The excitement of traveling and studying is Berlin is getting to me. I cannot help but to think about all of the things that I have to pack or cannot forget; which usually leads to over-packing. I have called all of my close friends and family members, as I will be nearly unreachable by phone for the next two months, to tell them of my planned itinerary and to say goodbye. What I am most excited for is the new culture of people that I am never able to interact with in my hometown Chicago. My last year at Northwestern was horrendously monotonous and mundane so I want this trip to replenish the spontaneity and curiosity that once coursed inside of me. I am looking for this program to be robust and vigorous and for my peers to be open-minded and anything but boring/vanille (this would be the WORST case-scenario). Being abroad also exposes you to different mindsets about people, which seems like a trivial ideal, but in America I always feel overstimulated by media, politics, celebrities, and other distractions that people will blow out of proportion by owing it their attention.
And of course studying abroad comes with some consequences. Leaving my family behind is one of the hardest things that I have to come to terms with by taking on this study abroad experience. My dad is sick with a stage 4 cancer but he has encouraged me to gather all the experiences that I can muster while he is still here to see me change. Sometimes it is crazy for me to think that your parents have experienced every part and stage of your life, but soon you are without them. I am eager to find out what Berlin and my peers have in store for me and I hope the experience is worth stepping away from my family.