Moving away from college can sound scary, but what about traveling across the world alone? That can sound almost unimaginable to some people.
However, I am here to tell you to take the chance and go by yourself.
Last fall, I decided to go abroad to Sydney, Australia, all by myself. Nobody from The University of Tampa was going, nor was anyone I knew in general.
I was initially very nervous to set out on this adventure alone as I thought some of the people would have already known each other, but that was incorrect.
When I initially landed in Cairns, I quickly realized just how wrong I was. Even just the three other people on my flight did not know each other beforehand and two of them even went to the same school.
This honestly eased my anxiety so much. I realized that everyone was pretty much in the same boat as I was, and this truly made my experience better.
Going with about 18 other strangers was the best part, in my opinion. While it sounds scary phrased like that, it is not as bad as it seems.
When you’re around a group like that it is very easy to talk with everyone because they all have the same goal as you: to make friends.
While it is important to make these friendships, it is important to understand that you don’t have to be nor will you be best friends with everyone. That is an important lesson to learn in life.
I initially tried to be friends with everyone, as that is just how I am, but I quickly realized who I wanted to make an effort to be friends with and who I did not want to be friends with.
There are always people you will get along with better than others, and that is perfectly okay, but I truly value being kind to everyone, even in the worst cases.
Once I had been abroad for a few weeks, I found my place. I found people who valued the same things as me and had similar interests, and we quickly became friends.
This group of friends made my experience abroad what it was. While I would say go out on solo trips still, going on trips with friends allows for so many memories to be made.
We went to Melbourne and even on a road trip to Brisbane, and these were people I didn’t know existed before I saw them in Cairns.
There are also people outside your group abroad that you will meet, and they will take you under their wing. I still have friends in Australia who are either from there or somewhere else, like Singapore.
The people you meet abroad will stick with you throughout your life. You all shared such a big experience and so much time together that truly makes the friendship last.
It will be scary at first to feel like you’re all alone in a foreign country, but the people around you will soon become your friends and make the whole abroad experience even better.