As I am currently wrapping up my time in Barcelona and will be leaving in a week, it feels so bittersweet. This has truly been a life changing experience and the best thing I have done. Even though I just started writing right now, I already feel tears in my eyes. I never knew that life could be so beautiful amidst all of the challenges and hardships. I never knew that moving away and stepping out of my comfort zone was going to change me so much. And honestly, I am so grateful that I didn’t know this prior to coming here because it would’ve ruined the many surprises studying abroad has shown me. At first, I felt terrified, too scared to even leave my room. I could not understand anything going on around me, and I always found myself getting lost. Now, my Spanish has greatly improved, and I barely use Google Maps. I feel so much more mature, as if I am much older than when I first arrived. There were many times when I thought I had made a mistake coming here and that I should’ve just stayed back at home. But now, I don’t want to go home, and I am dreading it.
Most study abroad programs are roughly around four months, but I spent six months in Barcelona. When I first saw how long the semester would be here, I felt hesitant about applying because I thought being in school for that long and having a shorter summer break would be annoying. However, I think that six months was the perfect amount of time, and I encourage everyone to go away for as long as possible. Nothing ever felt rushed, and now that I am coming close to the end, I feel fulfilled. I had made goals for myself before coming here, and I have been able to accomplish all of them. I have never been so proud of myself and the person I have become. I have been able to fully discover who I am, and my life has so much more meaning now. I have never felt so good in my own skin, and my confidence has flourished. It definitely was not easy to get to this point, and not every day went well. I encountered new situations that I had never experienced before. Such as the time my apartment almost got broken into, my professor made me cry in front of my whole class during my presentation, my first time doing long distance with my boyfriend, and many days of feeling down. But in the end, these events have all helped me improve as a person and realize how I want to live my life. The future used to look scary for me, but now I am confident that everything will go fine. Of course, there will be hardships, but experiencing new feelings now feels a little less scary. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I have grown from all of this.
Out of everything Barcelona has given me, the most important has been the people that I have met. I am blessed to have become friends with an amazing group of people. In college, I had a hard time making friends, and one of my goals for my study abroad was to create strong relationships with people. I found a group of friends from all different nationalities: three from England, two from Italy, one from Belgium, and one from New Zealand. Although we have different backgrounds and didn’t know each other before coming here, we are all so close to one another. Our different cultures have helped us learn more about each other and have conversations that are deep and meaningful, something I have not really had back home. During our time abroad, we made sure to see each other every day if we could. And every time we saw each other, I never wanted it to end. But now that the end is coming close and we are all about to leave, it feels like my heart is breaking. I know that being across the world from them is going to be so insanely difficult, but I will see them again one day and always stay in touch. We have not said bye to each other yet, and I honestly have no clue how it’s going to go. I am so happy that I met all of them and that we spent the most beautiful time together. They have shaped me into who I am and have made me feel so loved. These people are forever going to hold a special place in my heart, and when I look back on our memories, I will smile with tears in my eyes.
So thank you Barcelona for everything you have given me, but most of all, thank you CIBS for this incredible opportunity. This has been the best decision I have ever made, and I know that I will carry on everything I have learned in my future endeavors. So to anyone reading this, please go study abroad; it will never be a mistake. Your world is going to change, and you will change so much as a person. It’s going to be hard, and there will be many days when you will want to give up, but in the end it will be so rewarding. I love you Barcelona.
