As I write this, I am almost half way done with my semester abroad. That statement is one of the most terrifying things to put into reality. I'd always heard that traveling and studying abroad was "life-changing" and how you would learn so much, yada yada yada.

A month and a half in, and I feel like I've learned more about myself than I have in 2 years of college. Traveling, and living in a different country all on your own is by far the most crazy thing I think I've done in my twenty years. You don't realize how independent you can be until you move away from everyone and everything you have ever loved, and somehow manage to stay afloat.

In the words of my wise, way beyond her years, roommate, "you don't know what you don't know, until you travel." Although she's from the West Coast, and we come from two completely different backgrounds, and live totally different lifestyles, it is crazy to think that we have so much in common. Whether you're from different coasts, or different countries, deep down, we're literally all the same. Traveling inevitably the common denominator in that it answers everyone's various questions.

"Traveling makes you realize that no matter how far away from home you are, everyone is the same. Everyone just wants to find happiness, be loved, and make their families

happy." No truer words have been said by one of my fabulous roommates. It is crazy to think that even though we are all from different countries and cities, we all have a common goal, which is happiness. Booking trips to another country at 2 am when you're delirious and tired with your roommates, are forever the trips that will reside with you.

Become a regular at an Italian cafe, where they know your order by heart. Get lost in a foreign country, with the wrong type of currency and no phone service with people you only met a few weeks ago. this can turn out to have made one of the strongest impacts on your life.

It's crazy to scroll through my Instagram and see all my friends from home, still living their everyday lives, as if nothing has changed, but really, everything has changed. As cheesy and cliche as it sounds, traveling and discovering the world is unlike anything you could ever experience from the comfort of your bubble at home.

My advice is to anyone, is to travel now. Go somewhere, anywhere, that you don't know. Eat things, and do things that you would never do or eat at home. You honestly don't know what you're missing out on until you experience something greater than yourself.

"Go travel, meet the people, eat all the food, and come back with no regrets."