Souvenirs from Sydney: Lessons from a Year Abroad

By Valentina Calcagni, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

About a year ago, I was anxiously scrolling through this very blog page looking for advice on being in Australia for a year – or perhaps something to convince me that signing up to leaving the continent was in fact a good idea.

I remember coming across one blog post in particular. It was written by a girl looking back on her time in Sydney, which was coming to an end. In every photo, she was smiling; every other sentence, a classic blog-post line— “it’s gone so fast,” “it’s been the best year of my life.” As I read through her adventures, I remember thinking I couldn’t even fathom that being me — being so far from home, so far out of my comfort zone, how could my experience ever look like that? The whole idea felt distant, incompatible with who I was at the time — or at least who I thought I was.

But here I am, one year later, smiling and declaring: I did it. I actually did that.

In the words of that girl’s blog post, this has been the best decision I have ever made. I have achieved things this year, and so have all the other students on this year abroad, that I never thought I could.

From solo travelling in New Zealand (and getting lost only a handful of times)…

Giving a speech in Sydney’s Great Hall..

And meeting lifelong friends 🙂

It’s an invaluable experience, and I will never forget it.

I wouldn’t say I’ve changed a lot as a person, but one thing that has definitely shifted is how capable I feel (okay, shush—let me be sentimental and cringe for a second). If you’re feeling nervous about your year abroad, that’s normal. But, and I say this was hand on heart, you’re about to start one of your greatest adventures yet.

Congratulations for choosing this experience, whether it comes easily to you or not.

You’ll be fine. Now go out there and have fun!