Voila, the time has come to write the very first entry of my study abroad blog! Well, not really. Truthfully, I'm just horrendously bored as I sit on the couch of my family's home in Augusta, GA with nothing to do but count down the days until I board that glorious plane for Paris. In only 6 days I will depart from the Atlanta airport for my study abroad semester in France, a dream that I've had for what seems like an eternity.
Although I'm still waiting for the journey to begin, I've decided to use this entry to answer some of the questions I've been getting from tons of people lately: "Why are you studying abroad?", "Are you scared, nervous, or excited?" and my personal favorite "Why Paris?". While I could give very long answers to all of these questions, including my depressing and hilarious first encounter with Paris as a high school student on an unorganized foreign exchange program, I have decided to spare you all the unnecessary and messy details. To put it very simply rather, I am merely an individual that loves change. Yes, this is a very vague statement, but trust me, I'll elaborate. After thinking of how the past few years of my life have unfolded, I see now that I have changed drastically (physically, mentally, etc.) and have loved every moment of it. Now how does this apply to my upcoming semester abroad? Well, the reason why I want to study abroad, to be scared/nervous/excited, and to be in Paris is because I want, and possibly need, a change. A change to something DIFFERENT from Augusta, from Charleston, from the things I've done, and the people I've met (I love you all, but I must admit it's time for a break).
To me, there's nothing like being able to see how different you are from someone or something else that enables you to open up your mind, allowing you to view the world from perspectives you could only dream of. We all go through this at least once in our lives; I know I did when I came to the College of Charleston, and now I'm ready to do it again. While it's perfectly acceptable to be content with the comfort of our everyday lives, I want this experience to push me outside that comfort zone, and force me to adjust to a way of life unlike any other I've ever experienced. I want to speak foreign languages, I want to eat and drink things I have never tasted, and I want to adapt to a tremendous, fast-paced city unlike the charming, antebellum havens in which I have already lived...the list goes on and on. THESE are the reasons why I have chosen to study abroad, and these are the experiences that I look forward to having over the next 4 months.
Well, there you have it! I'm extremely excited to start this new chapter of my life and can't wait to record and share it along the way. Stay tuned for stories, pictures, videos, and whatever else I can find to help portray the "City of Light" and my travels around the other side of the Atlantic!
But until then, I guess I should start packing...
