I cannot believe that my trip is less that 24 hours away. I have been looking forward to this experience for over 6 months now and at times it seemed that this day would never come! Being a senior heading into my last semester of college and also studying abroad is honestly a strange combination. The next time I go to College Station will be to graduate. I have felt so many different emotions preparing for this trip mostly because it is not easy to leave my community of friends back home. I feel like I will be "starting over" in a way. I will miss laughing with them, crying with them, random dance parties, and being spontaneous at random hours of the night. In spite of all of those great things, what I am most grateful and what I will miss the most is the freedom I have to be myself around my friends that can sometimes be difficult for me to find in other situations. Even though it is difficult to leave, I knew ahead of time so I was able to soak up all of the amazing experiences during the fall semester even more. I titled this post "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" for two reasons. First, it is the title of a book by one of my favorite saints: Pope John Paul II. And second, I chose it because in this season of life that I am in, and in getting ready to experience so many changes, the only thing I have to hold on to is hope. Right now I have no assurance that this study abroad experience will be amazing, but what I do have is a lot of hope that it will be! I am hopeful that this trip will change me for the better, and I am also hopeful that I will come to find a new community of friends in this group of Aggies!
What I am looking to gain from this study abroad trip is first of all a new learning experience. I am very excited about the classes I am taking because they are extremely applicable to my future career. I also want to gain an increased sense of independence. I would consider myself a fairly independent person already, however when traveling and learning in a new country for an extended period of time it seems almost inevitable that someone would become more independent. I want to feel more confident and comfortable in my own skin. Another thing I want to gain that goes along with that is to become less driven by fear. Obviously when it comes to personal safety this attribute is important. What I mean by this is that I hope to become less afraid when it comes to new experiences, friendships, or endeavors. I want to say "yes" to as much as possible (within reason of course!).
I am excited about everything this trip has to offer and I look forward to coming back to this post at the end of my experience to see how I have grown in the three aspects I pointed out.
Sincerely,
Ana Hurtado
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