Last October, one of the first friends I made at college in a required freshman class told me about her plans for the upcoming summer. She and her roommate were going to study abroad in Oxford, England, and she encouraged me to go as well. We weren’t very close, but little did I know that she and her roommate would eventually become my best friends.
Fast forward a few months, and we’re approaching deadlines for those attending the Oxford program. At this time, I still hadn’t decided if I could really bring myself to live thousands of miles away for six weeks. I kept asking all my friends and family, “Should I do it?” None of them truly believed I had it in me. I’ve never been away from my loved ones for longer than a week; I live 20 minutes away from campus and spend time with my family every day. I kept asking myself, “When am I going to get another opportunity like this?” I eventually made the decision that I was going to do it.
The night before I left, I said my goodbyes. I cried in my high school best friend’s arms, telling her I regretted signing up for this and that I was so scared to take such a huge step. I felt like I rushed myself into doing this, but there was no turning back now.
I finally arrived at the gates of Trinity College. The campus was even more beautiful than I imagined; it was straight out of a movie. I went to my dorm room, and out of pure luck, my friends had gotten the rooms next to mine.
We went to dinner that night at what soon turned into our go-to pizza place, The White Rabbit. We walked around the city, looking for places we could take pictures, buy groceries, and even get our nails done. I went to bed that night feeling so much better about my decision.
As the days started to fly by, we began planning day trips and our four-day weekend away. Our first trip was the Seven Sisters hike that had the most breathtaking view. The next weekend was to the city of Oxford’s rival school, Cambridge. We had multiple trips to London, a weekend in Ireland, and our 4-day weekend going from France to Belgium to the Netherlands. Although all the traveling had me exhausted, I would do it all over again.
Our professor ended our Oxford journey with a heartwarming speech bringing tears to our eyes, telling us to “remember.” I never thought that I would be able to say I got the opportunity to travel the world with my best friends. Back when I attended one of the interest meetings, the same professor told us that on this trip, we would meet our future bridesmaids, and I truly did.