Open Letter To My Study Abroad Experience
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Open Letter To My Study Abroad Experience

Thank you Ireland for giving me the experience of a lifetime.

Haley Coghlan
Jun 05, 2017
Saint Mary's College - Indiana
224
Open Letter To My Study Abroad Experience
Haley Coghlan

Who would have thought a semester would become so short, or that 120 days could go by in a blink of an eye? Thank you Ireland for giving me the experience of a lifetime.

Thank you for teaching me important life lessons. Thank you for showing me how to step out of my comfort zone to make new friends. Thank you for encouraging me to try new things because I am only here once. Thank you for showing me how strong I am that I can go 3,000 plus miles away from home, and not only survive but thrive.

I firmly believe that if anyone has the chance to study abroad while in college you need to. It is far more than just a "semester abroad" or "a semester of fun", it truly is a life changing experience. You will not go back home the person you left as. You will grow, you will fall, you will learn and most of all this is your time to be completely free. Free from any baggage you carry back home, free from maintaining all those credit hours and busy work at school.

Coming into studying abroad I had expectations, but I didn't really know exactly what to expect (as I had traveled many places before), so the usual worries of being far from home were not my main issue. But studying abroad changed the way I look at life. I realized there is so much more to it than worrying sick over the small things, I realized that life goes on and you must move with it because there is no good in being stuck in the past.

Before study abroad I was afraid to make mistakes because I strived for perfection, but now I realize this is the time to make mistakes because you only grow and learn by making mistakes.

Lastly, I learned to embrace everything life throws at you. You can prepare all you want and plan out your day, but chances are it will not go as planned and that is O.K.

Thank you Maynooth for not only giving me the "study" part of studying abroad, but for giving me life lessons along the way, and thank you for the Saint Mary's sisterhood because it brought me new friends, memories, and a community to lean on when I just needed that extra push.

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