Studying abroad is an experience that I have always wanted to participate in, even before coming to college. My mother and my stepmother both studied abroad in college and loved their experiences. I think that studying abroad is an opportunity to be independent and experience a different life and culture, even if just for a semester. I tried to keep my expectations relatively low for this experience because it is impossible to know how the experience would go once I got to London, but anyone I have ever talked to about studying abroad that has participated in study abroad has said it is a life-changing experience. That is a hard description to live up to and I was skeptical that studying abroad would be a “life-changing experience”. London as a city is bigger than Pittsburgh and has a lot more going on all the time. There is a lot of history and things to do that it provides a completely different setting and experience for me for a semester. 

I will say that so far study abroad has been a great experience and there is a potential for it to be life-changing. I am participating in an internship and it is my first experience working in a corporate setting. So far, all of the jobs I’ve had have been through the university, fast food, or babysitting. I had high expectations for this component because there was a potential to network and get to know an industry that I might be interested in working in. The internship has been okay and I am learning how to operate in a new environment, but I do not think that it is fully living up to my expectations so I have to adjust in that aspect of this experience. Academically I also had low expectations for the academics because I did not know who would be teaching the classes and what the course content would be like. The field studies and other components besides lectures have been something different that I don’t get to experience with classes at the University of Pittsburgh. 

At this point, my expectations remain low but are constantly exceeded with my classes and the experiences I get to participate in.