Navigating pre-departure anxiety: how Winnie-the-Pooh can bring comfort

By Meg Luddington, University of Sydney, Australia

If you are reading this, you might be considering study abroad, or have already taken the leap yourself. And if either of these is true, you likely consider yourself adventurous. Leaving your comfort zone and everyone in it behind brings challenges which took me by surprise.

Big life changes in the past have phased me little. Moving to Manchester for uni at eighteen, for example, I was eager to set out on my own for the first time. So naturally, when I signed on the dotted line that yes, I did in fact want to put a 11 hour time difference between me and everything I knew, I assumed my unreasonably vigorous ‘can-do’ attitude would banish any pre-travel angst. But as my departure date drew closer, I realised this time it was different.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t muster any feeling except dread at the thought of coming to Sydney. The reality of moving halfway across the world suddenly felt so much bigger than the abstract idea of ‘studying abroad’ had ever seemed. I found myself repeating a falsely upbeat answer to people who asked ‘Are you excited to go? You must be so excited.’ I gave them the answer they wanted to hear, and the answer I wished was true. ‘Yes I really am, I can’t wait’. Each repetition of this conversation left me even more confused why I wasn’t feeling the same excitement.

On reflection, it makes total sense. Of course the reality of condensing your life into a bag weighing no more than 23kg, saying goodbye to your family (and pets), and accepting the FOMO of knowing friends at uni will go on having fun without you feels more real and scary than making an abstract decision months in advance. Adding to my personal stress was the not-so-small task of sorting out my accommodation in Sydney. (To any prospective study abroad-ers, my best piece of advice to save some time and unnecessary worry is to get on this early)!

But even the most organised, prepared student will likely find themself feeling some degree of pre-departure anxiety. I will say this: it doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong choice, and it certainly doesn’t mean you won’t have an amazing time. The reality of being in Sydney has been brighter than I could ever have hoped.

Just three weeks in, I can confidently say I have every reason to have believed the well-meaning people who told me how much fun I would have. They were right, of course, as hard as it was to see at the time. But mine would be just another voice in a sea of others if I dwelt on this. I think it’s more valuable to tell you that dread at the thought of leaving and having the best time can both be true simultaneously. As Winnie the Pooh famously said, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”.