Hi everyone! I’ve been itching to start sharing my study-abroad experiences here but that would have been hard to do seeing as I just left for my program this morning! Since I can’t yet share stories of ancient sites or amazing food, I thought I’d ruminate on some goodbyes I’ve had to do recently. My nine-hour layover in Montreal today has given me ample time to sit with all the complex emotions of leaving home for such a big adventure and I hope you find some shared sentiments here, whether you’ve strayed far from home before or stayed close.
I’m no stranger to being away from home. I spent 12th grade living in the dorms of my high school (where I previously had been a commuter student) to prepare for college life. This ended up being the training wheels I needed because I decided to come to the University of Denver which is roughly 2,000 miles away from my hometown in Pennsylvania. I, like so many other students, knew that I wanted to go away for school, but unlike others, I always knew it was going to be an emotionally difficult transition. Noah Kahan’s “You’re Gonna Go Far” has pretty much been on repeat in my head for the last four years.
I’m an only child of a single father with whom I’m extremely close and who has been my best friend + biggest supporter my whole life. I’ve also been blessed with friends who support me wholeheartedly no matter what. Coming to Denver is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, but the goodbyes every winter and summer break don’t get easier, I just get more used to them. Walking through security at the airport this morning felt like that but a million times bigger.
I’ve never left home for four months before. I certainly haven’t spent months in another country aided only by two comically large suitcases an ocean away. A seven-hour time difference, a totally new culture, and signage in an ancient language I will attempt to learn two days a week at 8:00am is a complete 180° from what my life normally looks like. Change is good and constant, but it is scary, too.
As trepidatious as I may sound, though, I am excited. Maybe even more than excited. As I take a break from pacing the International Departures Terminal at YUL to kill time, I look at all the departures happening around me, hear destinations I’ve never been to, and realize how little of the world I’ve seen (and I’ve been blessed to see more than many others.) Even though the last two weeks have been full of teary goodbyes, they have reminded me of all the “hello’s”, familiar and not, that I am going to experience in the upcoming months. It has been, and will always be, a privilege to have things in my life that make saying goodbye so hard.
Next stop: Athens!
DU Abroad 