Get Out of Your Comfort Zone – Leipzig Fall 21

In the fall of 2021, I embarked on the experience of a lifetime. My high school self would never imagine that I would turn twenty, get on a plane with fourteen other students, and spend an entire semester five thousand miles away from home. Yet here I am, in the end, reminiscing on all the incredible opportunities I never would have encountered had I told myself that Germany was just a little too far.

Over the course of the semester, I have learned about and welcomed into my life a different culture, pace of living, and even a new language. I have learned to embrace the unexpected and prepared my mind to simply enjoy the adventures that come my way. Studying abroad encourages a tremendous amount of personal growth and reflection. I look back at who I was at the beginning of the semester and think about how wonderfully different I am now. Thinking back, I would not have chosen to walk in the cold weather because being outside is so refreshing. I would have bundled up and found the quickest way to the next warm place. I would not have thought I could easily navigate my day in a country that, while speaking some English, usually requires knowing a thing or two about German. However, now I happily walk up to a counter, order my coffee and croissant, understand how much it costs, and say thank you as I walk out the door to class.

I have learned how much growth comes through challenges. Adapting to a new language is difficult but it sharpens your mind to intently listen so that you can understand what is being spoken. I feel accomplished knowing I can tell someone about my family, say where I am from, and order most things on a menu. This sense of accomplishment and growth comes from other unique opportunities to study abroad as well. There is a significant amount of pressure, planning, and meticulous detail that goes into personal travel. However, at the end of the day, it is all worth it when you are standing at the top of a mountain, looking in one direction at the alps and in the other at a beautiful Austrian town nestled in a glacier-created valley. I experienced the most beautiful sights this semester. I saw an island full of flora, views that made me feel like I was on top of the world, and for the first time in my life the change of seasons and all the vibrant fall foliage in the heart of Saxon Switzerland National Park. I traveled to numerous cities, from Hamburg to Dublin to Rome, but the one I hold closest to my heart will always be Leipzig. It is the city that became my home away from home. I know its streets, its parks, its restaurants, and its people. Most importantly, I know the community it created for me with the fourteen other students and faculty members, making it the start and end place of my experience of a lifetime.

Hiking to Howth’s Point in Dublin Ireland