Study Abroad Reflection Part 2: The “See You Later”

Currently Studying at: University of Glasgow, Scotland

Homeschool: Elon University

I firmly believe airports are a great place for reflection, especially when you’re traveling by yourself. So, as I’m sitting in Glasgow Airport for the final time, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Let me just start off by saying, the sun is shining. I’m a little disappointed that I’m not getting a proper Glasgow goodbye (rain and wind), but a nice, dry Scotland is nothing to complain about.

Anyway, back to *reflecting.* One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot is about the relationships I’ve made while on my semester abroad. I feel very lucky that I made lifelong friends from all over the world (shoutout to my flat plus Jessi), and got to leave from this very airport to explore different countries. 

I like to say that studying abroad is the best, but also the worst time of your life. You get to travel the world, meet new people, be independent, but at the same time, you are challenged to heights you’ve never faced before. With this, I’ve learned a lot about myself. Just a few things include:

1. Be ok with being on your own. I used to hate being in public places alone, but here I’ve eaten by myself, walked around to different sites in Glasgow by myself, and ultimately just learned how to be comfortable alone.
2. Everyone has the ability to “figure it out.” Whatever “it” is, that’s up to the individual, but for me the major “it” was how to make my life work away from my friends and family. Adapting to being essentially alone in a foreign country, and I know I’ve said before I struggled a lot. The struggles never stopped, but I stopped allowing myself to only feel the struggles. Does that make sense? Struggling is good, but don’t let it stop you from the little or big things (going out with new friends, traveling somewhere, etc.)
3. Scotland is incredible. No matter how many times I talked about wanting to go home, no matter how sad I felt when I first arrived, I do not regret this experience whatsoever. Scotland is such a crazy country. You can be in Glasgow’s City Centre one minute, and an hour later you’re in the mountains. The accents are so cool, and the people are the nicest I’ve ever met. Some of my best conversations occurred while talking with taxi or Uber drivers, most of whom are Glasgow born and raised. Scots LOVE THEIR COUNTRY!! And Glaswegians love Glasgow. 

As I said goodbye to my new friends, and reflected on the experiences we went through together, I am filled with gratitude.

Cheers, Glasgow. I’ll miss you. It’s not goodbye, because I’ll definitely be back. So, see you later.

Check out Part 1 of this blog post here.