Today marks three weeks until I leave for Spain! I am finally home from school and finished with finals. #blessed I did great in my classes, especially my Spanish courses, and I cannot wait to get to Spain and use the skills I have gained this semester. I will be spending my final days home working, spending time with family and friends, and preparing myself to leave. I am also doing an online global scholar certificate which will count for three credit hours if approved by a board, so I have been doing that homework as well. The next blog post I do will be from Madrid, Spain!!!! (how exciting)
Something my online course wants me to consider before I go abroad is what I want to accomplish while I am there. What IS my true goal? My usual answer is learning to adapt in uncomfortable situations in order to better myself and grow as a person. I think it's important to push your limits and be uncomfortable (whatever that means to you, it's different for different people) because that's when real change happens in your life. Without that, you stay stagnant and unmoving which is more than okay, but there isn't a lot of progress. Studying abroad is a great way to test and force yourself to get out there, and that's why I wanted to do it so bad in the first place.
On twitter the other day, I came across a quote that I also felt enveloped my thoughts about studying abroad. The quote is from the book Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, and he wrote, "Travel far enough, you meet yourself." This resonated with me because I do believe that I will learn a lot about myself and what I really want as a person once I am away from my home and where I am most comfortable. I will have roughly four and a half months to reflect on who I am/what I want from life all by myself away from other's influences. I hope this time is truly eye opening, and I look forward to this aspect of going away.
The closer to leaving I get, the more at ease I feel. It's not intimidating anymore. A few weeks ago, one of my friends at Tech told me, "It's okay for you to go away. I know that you can't be here and be in Spain at the same time." That was something I really needed to hear as obvious as it sounds. I have already promised multiple people that I would talk to them every day, but the time change and being on wifi are going to play a huge part in my ability to communicate with home. Although I will miss everyone from Texas, one of the things I am most excited about in going abroad is not being attached to my phone all the time. The fact that not being on your phone is a part of life there seems fascinating to me, and I am interested to see what it will be like and how it will affect how much I'm on my phone when I get back. I am very excited to be able to soak up the culture first-hand and through my Canon camera. (I'll be posting photos to my Instagram and Twitter - @cgressett25)
I think that's all folks. Until January 10th. (:
xoxo,
Caroline
P.S. - I feel that I need to clarify that "Mi Viaje" can mean a lot of things, and the interpretation I am choosing is "My Journey."
Monday, December 19, 2016
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
How do I pack my life into a suitcase, a carry on, and a backpack?
Hello world. My name is Caroline Gressett, and in a little less than seven short weeks, I will be on a plane traveling to Spain to study abroad! For the Texas Tech Honors College, I have to write a blog which is fine by me considering I wanted to keep a blog anyway. I will be studying Spanish (duh but you would be surprised by how many people ask me what I'm studying), and although that is my major, I am keeping my blog English because the majority of people reading this will only know English.
I don't have to start my entries until I get there, but I am doing it early because a lot of study abroad is preparation.
Not only do I have to conjure up some money and buy a plane ticket but also get my life together which is intimating as a 20 year old. The longest I have ever been away from home is *maybe* five consecutive weeks, but I think it is really four in all honesty. A lot of my prep is stuff I have to do alone. I had to fill out the application and scholarships. I had to apply for a Spanish visa to study and live there. I had to attend multiple meetings where they force fed us so much information that I cannot even tell you the half of it off the top of my head (thank God for notebooks). I had to receive physical and mental clearance to deem myself able to study abroad.
I also have to buy this card for two extremely morbid reasons:
1) To have my body medically evacuated in the case that I am severely injured
2) To have my body shipped back to the states in the case that I die while abroad
Isn't that really creepy? No one my age wants to think about either of those possibilities, but here I am worrying about that and how I will pack my life in a suitcase, a carry on, and a backpack. It is sobering to have to promise your mother and brother that you will not travel in France for more than a day because of possible terrorist attacks. Also, I am getting emails for the Spanish embassy warning me that it may not be safe to travel to Europe until February 20th.
Nevertheless, I am extremely excited to go abroad. It really is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am very thankful to have so many supportive people in my life. It is also humbling because I am paying for it myself, so the whole experience is even more special because I know that my hard work and stress that got me to the position I am in. I am here for a reason, and I will be there for a reason too. I hope this blog will teach me what that reason is and give me something to look back on one day.
xoxo,
Caroline
P.S. - Reading this back, I feel the need to give a shout out to my parents. They do help me out a lot in every way they can. Without their never-ending love for me, none of this would be possible at all.
I don't have to start my entries until I get there, but I am doing it early because a lot of study abroad is preparation.
Not only do I have to conjure up some money and buy a plane ticket but also get my life together which is intimating as a 20 year old. The longest I have ever been away from home is *maybe* five consecutive weeks, but I think it is really four in all honesty. A lot of my prep is stuff I have to do alone. I had to fill out the application and scholarships. I had to apply for a Spanish visa to study and live there. I had to attend multiple meetings where they force fed us so much information that I cannot even tell you the half of it off the top of my head (thank God for notebooks). I had to receive physical and mental clearance to deem myself able to study abroad.
I also have to buy this card for two extremely morbid reasons:
1) To have my body medically evacuated in the case that I am severely injured
2) To have my body shipped back to the states in the case that I die while abroad
Isn't that really creepy? No one my age wants to think about either of those possibilities, but here I am worrying about that and how I will pack my life in a suitcase, a carry on, and a backpack. It is sobering to have to promise your mother and brother that you will not travel in France for more than a day because of possible terrorist attacks. Also, I am getting emails for the Spanish embassy warning me that it may not be safe to travel to Europe until February 20th.
Nevertheless, I am extremely excited to go abroad. It really is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am very thankful to have so many supportive people in my life. It is also humbling because I am paying for it myself, so the whole experience is even more special because I know that my hard work and stress that got me to the position I am in. I am here for a reason, and I will be there for a reason too. I hope this blog will teach me what that reason is and give me something to look back on one day.
xoxo,
Caroline
P.S. - Reading this back, I feel the need to give a shout out to my parents. They do help me out a lot in every way they can. Without their never-ending love for me, none of this would be possible at all.
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