Let the Adventure Begin!

Anddddd I am off! It is so crazy that the day has finally come that I am off to Australia. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in the SNC study abroad office as a little freshman, exploring my study abroad options. For those who don’t know, I was originally supposed to be traveling to Australia for study abroad my sophomore year of college. But good ole COVID-19 hit and my travel plans needed to be pushed. Throughout my sophomore and junior year of college, I had a lot of doubts about eventually being able to travel. The Australian borders weren’t opening as quickly as I was expecting and with being in lockdown, I lost a lot of motivation to travel. I lost so much motivation, that I started telling people I wasn’t going to go, and the opportunity wasn’t there anymore. But when the Australian borders opened, about a year ago, I suddenly realized that I could make this work and I was going to fulfill my dream of traveling to Australia and studying marine life. It was tough to make the decision to go the last semester of college, but this dream of mine was way more important to me than senior activities.

Although I haven’t been showing it much to my family, boyfriend, or friends much, I am nervous. However, over the past year I have taught myself to change my mindset. Yes, it is okay to have nerves, but then I think about the opportunities I am getting and will have while I am embarking on this wild journey. This is a once in a lifetime experience for me and I am actually taking it. Before last year, I was not much of a risk taker. I was a little shy and didn’t have a whole ton of confidence in myself to do big and crazy things like complete a semester across the world. But over the past year I have changed. I have had things in my life that I have had to deal with and as I have gotten older, I have learned how to deal with it through mindfulness. Being present in the moment has helped me so much. I have always stressed so much about the future, and yes I still do that, but I don’t let that stress alter my mind in the present. This adventure is going to be an experience that I will remember forever, and being in the present moment through everything is going to be so great.

I cannot wait to share all of the exciting things I encounter, experience, and learn while abroad! I would like to also post on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, but I want to be in the moment as much as possible too! Stay tuned!

Keep doing what makes YOU happy!

Jessica