A Letter To A Future Traveler
Dear reader, This January, I stepped onto a plane, left everything I’ve ever known and everyone I’ve ever loved, and moved to Galway, Ireland for one semester. While this experience was certainly the best time of my life that I wouldn’t trade for the world, there are a few things I wish I could go back and tell myself now that I went through it. I wish I knew what was ahead of me in terms of how I was feeling. Studying abroad was a transformative time for me and I did not realize that with growth comes growing pain. Depression is common for students studying abroad due to homesickness and general uncertainty. However, after studying in Galway, I learned that Ireland has one of the highest depression rates in Europe. For me, it was mainly due to the constant gray weather. This is a very real challenge you may face when studying abroad in this otherwise wonderful country. If you want to avoid this, try your best to stay active, take vitamin d supplements, keep yourself busy, and p
