I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT IS ALREADY HERE! I am sitting here packing my bags for my 4 month trip abroad to Northern Ireland and am thinking back to a year ago when I first started this process. I did not think I wanted to study abroad until I participated in a breakaway through my university to visit Belize for 2 weeks. The experience was unforgettable and better than I had anticipated. The entire trip is what pushed me to start looking into studying abroad the next year. It did not take a lot to figure out that I wanted to study abroad in Ireland because I have always wanted to go and the science programs there are more fit for me than the rest of Europe where I would have liked to go. From there, I worked with the study abroad adviser to find the best program for me and found the IAS through Belfast in Northern Ireland. Based on what I was looking for, they placed me at Ulster University in Coleraine to study Psychology. From there, I filled out a bunch of paperwork, got all my travel essentials in check, took a class to prepare me for my journey and the rest is history.
Now it is less than a week away…
I am excited, anxious, hopeful, but most of all determined to make this the best experience for myself. It will be hard to leave everyone behind for 4 months to be on my own in a completely different country but I know that I will grow a lot as a person and make some great relationships as I go. I can not wait to dive right into a different culture than mine and go on to see even more of Europe as I go along. Academics will come first but I am not going to be hesitant when it comes to traveling and exploring the world.
Here is to making great memories and enjoying a once in a lifetime opportunity!
Taking on Ireland 