Hello Pretty People,
As you all know I recently returned from studying abroad in France for 6 weeks. I have to tell you it was the best time of my life. I am not writing this to rub my experience in your face, but to encourage you to be adventurous and live your life to the fullest. If you are thinking about studying abroad or traveling abroad, I say yes. While I was abroad I experienced so many amazing things and I want to share what I learned with all of you. These are just ways, in my opinion, to get the most out of your traveling experience, whether it is study abroad or just leisurely travel.
- Say yes to adventure: Here you are on an experience of a lifetime surrounded by amazing opportunities, so make sure you say “yes” often. You will find yourself feeling very tired and sore, especially when you are traveling a lot, but do not miss a great adventure because of sleep. You can catch up on sleep when you are home, but you may not ever get this moment again. Disclaimer: Make moral decisions when saying yes, I do not mean do drugs if they are offered to you. Just do not pass up any opportunity to feel alive.
- Embrace every moment: You are going to be experiencing so much, so fast; every now and then make sure you take a moment to really embrace your surroundings. I found myself in a new place almost everyday; you are sweating from walking and tired from nonstop travel, but take a moment to really experience where you are.
- Step outside your comfort zone: This relates to the first one, but you will be presented with many new and different experiences that may be out of your typical day-to-day life. Do not be afraid to try them, life in your new country will not always be parallel to your life at home and that’s okay. Push your own limits and stretch your mind to new places.
- Make new friends: I met some of the greatest people on my trip to France, I know it was only a few weeks but I have already connected with so many of them. You also will make some of the best friendships if you are traveling in a group from your university. There were people from all over, and every night my little group would meet up with these people to go out together, it was amazing. These people you meet will have different and bright perspectives, take time to listen to their views and learn about them. Also, hanging out with these people from around the world will teach you so much, so do not be afraid to stray from your university friends to hang out with new people. You will have lots of time back home to hang out with them, so take this opportunity to learn from others.
- Be open minded: Studying abroad is amazing, but it can also be very tough. It is a mental and physical challenge, you will encounter many new and different experiences and you have to be adaptable to these changes. Being open minded to these changes will only help you in the end. On my trip I lived with a host family and this was the biggest challenge for me, I did not know much French when I arrived and I knew there would be a couple awkward moments. But, I kept an open mind and realized that I would not always know words, but in the end I learned to communicate well with my host mom and it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the experience.
Overall, any form of traveling is the greatest wealth you can gain. You gain new ideas, inspirations and perspectives from your experiences. I know that I have never felt more alive than when I did when I was in France. Everyday was a new day to experience something great, some days I could not even process how lucky and alive I was. This is another underlying lesson that will be carried over aside from the ones above, living life to the fullest. Everyone in this world exists, but not many people live. Everyday is truly a gift and people need to realize that more often, embrace the moments that matter and leave the small stuff behind. Traveling makes all the little problems in your life seem smaller.
If you have even contemplated on traveling or studying abroad, I encourage you to take the leap and step outside of your comfort zone. It is the best way to find yourself and experience amazing things. It can be a costly endeavor but it is worth every penny, I promise.
Thank you all for reading this post. If you have ever studied abroad or have your own travel lesson to share, please feel free to post it in the comments below. I’d love to hear my readers thoughts. I hope this was helpful to you, if you are considering study abroad. I know that returning from France a small piece of me is forever there. Traveling can be difficult because you will never be home again because a small part of you will always be in the places you travel. Thank you again for reading!
Happy Friday, Cuties.
xo, Lyss