During my last week here in Greece, I have reflected on what advice I could give to future students. My biggest piece of advice is to go with the flow of things while abroad. As someone that tries to think about how every scenario will play out, I learned that unexpected things will happen. For example, after arriving in Greece after a ten-hour plane ride, I was assuming that everyone would take a nap and then start hanging out together and exploring the city. The opposite happened and everyone was immediately walking down the streets and talking about going to beaches. Instead of being frustrated that everyone did not want to rest, I embraced everyone’s excitement and met lots of people that I am now still friends with.

After spending a semester abroad in Greece, I can say that I am proud of the academic work that I accomplished. Coming into this program, I knew that ACG organized their academics differently. I became aware of this after a couple weeks of school. I found that I was spending more time reviewing notes weekly than I did in the United States. At times, I did feel as though I was under a lot of pressure to do well on two assessments that would define my whole grade. However, I was able to adapt to a new learning system within one semester and be successful which is something I am proud of. Although my grades were pass/fail, I still put in the same amount of effort that I would at the College of Charleston. I saw studying abroad as an opportunity to prepare myself for my future career where I will have to adjust to a new environment and learn how to thrive in it.

If you are stuck deciding whether or not you should study abroad, you should one hundred percent do it. I am currently sitting with my friends discussing our four-year reunion trip. People often say that they do not study abroad because of all the forms they have to fill out. This is nothing compared to the life-long friends that you could be making.