My semester abroad has officially come to an end and I am back at Mason to finish up my time in college. I have to say that I am so relieved to be back home with some familiar faces. Being abroad for an entire semester confirmed that I will probably never be able to live far away from my family or the area I grew up in. To say that I am a “homebody” is an understatement; I grew up with such a big family around me, and until I left for Spain I knew nothing about living alone or being without them. I never left home to attend college and I had never left my family for more than a few weeks at a time. I decided to go abroad to give myself the experience of finally living on my own and being independent.
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Being in Spain was a challenge, but my experience was certainly one that I will never forget. I was able to learn new things not only about myself, but about all the different cultures shared throughout the world. I was even able to take advantage of my free weekends to see family members abroad that I hadn’t seen in years. I have family all over the world that I don’t get to see as often since I live in the US, so a major perk during my semester was being able to travel and visit them for so cheap!
Although I was missing my friends and family back in the States, studying abroad was an amazing experience. For those of you thinking about taking a semester abroad, I highly recommend it. No matter where you go or for how long, it’s all about what you make of the experience. You are in control of your own happiness and adventure, and that’s probably the biggest lesson I learned while I was away.
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Looking back on my experience, I can’t believe I lived in a foreign different country completely on my own for six months. I can, however, say that I did it! All the fear of being alone and away from family slowly subsided as the semester progressed. I definitely became more comfortable once I adjusted to being immersed in Spanish language and culture. I can also say that I learned some valuable lessons and experienced some pretty amazing things while away, which I am proud of. At the end of the day, I am so happy to be back with my family and friends in the area that I know best-home.