Well, my break is finally over—in just two days, I'll be heading off to Buenos Aires! I'm not convinced I have the attention span for the 11-hour flight, so hopefully I'll be able to sleep most of the way! This week, I've spent most of my time packing, sorting out final details, and getting excited for my upcoming semester. In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm in the same boat as you prospective and incoming students: I'm super excited for what lies ahead, yet still don't really have a concrete idea of what that will be! I don't know anyone at all on my 120-person program (though I've been told there are six of us from UR going!), I know very little about my living situation other than a street address and the names of my host family and roommate, and I'm not sure which classes I'll be taking or what I'll do in my free time. It's a little intimidating, isn't it?
Luckily, I'm way less nervous than I was as a freshman or new transfer student, because now I can look back and remind myself that I've done this before, and that everything worked out amazingly. And you guys can do it, too! I remember my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, when I was waiting to hear about transfer acceptances, were some of the biggest emotional roller coasters I've been on. You're sad about impending goodbyes, you're elated when you get accepted to your top-choice school, you're nervous about making new friends, you get more excited with each correspondence with your new school, you want time to move slower, you want time to move faster—it's crazy! But also totally normal; talk to any current college student and they'll tell you they've been there, but also that it all worked out for them. The advice I'd give you guys (that I'm also going to try to keep in mind for myself while abroad!) is to accept that crazy changes are coming and just go with it. Admit that things are new and scary, but also make a habit of pushing the limits of your comfort zone and trying everything there is to offer. There's a lot! This is exciting! We can do this! 🙂