Written by Anastasia Leindecker As a senior graduating this semester, I can confidently say that studying abroad was the highlight of my collegiate experience. I made lifelong friends both in Hawaii and across the globe, found out more about myself as an individual, stepped out of my comfort zone and achieved a life long goal, and gained new perspectives and experiences that I would have never had otherwise. I studied abroad in Fall of 2015 to London, England, which was the first semester of my sophomore year. It was a little bit scary to be studying abroad as a sophomore, but luckily I had two friends from UH that accompanied me. Throughout our time abroad, our bonds were solidified and I know that I can count on those two for anything. Additionally, I made friends in London that I still keep in touch with, and plan to visit in the near future. I highly recommend that every college student take the opportunity to study abroad, despite the misconceptions that it will be too expensive or push their graduation date back. Depending on where one goes, it can be even cheaper than UH and I had no problem graduating on time, and studying abroad was the most worthwhile things I did while at UH. Another important recommendation I have for students who do choose to study abroad is to travel! Travel everywhere and anywhere, make sure not to stay in one place and step out of your comfort zone! I was able to travel to Scotland, Wales, Amsterdam, and Paris while abroad, and definitely wish I could have or would have travelled further. You don’t necessarily have to even leave the place you are studying in to travel to new places. In fact, one of the most memorable experiences I have from studying abroad was when my friend and I rented bikes in London and just rode around, finding new places and going wherever the wind took us. We saw so much more of the city that way, and felt more like locals than tourists. To piggy back off of that recommendation, I highly recommend to walk everywhere you can when travelling. It is very tempting to take the amazing public transportation many cities have to offer, but through a mistake I found out that you get so much more out of walking to your destination. When in Paris, I accidently lost all of my Metro tickets, and instead of buying more my friends and I just decided to walk to the different sights on our list. What we found out was that the walks to and from the tourist locations were more entertaining and impactful than the destination. Walk around to experience the true city, the people around it, and be open to getting a little lost every so often, so long as you are safe! After learning these lessons abroad, I have grown as a person as well and recognized that I was letting my life pass me by at hyper speed. I was embarrassed to come back to Hawaii and my home in Colorado and realize that I knew more of the cities in Europe than my two homes, because I never stopped to get the chance to know them. Studying abroad helped me find that fault in myself, and be able to slow down and experience the world around me with a new perspective.
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