Dear pre-departure Lindsay, 

It seems like just yesterday you were sitting on your bed in your South Oakland apartment, boxes packed up, and anxiously worrying about leaving behind everything you’d ever known. The thought of going to a new city, a new country, thousands of miles from home and family terrified you. Now, you only have two and a half weeks left in London and you survived. But you did not only survive, you thrived.

Over the last three months, you have grown more independent, more confident, more excited by all the world has to offer around you. You wake up early now. You made your dreams of traveling the world come true. You have learned to love the unknown, the uncomfortable, the unexplored. You embrace the challenge and the adventure. You traveled to seven new countries and are about to add three more and a new continent before returning to the United States. Not only did you just see a lot of the world, you started to understand it on a deeper level by learning about its history, people, and customs firsthand. 

You traveled with friends you already knew. You traveled with wonderful new friends from other schools you met here. You traveled solo. You had many successes, but there are still a few things I wish you would have known before coming. 

Number one. Avoid London Stansted Airport at all costs. I am somewhat joking, but that £30 flight at six A.M will seem so irresistible. But trust me, your physical well-being will end up paying more with that two hour (and £50) train to get there. 

Though, that leads me to my second piece of advice. Travel hangovers are real and you will burn out if you don’t remember to take care of yourself and rest when you need it. As much as you will love the go, go go, and seeing as many attractions and cities on your bucket list in a short amount of time, you will thank me later for learning the importance of eating right and getting a good night’s sleep to have energy to take on thirty thousand steps per day. 

What will surprise you the most about your global experience is that you will come back with the feeling that the world is just as small as it is vast.  You will meet so many people on this program from Pitt that you have never met before, but will certainly bring their friendship back to campus. You will cross paths with tons of other people in the most random ways (e.g., hostels, airports, trains) that somehow know people you know. Some of these people will become some of your best friends. Some you may never see again. It will be very scary and cool at the same time. 

Lindsay, make sure to enjoy every second. Especially in London itself. After traveling across Europe, you will come to appreciate London as one of the best, most exciting cities a young person can be. Embrace all the highs and take the lows in stride. Time flies when you’re having fun, but time soars when you’re having the time of your life. 

Sincerely, 

Your In-Denial-That-Abroad-Is-Almost-Over Future Self