and friends. When I finally saw everyone, they all asked the required post-abroad question: “How was it?” Of course, I responded, “It was great!” But, calling it great is a borderline insult. It’s pure freaking magic, and how do you even begin to describe that?
You have to go abroad. Study or travel, or both, who
cares? Go to Europe and go get lost. Go drown yourself in the beauty
of the cities. Fall in love with the food, the people,
places, things, clothes, streets, air -- everything. Maybe you’ll go abroad
through a school-based program, like I did. It will be one of the best decisions
you’ll ever make. So much so, that you’ll come home and would give anything to go right back. My body may be in Michigan, but my head and
heart are still sitting pretty in Rome.
To travel to a place you have never been with a group of
people you have never known is a beautiful thing to endure. I don’t know if
I just got lucky, but I was with the greatest group of people I could ever ask
for. The spirit of the gorgeous cities we traveled to bring out the best in every
person. Everyone is happy, curious, willing to try
something new. We’re all a million miles away from home, so within your abroad
group, you make your own family. These people make you feel like you have
somewhere to retreat to even though you just met a week and half ago.
It’s refreshing to live in a place with surprises around
each corner. For the first time, you really don’t know where each day will lead
you. You’ll go to places that are on
postcards and feel like you’ve been photoshopped into one. For the first
four of my six weeks spent abroad, I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was
living.
Never
in my life have I cared about going to class but, in Rome, it happened.
My mom always tells me that one day, I’m going to have a teacher and a class
that changes my life. Having just finished my sophomore year of college, I
began to seriously wonder where said teacher and class would take place. The
American University of Rome gave me a class and a teacher that have impacted me
more than I ever thought possible. I learned class material and life material, all
with a view of the city of Rome. Really, what else do you need?
It’s a life-changing experience. The person you are, on the
flight to your adventure, is not the same person you will be when you return. The people
you’re surrounded with will have you constantly laughing; the food will make your mouth water, and the places will be so pretty you want to
cry.
It’s hard to explain the power of a trip like this in words; it’s
something you need to experience to understand. So, study abroad. No matter where you
go or for how long it is, go. I promise you, the worst part about the entire trip will be having to go back to America.
