by Klaire Kercheval | Summer 2023 |
One thing studying abroad taught me was to embrace the uncomfortable! A little fun fact about me is that I hate the rain! I’m not sure why; I just never enjoyed it! On our very first night in Oxford, we got caught in a rainstorm at a play, and we just had to sit there and get soaked! I had been told how much it rained in Oxford, but I didn’t expect to have to confront it so soon! Right then, I made the choice to accept that this was part of my life now- and it was! It rained several times each week, and slowly, it stopped bothering me.
When we visited Blenheim Palace at the end of our time in Oxford, it rained the whole time. I loved it! Being able to embrace what made me uncomfortable led to a richer experience in the most stunning place and gave me lots of memories I wouldn’t have had without getting comfortable in the uncomfortable! Even something as small and silly as getting rained on can make a moment you will remember from your time abroad.
While we spent most of our time in Oxford, we did have some free travel weekends. My friends and I chose to visit Ireland and Venice. In Ireland, my favorite part was the Cliffs of Moher. I’ve never seen so much ocean! The water was so blue, and the grass was so green- absolutely unreal! It was such a cool moment where I realized just how big God’s creation is and how small I am, and yet He still cares more for me than the wonders he made. On the second travel weekend, I went to Venice! My favorite part there was getting to take a ride in a gondola, which was on my bucket list, and I was so excited to have the chance to experience that! It was amazing to get to see a city that is so different from anything I’ve ever seen.
The most important thing I learned is that you can’t study abroad alone. While it is important to be able to do things by yourself, such as spending an afternoon alone in the city center (which I highly recommend doing), your experience will be so much better if you share memories and moments with others. I was lucky enough to go on this trip with several of my best friends, and I am so incredibly thankful for that! It is so important to have people to lean on when things get hard or share little joys with. Don’t limit yourself to people you know beforehand! Through this trip, I made so many new friends, and I am so thankful to have met each and every person who was in Oxford with me. Oxford itself is wonderful and so much fun, but the experience is best when you share it with others. I loved my time in Oxford, and I am so thankful to the Honors College for being a part of making it happen!
The most important thing I learned is that you can’t study abroad alone. While it is important to be able to do things by yourself, such as spending an afternoon alone in the city center, your experience will be so much better if you share memories and moments with others. I was lucky enough to go on this trip with several of my best friends, and I am so incredibly thankful for that! It is so important to have people to lean on when things get hard or share little joys with. This translates very well to a student’s transition from high school to college. When they move into their dorm, they are faced with the scary ordeal of freedom. Some isolate themselves, while some refuse to be alone. It is important to learn how to balance these two ways of living in order to maximize your experiences. While self-sufficiency and confidence are important, you can not go through college alone. If you are unwilling to connect with others and try to go through your time at school alone, life will be much harder and less rewarding. This reminds me of Ecclesiastes 4:10-12, where the Scripture talks about how two are better than one and how “if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.” This is such an important way to go through life. Being able to rely on and share experiences, both positive and negative, in America or abroad shows a person the true beauty of life.
