Rediscovering Arcadia After Studying Abroad
When I left for London in January, I didn’t have many expectations of how my time abroad would affect me and my outlook on life. Now, coming back to Arcadia after living for four months in the best city in the world, I feel like a completely different person. My journey from England back to Glenside has been one that has brought me joy, clarity, and a newfound sense of self.
My biggest worry before my 8 p.m. flight to London Heathrow on January 5 was that I wouldn’t return to find Arcadia the same way that I left it; that my friends would have moved on to other circles, my boss would have filled my position, and my choir director would have found another alto to take my place. While I spent so much time dwelling on how much different my surroundings could be after my return, I didn’t stop to think that I would be different. I didn’t even consider that the way I would fit back into these positions and groups that I momentarily left behind would inherently be changed, because I was changed. How I interact with the Arcadia community didn’t change for the worse, but for the better.
Coming home to my college friends from last fall was super rewarding and exciting! The people I left for London were more than happy to reunite with me this fall, and we even all secured housing together. But this time, we live and spend a significant amount of time with two friends that I met on FYSAE as well. Being able to combine these two groups and share so much fun, happiness, and comfort in our suite in Knight Hall is so valuable to me. I am so grateful, both for the people who stayed dedicated to our friendship when I was halfway across the world, and for the people who were by my side through the hard and lonely times over in the U.K. My study abroad experience re-emphasized the importance of friendship in my life, and having my girls by my side, supporting each other, is something I will never take for granted!
When I chose Arcadia, studying abroad was barely a factor. When I decided to go to London, it wasn’t to fulfill some lifelong dream of living in another country, but it was something interesting and unique that the University offered. Now, after my time in Europe, studying abroad is sacred to me. Global travel, seemingly overnight, became one of my passions in life, and my journey back to Glenside has led me to want to be involved in making that happen for other people as well.
This summer, I received the obligatory, “You just got back from studying abroad. Want to work for us?” e-mail from the Civic and Global Engagement House. Something about that opportunity spoke to me, and I decided to apply for an executive board spot on the STAMP (Study Abroad Mentor Program) team. I interviewed over Zoom in June, and I was contacted in July to be informed that I earned the position!
I have spent my time thus far with the wonderful STAMP team planning fun events for and building relationships with first-year students who are going to London just like I did. We just hosted the Study Abroad Fair last week, and it filled my heart with so much happiness to be able to get others excited about the amazing chances to go abroad that Arcadia offers. I plan to use my new position to continue to encourage Arcadia students to take the leap, possibly making the best decision of their lives!
London taught me, an already independent woman, how to truly be resourceful and make a place for myself anywhere in the world. The exploration I was able to dive into at only nineteen years old helped me to see just how much there is out there to experience. I will never again write off any opportunity to travel, learn something new, or work in a foreign place, because I feel that even a mere fifteen weeks across the Atlantic showed me how big my dreams and expectations for life could be. I carried this revelation home with me in April, and it has significantly impacted my relationships with my friends and community, how I involve myself on campus, and the way that I set goals for my future back here in America, at Arcadia.
