The last ~3 months in London have been a journey. At first, it felt like time wasn’t moving. My days were going by slowly, I was homesick, and I was trying to get used to my new life abroad. After a little while, especially after the halfway mark of my semester, time wouldn’t slow down. I am at the point where there are about 3 weeks left before the program comes to a close, and I can’t help but reflect on all of the great times I’ve had and meaningful lessons I have learned.
Although this was not my first time leaving the country or living abroad, it was definitely the longest and the most impactful. At school I have had the same roommates and immediate friendgroup since freshman/sophomore year, but during my time in London I had to learn how to live with new people and start a new friendship circle again. This was interesting but honestly refreshing, exciting and fun. It was a fresh start and a clean slate for myself to meet new people and choose how I wanted to present myself.
Outside of my new social circle, I also got to grow personally and have a chance to be independent in a new environment. I have had autonomy in how to spend my time, where in London I want to explore, etc. Because of this autonomy and independence, my time management skills have improved, as well as learning how to prioritize things in my life. These are valuable things/skills to take back home with me in my everyday life, social life, academic life, and professional life.
Something I wish I knew before coming to London on this program was how not having a language barrier in London would affect my time abroad. I didn’t know that it would make my transition abroad so much easier. Part of me wishes that I chose to study somewhere where the country/city spoke a different language so that there would be more challenges to overcome as well as the opportunity to learn a different language, but the other part of me feels that not doing so gave me the chance to better and more effectively immerse myself in the culture here, closer to that of a local. There are pros and cons to everything, but I am young enough to experience more times abroad throughout the rest of my life where I am not worried so much about missing out on seeing different cultures.
What most surprised me about my global experience is the freedom and time I have. I expected to have school every single day and hours of homework and studying to do to the point where I would not have much time to embrace being abroad. However, this was not the case. CEA CAPA and Pitt did a great job in creating a practical and generous work-life balance (at least for me within the classes I am taking). I have had more than enough time to still keep my academics as my first priority, but also to explore England amongst other parts of Europe, while having a great social life as well as time for myself.