End of First Semester

As winter break approaches, it seems strange for me to not be packing up and returning home with all of the friends I’ve made here. Their semesters are over, but I still have one more remaining, so we are in very different places in life. This semester has been amazing, filled with trips and sights that I never thought I would see, but it has also been sort of draining. All of us American students are on a mad rush to see as much of Europe as possible, so school gets put on the backburner at times and money is thrown around for “time of your life” trips. I don’t regret booking trips to London, Stockholm, Athens, Paris or any of the smaller trips around Ireland; I just wish the dollar was stronger so that each trip didn’t hurt the wallet so badly! Although school has been fairly easy compared to classes back home, I was a procrastinator and it was a little stressful at the end when the papers are due and the exams are pending.

I don’t know what to suggest to other students traveling abroad, except to not worry about taking out loans or borrowing money from your parents, because although it is spent very easily, it helps the semester really form to your ideal picture of what life is like in another country. Keeping my mind on the fact that I was in Ireland, I learned to not let the little stuff get to me, and I had a great semester because of my mindset. I can’t imagine how next semester will go, or for that matter, what life will be like upon my return to the states, but I do know that I’m living a very lucky life right now and I aim to see as much as possible before coming home. After one more exam, I’m off to the south of France for Christmas with a high school friend and then a bit more traveling before classes commence for second semester. It’ll be a strange way to celebrate, without my family celebrations but this entire year has been out of the ordinary so far and I’m loving it!