It has now been nearly two weeks since I arrived at QMUL and it has been nearly five weeks since arriving in Europe. Since I was unaware of the blog requirements I failed to complete a pre-departure blog. However, this unique situation allows me to reflect on how I felt before departing in retrospect. As said earlier I arrived in Europe nearly five weeks ago, this is because a friend of mine and I took three weeks to travel around Europe before the beginning of the semester. My departure date from the US was the 28th of August.
In order to better understand my feelings before departure, some context may be needed. I began my summer by getting a job two days after the spring semester ended. Since then I worked 6 days every week until a week before my departure. As such, I had very little time to prepare for my trip and when I was suddenly confronted with my swiftly approaching departure date I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. I suddenly realized this would be the first time leaving home for longer than a month (my family lives in Winter Park, FL). Additionally, this would also be my first time leaving the US, going to Europe, and travelling without my parents: I was terrified. In my panic, I made at least five packing lists and over prepared in every other conceivable way. My anxiety almost seems comical to me now, sitting in my dorm at QMUL without having suffered any catastrophic travel mishaps.
In retrospect my anxiety seems silly and unfounded. Although many things did not go as planned on my trip, every twist and turn led to an experience I wouldn’t ever trade because every experience helped me grow as an individual. On my trip through Scotland, France, Italy, and Germany my friend and I encountered people, customs, foods, and places which we found wholly unfamiliar. It would take many pages to recount every story so I must just say that the person I was when I left home was much younger than the person writing now.