I am writing this blog post in late October, with only weeks to go until I fly back to Florida. As my departure date steadily approaches, I constantly feel a mixture of anxiety and excitement. I am excited to finally see my friends and family after five long months, what feels like an eternity compared to the three-month duration of Rollins’ other study abroad programs. Yet, I am anxious to reap all that Sydney has to offer before I depart from the city that I have learned to call my second home.
I never thought that I would reach this point, especially during my first couple months here. While I definitely thought that Orlando paled in comparison to Sydney, I spent most of my days and nights wishing that I could experience the city with my loved ones. I felt as if I was navigating Sydney with a constant cloud over my head, unable to fully appreciate the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being immersed in Australian culture for nearly half a year.
Yet, after having befriended a squad of ambitious, outgoing, and loyal exchange students from the Northeast, I began to forge my own family here. We did everything together, from traveling along Australia’s Gold Coast for our mid-semester break to simply hosting dinner parties. This past weekend, we took a ferry from Circular Quay (where the Sydney Opera House is located) to Manly Beach, with most of us visiting this tourist hotspot for the first time.
I took endless pictures of my friends standing alongside the shore and on top of the coast’s gigantic boulders, capturing their unique personalities by encouraging them to pose in whichever way they wanted. At this time, it soaked in that I may never see these people again or witness the same glistening day at Manly for years to come.
With about four more weeks left in my semester abroad, I am ready to seize the day, every day. I am so proud of myself for completely escaping my comfort zone in traveling to a foreign country alone and meeting so many people outside of my TEAN cohort. I feel as if I have aged ten years over the course of five months, having cooked meals for myself, effectively managed my finances, mastered Sydney’s public transportation system, made decent grades, addressed my Rollins responsibilities, and maintained my relationships back home—all the while having fun in the process.
I cannot wait to return to Florida as the me that I am now. The me shaped by Sydney.
