Beyond the memories I have of lush Italian beaches and travelling around the Mediterranean, I cannot truly put into words how rewarding it was to experience nothing but complete Italian culture for my entire summer. Sure, my Italian language has dwindled since my return, but what I find most important is the sense of culture I got from my trip abroad. I understand Italians and their ways of life from the blessed siesta—which I think should be implemented everywhere—to how Italians live in day to day life, as I lived with a host family while I was there.

I was wary when I first arrived in Italy; I certainly had culture shock and had major FOMO (fear of missing out) from home. I had moments where I strongly wanted to go home and I felt out of place in my new home. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made was to stick it out. I am a firm believer that every university program should have an element of study abroad. It changes you for the better through all kinds of different experiences. Whether you go to an English-speaking country or a town that doesn’t speak a lick of English, whether you go abroad for a year or a month, whether you study the language or a business: being in a different culture, a different time zone, a different area where you can’t get back to what is familiar is so special and so important to experience.

Stepping outside of my comfort zone—in this case by a few thousand miles—has been one of the best experiences of my life. Studying abroad teaches you so much and forces you to grow as a person. You discover aspects of yourself that you hadn’t ever explored before. The only thing I took away from my time in a tiny, isolated, beach town in Italy were positive memories and positive steps forward in my life—no matter how scary it seemed at times!