Reflecting on my Year Abroad

By Lucy Kyle, Rutgers State University of New Jersey, USA

Sitting in my dorm room on a breezy Sunday night in New Jersey, I cannot help but think about my year as it is coming to a close. It is May now, and my final week of classes and exams are starting tomorrow, I can’t believe how fast this semester, and entire year has gone by. For as long as I have been thinking of going to university I have been excited for my year studying abroad. Back in 2022 when I was first writing my UCAS applications I didn’t know what I wanted to do, let alone where I wanted to go, but I knew more than anything I wanted to have a year abroad. I was ecstatic when I got into the study abroad program at Manchester and even though I didn’t know where it was I wanted to go or what it would entail I just knew it was something I had always wanted to do. Through what felt like endless applications, and working 9-5 every weekend of second year to save money, I was always working towards this year. By the time I packed my bags and stepped through that security gate at Heathrow airport last August I was about ready to explode with excitement and since then it has just felt like a whirlwind of incredible experiences that I never could have even dreamed of. From crossing the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time, meeting the people who were to become my best friends here, to spending Christmas in the Canadian Rockies and Easter in Miami, I never could have imagined what this year would have become.

This year has had some of the greatest moments of my life, but I would be lying if I said it was all easy. American college housing is so remarkably different to the UK and it definitely took some adjusting to, going from sharing a house with my friends in second year to sharing a room with a complete stranger is certainly interesting. Although we are not the most similar people I am grateful for my roommate, this year would not have been the same without her, she has grounded me when I needed it most. Despite living at the opposite end of the country to Manchester I have never felt homesick before, this year has had some very tough moments, missing my family, my dog, my friends. It has been difficult recently especially, seeing the people I spent two years with getting ready to graduate and move out of the city. I knew when I left last year that a lot of them would not be in Manchester when I returned, but it’s hard seeing them move on. Despite the hardships I can confidently say I do not regret a single thing, and if I could stop the clock in this moment I would.

I want to savour every last minute I have here as it has been the most incredible year, I have learnt so much, not just academically but also about myself. I have shown myself I can accomplish more than I ever thought, I have travelled across the Atlantic Ocean alone, and across the length and breadth of North America, I have made so many amazing friends, tried so many things as well as returning to passions I never thought I would. If I could tell myself something last summer it would be to enjoy every single minute as it will be over before you know it, take advantage of every opportunity presented to you, go on that trip, go to that game, say yes to as much as possible! Study abroad is fleeting, it is imperative to make the most of it, it will be the best year of your life if you let it.