Since I was in high school I had always planned on studying abroad, seeing it as a college ‘must-have’ experience. Yet, as an engineering student at Northeastern, since my first semester my route to graduation has been carefully laid out in order to fit in every prerequisite and core requirement. At first, I thought there was no way I could ever study abroad and manage to stay on track. However, (take note my fellow engineers) with a little strategic planning and AP credit it is indeed possible to study abroad.
I am hoping that my experience in Dublin will be a meaningful one. To be honest, I can be a know-it-all and I pride myself on my independence. I want this experience to make me more comfortable with the fact that I can’t know everything and that it’s okay not to know everything. I know that in my first few weeks I will have to rely on others to help me until I am more familiar with my surroundings.
Additionally, my goal while abroad is to learn to manage my time well. There are so many things I look forward to doing, exploring Dublin and other locations in Ireland, traveling to different European countries and making new friends. However, I still have my responsibilities as a full time student and I want to do well in my classes. On top of everything, I still plan on going on co-op next cycle so I will be juggling Skype interviews as well. While have a lot of my plate, I plan on managing everything by keeping organized and making the things I need to do take precedence over the things I want to do.
While most of my anxiety about my next semester is focused on wanting it to start already, I do have some fears. My most irrational fear is that people in Ireland will have trouble understanding me because of my American accent and slang. I admit this is a silly fear because English is a national language of Ireland and I am certainly not the first or last American to visit the country. More commonly, I fear looking stupid. This is also a silly fear because no one expects me to be in expert at navigating life in Dublin and committing a few social faux pas will not ruin my time there. Overall, despite my minor fears I am very excited to go to Dublin. I can’t wait to enjoy new food, explore the city and take in the sights, and have the opportunity to make each day a new adventure.
