Coming from a generation where my peers and I are regularly engaged in social media —and the continuation of a “romanticizing your life” movement—it’s easy to get swept away by false perceptions and unrealistic expectations. While there is undoubtedly beauty to be found while studying abroad, there are also plenty of necessary mundanities and hiccups that aren’t as romantic as they might seem.
This past weekend, I took a trip to London and the Lake District in Northern England. Entranced by Google image searches and Taylor Swift’s Folklore references, my excitement was fueled by visions of a perfect, dreamy retreat. In reality, while the trip was magical and charming, travel is exhausting, and things rarely go seem to go perfectly. From delayed flights to a shredded credit card (beware of ATM timers when getting cash…), the magic was balanced by challenges that don’t always make it to Instagram. It’s been essential for me to distinguish between the picture-perfect moments we find online and what I genuinely want to do—and finding that balance is what makes studying abroad fulfilling rather than draining.
In the past few weeks, I’ve also been sick, battling bouts of insomnia, and struggling to juggle schoolwork, mental health, and social events. There’s grocery shopping, budgeting, errands, studying, and taking care of myself- all the parts of life that don’t stop just because I’m abroad. Finding joy and peace in these daily tasks is so important. Letting go of unrealistic expectations and romanticized ideas of what my experience “should” look like has been a challenge, but it’s also been a significant area of growth for me this month.
I am incredibly grateful and excited to continue exploring, but there is just as much joy in embracing the simplicity of everyday life as there is in the picture-esque moments.
DU Abroad 