Wild Year Past Review

1. Greater self-awareness: there's not even a language barrier for London programs, but it's still study abroad, and being away from my friends and my college for a year resulted in a certain sense of loneliness that forced me to get in touch with myself more than I had before coming to London. This experience is different for everyone - for me, I wouldn't say it was comfortable, but it was interesting and I think I gained not just self-awareness but also emotional strength and resilience. 2. Increased social skills and confidence: not that I felt I was particularly lacking in this area before, but something about living in London (a huge, incredibly diverse city), going to UCL and staying at Ramsay Hall (huge dorm at a fairly large university, both extremely international), and the issues touched on in #1 made me more outgoing, more interested in, tolerant of and happy to be with other people. 3. Amazing adventures: the stories I can tell! So many things I'm just happy to have done! Places I went to outside of London, things that I did within London. 4. New perspectives: you can't always get this from just casual conversation with someone from a different country..when you're immersed in a different culture (even just slightly different culture!) and becoming close friends with someone from that culture, you learn SO much, and sometimes it can change your outlook on things. For example, the British education system is fascinating in that students of the system acquire a level of focused expertise in their field that most American students, especially of the liberal arts, can't (or can but usually don't) match. And you really take this question seriously because now you've experienced both - which is better? Or, b/c there are pros and cons of each, you wonder which is better for which kind of people and why...