After months of applications and preparations, in just one short week I will be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. Before I begin my final year of college, I will be traveling across the pond to London, England for a two-month study abroad program; I will be learning all about the history of the United Kingdom, as well as the modern day world that it is a part of. The program allows students the opportunity to grow as individuals and learn more about themselves, making the option to go on this trip all the more appealing. As the time has finally come to move to another country, the preparations have slowly begun, but have proven more difficult than one might think.

Study abroad is known to be a time where students expand their horizons further than they ever thought possible, and to learn more about the world and the cultures that inhabit it. Everyone who goes on these trips returns as a better version of themselves, excited and eager to tackle every obstacle they face; Study abroad programs teach young adults how to be independent, and not just the independence that going to college has given them. The new-found confidence can give students the push they need to excel in their lives.

Although it will be a great time to see the world and try new things, the idea of moving to a different continent can be scary, and for me it's very scary. I've grown up with American norms as a lifestyle, and adjusting to a completely different life with strangers is overwhelming to think of. New culture, new city, and new people are a lot to handle at once in a very short period of time. But, even though it may be scary leading up to months of waiting, I know it will end up being great; It's like my freshman year of college all over again. I'm going to a new school not knowing anyone, in a new place I've never been before, with the unkown waiting for me. Although that may have seemed hard before it began, it has ended up being the greatest three years of my life thus far, so I know that this trip is going to be nothing short of amazing.

There truly is no way to really prepare yourself for an adventure like this; You can plan every day down to a tee, but things happen that you may not have expected, and those moments usually turn out to be some of the best. As much as I may say how prepared or unprepared I am, it will not matter until the moment that plan touches down in another continent; Until that moment, all of the 'preparing' I will be doing will be mental, to ensure that this trip turns into one that will never be forgotten.