I've now been away from home since February 12. I'll be home on June 28. I've been in Australia for 90 days. I've been a student at UQ for 11 weeks. I have 2 weeks left of class.
1 month and 5 days left before it's time to fly home.
It doesn’t seem like much time left at all, and I often think about how sad I’m going to be when it’s time to leave Brisbane behind, and with it, all the wonderful people I’ve met and places I’ve seen. However, 5 weeks is also plenty of time to do a lot of the things I still want to do.
Before I continue with this post, I should give you a little warning. As you can tell by the title, this post is simply me reflecting on my experience up to this point. Sure, I’ve been doing it little by little all semester- writing things down memorable moments or quotes, taking photos and videos, etc.- but now is a perfect time for me to really thinking about my time here, what I’ve done and what I still want to do. To think about the people I’ve hung out with and the interesting things they’ve taught me. To appreciate how lucky I am to have had this experience, and how grateful I am to my parents for making it happen, to USC for providing the door to this opportunity, to my family for keeping in touch with me and wishing me the best, and to my friends back home for not hating me for all the kangaroo pics I post ;)
ONE MONTH LEFT
Right now I’m sitting on the train with 4 of my housemates, and we’re taking a little vacation to Noosa. Twenty of us will be there soaking up the sun, swimming in the ocean (even though it’s “winter” here), searching for wild koalas in the national park, and enjoying the food and wine festival. The following two weeks will be full of writing papers and finishing my final portfolios in order to turn in my 5 final assignments all due within 3 days. Balance.
Finally, I’ll top off those busy weeks by celebrating in Brisbane with my friends and then heading off to Melbourne, Adelaide, and Bali for a two week adventure. I’ll get myself back to Brisbane where I’ll have 4 days to get everything together- my clothes, my souvenirs, and all my emotions.
It doesn’t seem like much time left at all, and I often think about how sad I’m going to be when it’s time to leave Brisbane behind, and with it, all the wonderful people I’ve met and places I’ve seen. However, 5 weeks is also plenty of time to do a lot of the things I still want to do.
Before I continue with this post, I should give you a little warning. As you can tell by the title, this post is simply me reflecting on my experience up to this point. Sure, I’ve been doing it little by little all semester- writing things down memorable moments or quotes, taking photos and videos, etc.- but now is a perfect time for me to really thinking about my time here, what I’ve done and what I still want to do. To think about the people I’ve hung out with and the interesting things they’ve taught me. To appreciate how lucky I am to have had this experience, and how grateful I am to my parents for making it happen, to USC for providing the door to this opportunity, to my family for keeping in touch with me and wishing me the best, and to my friends back home for not hating me for all the kangaroo pics I post ;)ONE MONTH LEFT
Right now I’m sitting on the train with 4 of my housemates, and we’re taking a little vacation to Noosa. Twenty of us will be there soaking up the sun, swimming in the ocean (even though it’s “winter” here), searching for wild koalas in the national park, and enjoying the food and wine festival. The following two weeks will be full of writing papers and finishing my final portfolios in order to turn in my 5 final assignments all due within 3 days. Balance.
Finally, I’ll top off those busy weeks by celebrating in Brisbane with my friends and then heading off to Melbourne, Adelaide, and Bali for a two week adventure. I’ll get myself back to Brisbane where I’ll have 4 days to get everything together- my clothes, my souvenirs, and all my emotions.
I’m very glad that none of you will be with me in the airport. I’ll surely be more of a mess than I was in Chicago back in February.
But, don’t worry, some of my tears will be happy tears, too. I really am looking forward to going home, just in time for Luke’s 16th birthday (and America’s 240th birthday! woooo!). I’m most excited about sleeping in my bed, snuggling with my puppies, laying by the pool with my family (cheers to 2 summers in 1 year) and of course, eating my favorite (not favourite) FOODS.
REFLECTIONS
Alright, so that’s a lot of looking ahead. Clearly I love to plan and am always happy to have some things to look forward to, but what’s important right now is right now. The present is happening and I’ve got to cherish it.
Am I too sappy yet? It’s about to get sappier.
Reflection time is mostly for my own benefit anyway, but I do want to share some things that I’ve been thinking about a lot. My goal this time is not to give advice, but to simply share some things I've learned or found interesting. I’m happy that you were interested enough to read this post and that you’re still with me at this point. Hopefully, I’ll say something that you enjoy or something that makes you think, but that’s for you to decide.
University
Every time I pull up to uni on the bus and walk down the path next to the lakes, I'm struck by the beauty of campus and what a blessing it’s been to come to school here. I think about how much I love USC and how awesome it is that I now have 2 campuses that I can proudly call "my school."
Friendz
Every time I come home from being out for the day and I walk upstairs and sit on the porch with my housemates, I’m so content spending time with them, laughing, talking and acting like we’ve been friends for years, but at the same time it feels like we’re still at the beginning of getting to know each other. It's a strange dynamic, but I absolutely love it. It also makes me jealous of the people who've been here for a whole year and not just a semester. However, one thing to note is that this time with my housemates doesn't make my friendship with friends from home feel any less important. If anything, it makes me miss them. I just wish all the people I love could all meet each other at the same time, ya know?
Sights
Every time I ride the bus or walk across the Victoria Bridge after work, I smile at the city life around the river as the lights reflect on the water. Muddy as it may be, the Brisbane River (and the activity surrounding it) is a beautiful sight, and one I never get tired of seeing. Sometimes I'll see a gorgeous sunset on the river, and as I stop and take it in (and take a photo) I like to watch the other people walking on the bridge as they react to the view. A lot of them just glance at it, some stop and watch for a minute or snap a picture, but people rarely smile up at it and really take it in.
But why not? Smile big. Let your jaw drop at that view. Dance to the beat pumping through your headphones as you skip across that bridge. #YOLO am I right?
But why not? Smile big. Let your jaw drop at that view. Dance to the beat pumping through your headphones as you skip across that bridge. #YOLO am I right?
Thoughts
All these things are wonderful and I certainly don’t want to take them for granted. However, I need to remember that I can have experiences like that every day. Wherever I am. Whoever I’m with. Sure, Australia is special in a lot of ways that St. Louis or Columbia are not, but the reverse can be true as well. I've just got to find those amazing things and appreciate them when I do.
All the time, young people come back from travel experiences, or even just work experiences and situations where they live away from home, and rave about how they've changed drastically, they’ve become a better person and they have a whole new perspective on the world. I would say I somewhat agree with those things, but I would also argue that that's a little too cheesy at times (and that's coming from the cliche queen over here). It's true for a lot of people, but I don't think it's a blanket statement to stay travel is life-changing. Sure, everyone changes a little when they travel, and each person starts their journey coming from a different background, but some may change a lot more than others.
Don't get me wrong. I have changed a lot this semester, in relation to things like my knowledge of other countries, the things I choose to focus a lot of time and energy on, and even my eating and cooking habits. Travel is an amazing thing. Sometimes I feel like this life I've been living in Australia is a parallel universe or a completely different world than the life I lived in the U.S. It's like I have two separate lives that don't know about each other... but that can't be true because the person I am in one life entirely affects who I am in the other life. So I believe I'm essentially the same person I was 3 months ago. We're supposed to change and grow, especially when we're young. But I think what's more important personally for me to take away from this experience is about the little things. Don't let the silly little things bother you, don't take the important little things for granted, and enjoy the amazing little things you can find everyday.
Be Excellent.
xoxo Jo Jo.
This is just my opinion based on the experience I’ve had so far in Australia. Yours may be very different, and I hope that when you have the joy of traveling, or of any other cool experiences, you can share what you learn with other people.
THANKS FOR READING MY EXTREMELY SENTIMENTAL POST. #sorrynotsorry
<3
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