It’s been a week since classes have started and as I start to settle in back in Boston, as I stroll up and down Comm Ave. I run into people I haven’t seen since May and automatically get the same question, “Oh my gosh! How was study abroad?” Depending on who’s asking, I have a few prepared statements:
1) “It was great!”
2) “It was so much fun, I’m still really tired from it!”
3) “It was good, but it’s nice to be back.”
You pretty much get the picture there. In casual conversation, I still haven’t really put into words what a great experience going abroad was, so this is pretty much what I really want to say about the experience, having been back in the states for a month:
Going abroad was one of the best experiences I’ve had throughout my academic career. The BU internship program itself allows students to have a great balance between work as well as immersing themselves into the abroad experience. Having been bit by the travel bug many years ago, my main focus while in London was seeing as many places as I could, therefore, over the course of three and a half months, I was able to visit nine different countries and gain a much better perspective.
Whether I was in London, the Netherlands, Germany, or the Czech Republic, I was always being challenged to step out of my comfort zone. From small things like learning how to cook or finding my way through the small and winding streets of Prague, I was constantly learning and in my opinion improving as a person, while doing so. However all of this is mute if I was only that way for a three and a half month period, now the challenge will be to carry on that way while I’m back in Boston, or wherever life takes me after I graduate in May.
Furthermore, as a senior in college on his way out to you, a prospective student interested in COM; make sure you do the same wherever you go. Step out of your comfort zone, learn about the things you enjoy and that make you happy because that’ll set you up for success in the future.
