My Adventure

Well everyone, my year at St. Andrews has come to an end. And what an incredible experience it was. I have been dreading posting this blog because I honestly don’t think there are enough words to sum up how great of an experience this past year has been. And then I remembered that right before I left, I was given a journal by a friend I had made at St. Andrews, who reminded me to use that journal to continue to record all of my adventures. So as I flew back home, towards my new adventure to the States, to my job as a Program Coordinator or Gateways Orientation at Holy Cross, to my senior year, and to the rest of my life, I wrote about what my year abroad had given me. This is what I wrote on the plane ride home, what I took away from my year, and what I want to record on my blog to always remember:

“I’m flying home from studying abroad for the year. I haven’t had any time to process the fact that I’ve just spent a year discovering who I am, and now I’m heading home. I was in such a different place when I started this year. Being abroad made me realize a few important and crucial lessons. First, life isn’t planned. Be spontaneous and do what feels right. Go with your heart and take the time to reflect on your emotions. In the future, there will be many moments in your life when you have no direction or no idea what is right. Make a decision; even if you aren’t 100% sure, you will realize what you really want after making a choice. Second, never hold yourself back. Go to that movie alone or go volunteer somewhere you’ve never been. Do what you know feels right and don’t stop yourself. And don’t hold anyone else back from pursuing their dreams. Finally, be willing to be vulnerable. Life is so much more rewarding when you open yourself up and take a risk you were unwilling to take. So as you embark on this new step and adventure in your life, always remember to be happy, calm, passionate, and free. Strive to be happy and to always thrive.”

That’s what my year abroad gave me. And for that, I will always be grateful.

Until next time, cheerio, St. Andrews!

Jackie xxx

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 8th, 2014 at 12:54 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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