My first semester of college, I took a very large step outside of my comfort zone, and opted to study abroad in London, England: A city I had never been to before, and knew very little about. In the moment of making this decision, I could have never possibly imagined the good that would come out of this, and how it would shape my outlook on life for years to come. For my entire life up until this point, I lived in a bubble where I wasn’t exposed to the everyday realities of the outside world. I had traveled to other countries before, but I had never truly immersed myself into different cultures and actively worked to understand them. Through my time studying abroad, I grew a profound interest in traveling and wanting to explore the world around me. I learned to embrace getting lost and rather than looking at it as an inconvenience, I now see it as an opportunity to grow as a person and acquire new experiences. In a very short amount of time, I went from a complete homebody to someone that craved the adrenaline of solo traveling and exploring a new city. Aside from traveling and the 23 different countries I’ve visited as a result of this, I’ve adapted an outlook on life that is to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way, and to stop being afraid of the unknown. As I reflect on who I was before this experience, and who I am now, the entire projection of my life has completely changed as I’m now much more willing to take that step outside of my comfort zone and embrace things that used to worry me. I’m forever grateful for the time that I spent abroad, and while the experience alone changed my life, the lasting effects of it continue to have an impact on me to this day.