Last week I woke up to the most incredible news someone could receive at three in the morning. Not only were the final decisions for summer study abroad trips out, but I was accepted to my top choice.

It wasn't an easy road to acceptance, but now that I'm here, I want to share all of the steps to getting where I am today (174 days away from going to France).

1. Confusion

You've decided you want to go abroad (or maybe your school requires it) and you're faced with the choice of summer programs and full semesters. The world is huge and you can literally decide to go anywhere. You have no idea what you want or where you want to go and everyone is telling you something different.

2. Research

I hated this part, but I literally had to sit down and look at all the programs that were available. The worst part was that literally, every program looked incredibly interesting and wonderful, but I had to keep digging to find a reason why some of them might not be as wonderful (at least for me).

3. Weigh Your Options

There are literally a million choices, but you have to sit back and trust that you know yourself. I'm not the kind of person that could live in a hut in a village in Africa for a week. I can't go somewhere that forces me to eat crazy and exotic things. It's important to look at all of these things objectively and narrow down your options accordingly.

4. Panic

You've narrowed it down to your top few (or maybe you haven't yet) but the application deadline is in less than a week and you haven't even started yet. You have thirty assignments due this week for class and you have to find time to figure out where you're going and fill out the application.

5. Buckle Down

The only way to combat your absolute panic is to sit down at the computer and do it. Answer the questions and fill out the application.

6. Submit Your Application

You just have to click submit. After that, it's all out of your hands.

7. Enjoy the Moment of Calm

Once you click the submit button you'll be overwhelmed by a sense of calm. The panicking is over. The stress has lifted. All you have to do is wait.

8. Contain Your Excitement

It's hard not to start dreaming about a summer in China or a semester in London, but keep your excitement in check. Not every study abroad application has a happy ending and the last thing you want to do is hype yourself up for disappointment.

9. Panic Again

It's three days from the decision date, you've talked to a million people who have applied to the same program, and there's absolutely no way you're going to get accepted.

10. Check Your Application

I fumbled around in the dark at 3 am to check my phone and log back into the application site so I could see if I got accepted or not. You're not going to know if you don't look.

11. Celebrate

Once you're accepted, you don't have to contain your excitement anymore. The world is now officially, literally yours. Call your mom, text your friends, brag on Facebook. You did a big thing. You deserve to enjoy your accomplishment before you relapse into a new cycle of panic during your countdown to where ever you're going!