Because Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

1. Contrary to everyone and their mother’s belief, you still won’t feel sick no matter how many times a day you eat gelato.

Or pizza. Or pie and mash. Or Ben’s cookies. Or anything in that tiny little triangle at the top of the food pyramid. Being on a budget is no joke, people.

2. Traveling alone reveals hidden talents.

You wouldn’t have thought I could have navigated my way through Amsterdam… BUT I DID. Also, getting around Paris with no phone proved to be quite the adventure.

3. It’s better to say, “what god-awful, horrendous exchange rate?”

Once you quit converting everything back to dollars, you won’t hate yourself as much. It causes too much pain and suffering.

4. That “studying” part of going abroad is no joke.

Okay, I get that Shakespeare is super important and that I need to think deep thoughts but, Europe is calling my name and luring me in with Nutella crêpes so…

5. Realizing that you just walked past a group of tourists and all you could think about was how irritating and unnecessary they are.

Living near a major museum, I’ve many a time dreamt of blasting “Move B***h” by Ludacris. You don’t think you’ll be that person but I’m telling you firsthand, it does happen and you will think to yourself, “oh my god, who have I become?”

6. Travel is dirt cheap and should definitely be taken advantage of.

Because I’m living in London, there’s an incredible opportunity for me to get literally anywhere in Europe for under £50. Never think twice about going to Barcelona or Milan or Berlin or wherever is on your list.

7. No matter how hard you try, you’ll develop emotional attachments to different aspects of the culture you’re living in.

It’s the afternoon teas and sitting in the park on a lunch break that are going to be some of the hardest goodbyes.

8. Discovering how big the Mona Lisa actually is.

To keep it short, it’s small.

9. Homesickness hits you like a ton of bricks and there’s not much you can do about it. I promise though, it’s okay.

Usually, halfway through the program, you’re on, you’ll start to get a feeling like you need to go home immediately. Things are happening without you and you’re starting to get sick of the people on your trip and all you want is to see your family. Honestly, it happens to everyone. If you’re not missing home, that’s great but, there’s such a great advantage to missing home: once your time is up, boarding that plane back you’ll be so thankful you spent so much time abroad. You’ll be so eager to share your experiences with your friends and family and that whole missing home thing, it disappears.

10. You learn not to have any regrets.

When you get home, you’ll be a more confident, independent, bold version of yourself. Whether you’d like to believe it or not, studying abroad changes you in the best way possible. It gives you the opportunity to become a better version of yourself. You’ll have an immense appreciation for so many different cultures and types of people that you’ll get home being more open minded than ever.

Studying abroad was the best decision I have ever made. Now, it’s your turn to carpe diem the crap out of your college experience and take that chance!