It has been a year since I came back from Singapore but it feels like it was just yesterday that I arrived in Singapore, clueless, scared but ready to explore. I had no idea what to expect of the place, I just got on a plane excited to try something different. To think back to the semester before I left, I was initially indecisive about studying abroad. I would think about how it would affect my path in school, whether or not I can graduate on time or even family, but I can say that deciding to go was one of the best decisions I have made in life. Everyone asks me what are the highlights of your time abroad, what’s the most memorable or even describe it in a few words, but there really are no words to describe and neither is being able to choose highlights from a span of five months. Till this day I still have a hard time choosing the highlights or what was the most fascinating in Singapore. Studying abroad as a whole is the full experience, it is the highlight and it has affected me in ways that I never thought it would, whether it be small or big. While studying there, I had the chance to interact with individuals of many different nationalities and cultures. Not one individual was similar to another, even though they are from the same area making it much harder to understand each other. Although, it was the differences that made it fun to get to know each other from different backgrounds. It allowed for friendships to be made easier because everyone came in with an open-mind to accept each other and to me that was the most important thing. I always thought of myself as an open-minded individual, yet being in Singapore I learned that it was not enough when you encounter a diverse community. From this experience, I knew that I needed to take that extra step to learn regardless of anything.
If anyone were to know of me at school, I was the shy girl that would avoid conversations but being abroad forced me out of my comfort zone. I forced myself to meet new people wherever I went because that was the only way I would be able to get the full experience. I started off afraid to talk, being a foreigner with an “accent” in their country I had no idea what to do or say. Overtime, I became more confident and willing to try new things, taking risks that I never thought I would to immerse in this new culture. Studying abroad opened me to new possibilities and changed me indefinitely to be more open and do something different. The only thing I regret is not trying everything that was offered to me, while I was abroad. The greatest advice one can give to someone studying abroad is to never turn down opportunities and be open to trying.
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