Well, this is it. My finals are done, the other exchange students are moving out, and I’m getting ready to say goodbye to Japan. Although it’s a bit sad to be leaving what I have grown to consider my second home, I’ve made so many great friends and memories so I can’t say that I have a lot of regret.
While I can’t wait to be home again, I’m also looking forward to the future because I intend to return to Japan with renewed vigor. When I first came here, I was so nervous that I could barely even prepare myself – it felt like something completely out of a dream, so it didn’t even register to me that I was actually going to another country and I was pretty surprised when I got here. However, now that I’ve lived here for four months, I’ve developed a new passion for becoming fluent in the language and returning to enjoy all the new, incredible, sometimes kind of funny things that this country has to offer.
I used to find it difficult to believe people who studied abroad and preached about how much it changes you. I thought they were just saying it to sound worldly, and I’m sure it has to sound that way to other people, too. But once you experience it yourself, you see exactly how right these people are.
Coming to Japan has given me a new sense of motivation and determination. I learned how difficult – and how rewarding – learning a language like Japanese really is. I saw, and imitated, an almost completely different way of life, and I was able to put it into perspective to analyze exactly how I live my own life, too. I developed more empathy and understanding towards those who lead different lives from what I’m used to in my own culture, and I have gained brand new interest in exploring even more cultures and languages outside of Japanese. I gained new purpose.
I want to cherish my time. Back at home, I rarely explored because I thought that I’d seen it all, and I was content living the same life each and every day. But every day in Japan, I was visiting new places and talking to people and learning, and I felt invigorated. I want to share this passion and knowledge with people back home, and I don’t want to sit stagnant – I want to keep learning and growing.
Coming to Japan has been one of the best, most eye-opening experiences of my life. I’m so grateful that I was able to come here and learn everything that I did, and I know that this is going to play a part in the person that I’m striving to become.
Until I get home, I’m going to make the most of my time during the remaining week that I have here, and then I’m going to start planning my next visits. Thank you very much for this opportunity, and I look forward to returning to the Rollins campus and hopefully encouraging more people to take a chance and study abroad like I did.