As I read back at my first post, you can feel the anxiety, worrying and nervousness by the way my tone is. You can tell that study abroad though I was doing it, it wasn’t something that I was so sure of. Now that I have actually done the semester abroad, my mindset has totally changed. At first, I wasn’t so sure that I would enjoy being in Australia, but after being there I had the time of my life. Australia was so life-changing and if I were to go abroad again, I would be going in with a totally different mindset than I had in July of 2019.
I think at times my identity does impact my worldview. Being raised in a strict household, it’s easy to become very closed minded or even fearful of going outside of your comfort zone. Going to a new country that I had never been to without my usual family and friends really made it hard for me to see the good In study abroad. After being abroad though, I have returned with a very open mind and with new friends and family who will forever be in my heart. Going abroad really does change your worldview. You realize that the world really doesn’t revolve around America and us americans. You are able to take problems going on at home and realize that you are not the only one who deals with problems. You learn that though your country is great, it isn’t the only one. Australia is such an amazing country and I’m so glad I chose it as my first study abroad experience. Everyone I met was always so friendly and so open to talk with you. My identity before study abroad really did give me a disadvantage at first. When first coming to Australia, It was hard to want to explore and actually enjoy your time there when all you’re thinking about is coming home. But once I let go of that identity and created a new one for myself, the only place to go from here was up. This new identity advantaged me with opening up to new places, foods, people. Doing things that I never would have thought that I had been doing.
In Australia I was able to encounter a multitude of different identities. The good thing about this is that it really allowed me to learn new things. Often times as an american we can think that we know it all, but it was nice to stop talking for once and to just stop and listen. The people I met while I was in Australia view the world differently from us literally and figuratively. It was very interesting to learn what people’s view about America are when they are from the outside. It really gives you a different perspective and allows you to learn things about your home country that you didn’t even know yourself.
In conclusion, Australia was a very life changing. It was an amazing life-changing experience and one that I am forever grateful for. It’s crazy to think how much I was regretting leaving America but now I feel the same as leaving Australia. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster when I first got there. I spent the first month Really just wanting to go home and I felt like that was definitely time that I may have wasted a little in Australia because I could’ve been doing so much more.It’s true when they say you really have to visit somewhere twice to truly experience it. I definitely need to go back so I can fully live my Australian experience because I was just getting started after five months. Although I miss Australia, and I’m going to miss the friends I made there and all of my wonderful roommates I am excited to be back home with my family who I have really missed. I think I’m going back to Rollins after experiencing NewCastle is going to be an adjustment. It’s going to be hard to go from having three assignments in one semester back to assignment every day. It’s going to be a new adjustment being back at a new school even though this was my original school. Australia has changed my life but I am excited for the memories that will be created next semester at Rollins. I hope to bring my friends and family to Australia and show them the amazing experience that I had myself. I recommend studying abroad to anyone and everyone who is thinking about going because although it may seem scary it really is life-changing and will change you for the better. Australia has truly changed my life and made me a new person I have learned so much and have also been Able to teach others new things. I have grown so much as an individual becoming more independent and being able to figure out who I am as an individual. I thank Australia for all it has done for me and I am forever grateful for this amazing trip.