As my summer study abroad program unfortunately comes to its final weeks, I am faced to deal with the emotions that naturally arise when you have to leave a place that you love. I feel overwhelmed not by sadness, but by an almost helpless type of emotion, similar to the feelings I had when leaving for college 11 hours from my home for the first time. I feel like I am being ripped away from something that means so much to me, with no idea whether I’ll ever experience anything similar, at least in the near future. However, I have come to recognize this emotion as something I am grateful for rather than something I fear because it means that I was lucky enough to love something effortlessly and fully.

I never expected to feel so connected to the place I was randomly assigned to live. No matter what amazing country I visited for the weekend, Copenhagen quickly became my home base and nowhere else could compare. The people I met were some of the most incredible people I will ever have the opportunity to know, and it will be absolutely gut-wrenching to have to say goodbye potentially forever. It is such a bittersweet feeling to already miss people who are still sitting right in front of you. It has been such a wonderful opportunity to get to live closely with initial strangers and get to know them in an entirely separate context from the rest of our home lives. If not for the other amazing benefits of studying abroad, I would recommend it for this uniquely inspiring experience.

I came into this experience hoping to leave absolutely exhausted (which I certainly feel I have accomplished), traveling every weekend and taking every opportunity I had to see the world. While I still think studying abroad is an incredible chance to do just that, I have a newfound appreciation for living where my feet are. So, my advice to anyone studying abroad is to actually BE where you are. You don’t have to visit an impressive 20 countries in your time abroad in order to feel like it was a worthwhile experience, I can promise you that. In fact, most of my personal growth and fondest memories took place on the living room sofa of my Copenhagen apartment with my roommates. The society and environment around you will greatly nurture your growth while abroad, so BE there for it. Not just physically, but actually! Engage in the unique world around you. Talk to strangers. Don’t follow the crowd or stick with one group of people. Try new things. Do things by yourself. Be a completely different version of yourself if you want to. Don’t get stuck trying to keep up with what’s going on at home. Turn off your phone sometimes! Get outside of your comfort zone!! Please do not just passively get through your study abroad experience, but craft it yourself and tailor it towards what will be most beneficial for you specifically.

I will continue to live where my feet are even after my study abroad experience. I have learned not to over-stress about matters that are completely out of my control because it only takes away from the other joyous parts of each day. I have learned to love spending time with myself and that a day does not have to be jam-packed to feel successful or enjoyable. Most importantly, I have learned to pursue the things that I genuinely love and am passionate about. I found myself signing up for abroad courses that were not strongly related to my pre-PA career route, which made me question my true interests regarding what I want to do for the rest of my life. With one semester left of undergrad, I have decided to look into taking a pre-OT route instead, because it greatly aligns with my interest in pediatric disability and making life more meaningful for disabled children. Through the discomfort of not completely knowing what I want to do, I am enjoying being completely present and open to all of the opportunities around me. If being stranded in multiple countries this summer has taught me anything, it’s that you will always end up where you are meant to be!

Thank you for following along on my journey, and I hope my experiences help at least one person in their own abroad journey! I can’t help but think this will not be the end of my experiences abroad. And Copenhagen, there is no way this is goodbye.