March 20, 2024

Struggle, fall, succeed, repeat: Learning to study abroad.

There is nothing easy about studying abroad. Let us make that clear. You are in a new country, with new people and new classes. You are thrown into an unfamiliar environment and are forced to grapple with the changes.

For me, studying at Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) Stockholm, Sweden, for the Spring 2024 semester is the epitome of these challenges. I have never lived with two roommates, let alone lived in a country outside the United States for more than a few weeks. I am here alone—none of my friends came to this program with me. But at the same time, that is exactly why I chose such a program. At the risk of sounding cliché, studying abroad is about expanding your horizons—about putting yourself out there to learn more about what you want in life. At least this mantra is what I tell myself when facing difficult situations. 

And I can assure you, difficult times are inevitable. For the first few weeks—perhaps even the first month-and-a-half—I struggled acclimating to life in a cold, dark and somewhat reserved Swedish society. I missed my friends, I missed The Miscellany News, and I missed Vassar College. I still do. 

But as weeks have passed, I have undoubtedly grown. I cook three meals a day for myself, I go grocery shopping and do my laundry on a weekly basis, I budget my savings, and, most importantly, I put myself out there to find friends and hobbies that keep me entertained. 

For someone who has been writing journalistically since my freshman year of high school, a semester without it seemed unfeasible. Coming from the fall semester when I was Editor-in-Chief of The Miscellany News, I was well-integrated into campus life. I was constantly busy. But this semester is vastly different. Luckily, I found an opening as a DIS blogger to continue my journalism journey abroad. Still, I have more time to learn about the real world, about living life in an unfamiliar place and about taking care of myself. Finding people that I could spend time with, even if I have not needed to make friends since I first arrived at Vassar, was a challenge, but it was a challenge well spent. While I like to think that I will stay close to those I have met in college, it is inevitable that we will all eventually go our separate ways and choose our own journeys, whether within the United States or abroad. Studying in another country was my first opportunity to experience this change firsthand. 

My next major challenge came in the form of homesickness. While time flies, and it is hard to believe that I have been here for over two months, not a week goes by without thinking about my friends at Vassar. Of course, I am fortunate and privileged to even have this opportunity to study in Stockholm for the semester, but change is hard. Without experiencing this lifestyle change before graduating in May 2025, I might not have felt fully prepared. It is an opportunity I am forever grateful for, even if I struggle some weeks. 

I have trips to London, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Vienna planned in the coming month. Again, the privilege for these opportunities is not one that is extended to all students, and I recognize that every day I am here. But what I also have realized is that without the friends I have made while I have been here, without stepping outside of my comfort zone to understand what makes me happy, my college experience would have felt incomplete. As an International Studies major, I understand the importance of experiencing other cultures, of learning what connects and separates us.

But it comes as no surprise that only roughly 170,000 of the nearly three million undergraduate students in the United States study abroad. It requires money, time and privilege. Study abroad is not for everyone—but it opens you up to change that is inevitable after your four years of undergrad. Vassar and colleges around the country must do better to provide this opportunity for their students. 

Some days, I question whether studying abroad was the right experience for me. My life at Vassar is wonderful: I had friends that I loved spending time with, I could not ask for better friends at The Misc and I felt comfortable in my environment. Everything is thrown into the air when you enter a new home. Your social life, academics, housing and self-care all come crashing down. Everything you thought you knew about yourself turns to dust. Because in this new home, there is no comfort. There is no escape from change. It is coming for all of us when we graduate. But I am proud to call Stockholm my second home. This city will always hold a special place in my heart—it is the place where I truly learned about myself. And I know that my friends back in the States will be there upon my return.