My time in Copenhagen has changed my perspectives on many things, with the primary one being how much study abroad has encouraged personal growth. I had never traveled out of the country alone before this experience, and I was incredibly concerned about the cultural differences, like the language barrier, public transportation, and generally being far away from anything familiar. I was so grateful and surprised to learn that these fears did not impact my study abroad negatively, but enhanced it. Through learning how to navigate the language barriers and learning how to effectively utilize public transportation with others who were also confused, I was able to have a bonding opportunity with others from all over the United States and the world, which was the start of friendships I know will last for a lifetime. Furthermore, I was able to learn about vastly different cultures on a much more personal level, constantly adding different locations to my personal travel bucket list. For example, I was able to foster friendships with people from England, Ireland, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, and more, and we have all spent countless hours talking about recommendations of beautiful places to visit in our hometowns, and how our upbringings differed due to being raised in such different places. Out of all I could have gotten out of study abroad, I am the most grateful for these connections. The time that I spent abroad was made extra special due to the people I was surrounded by, and made any issues seem comical rather than stressful, which allows me to reflect and reminisce about studying abroad with only fondness. Lastly, throughout my time abroad, I also became much more confident in the fact that I have the ability to learn any skills I would need to succeed, which was something I was unsure of previously. Though I have traveled all over while I was growing up, the planning and travel themselves were always accompanied by my parents. Being in a situation where I had to do all of it myself, along with balancing a full workload, truly showed me that tasks that seem daunting are extremely manageable, and greatly increased my confidence in my ability to travel alone in the future, which was something I would have never considered before.
