As my last few days in Australia are coming to a swift end, I wanted to take the time to reflect on my time here. Australia for me started as a new beginning, a way to take some time to figure out if I was heading in the right direction and learn more about who I am and what I want. Yet it has been so much more than that. Learning about who I want to be and what I want to do doesn’t start and end while I am young, I believe that it keeps on changing and shifting based on what part of life I am in. Australia has opened my eyes up to the possibilities of the world, to the beauty of others, and the excitement of new adventures and new friendships. It has taught me to be brave, to take advantage of time and to constantly let go and just live. I am going to miss walking around the laneways in Melbourne, digging my toes into the sand on a new beach, hiking up new mountains, flying to new cities and feeling so content and at peace. Each week I challenged myself to do something new or slightly scary and it turned into a pretty rad list of accomplishments: I explored, saw the most beautiful landscapes, met incredible people, went on winery tours, met the greatest Aussie - Joey, went to an AFL game, drove on the other side of the car/road, saw the 12 (actually 8) Apostles, skied on some Australian pow, held a cockatoo, road a scooter around the streets of Bali, went on some REAL adventures, searched for koalas in the wild, saw more waterfalls than I can count, explored Tasmania, surfed in Torquay, saw the Sydney Opera House, relaxed in hot springs, held a koala, slept in a camper van in Byron Bay, jumped out of an airplane, snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef, explored the West coast of Australia, saw Vance Joy perform in his home town of Melbourne and met the greatest group of friends from all over the world. It’s been an incredible 5 months that I will remember for the rest of my life and I am so insanely thankful for every beautiful, crazy moment.
Top 5 Things I’ve Learnt While Studying Abroad:
- People make an experience - No matter where you are or what you are doing, the best part of any experience is the people you share it with. The laughs, stories, talks of far off places, the sharing of dreams and goals. Knowing what makes people tick and understanding where they come from and who they are, that is what fills my heart. Throughout this experience I have been able to make so many connections with people from all over the world and I catch myself feeling so incredibly happy and full of energy when I am around them. When I look back at this experience, while I do remember the amazing places I have been, what I truly remember is how I felt while I experienced those places and that is all due to the people I was with. Having a wonderful group of friends from all over the world made me think different, pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to grow in so many ways. The car rides, surf trips, nights playing pool, adventures through the city, beers on random rooftops - those memories are what will stay with me because I was with people that made me feel alive and laugh till the point of crying. So thank you to every beautiful soul that made me laugh and stayed up talking way to late with me - you forever have a huge part of my heart.
- Being abroad is incredible - Coming to Australia was not a big culture shock for me. I didn't have to struggle to learn a new language, the city ran the same as one in Canada or the US would and at first glance it felt familiar. Yet there was still so much to discover about the history and geography of where I was, about the people and the best part about the slang - ooo buddy, Australians have the best slang. Living abroad in Australia has opened my eyes up to the possibilities of living abroad. Moving forward, I know that at some point in my life I would like to live and work abroad. To experience a new country and culture and be there for longer than a week traveling. For some people going to a country for a week or a few days is enough but I love being able to stay for a long period of time and understand a place on a deeper level. To make connections, experience new places, find hidden spots, understand the train system, to truly feel like a local, learning everything there is to know about a place and exploring the beauty of every area of it.
- Adventure exists everyday - This is something that I have always strongly believed. It is so easy in our every day life to get bogged down and stick to a routine. To cling to what feels normal and familiar because it allows us to feel comfortable and safe. We think that because we live in a place we have all the time in the world to explore it. So what do we do, we end up staying in every weekend instead of pushing ourselves out of that bubble to try that new food, or a new art form, or a random adventure by ourselves. Well I say to heck with that! Find adventure in every day, be a tourist in your own city, take advantage of the little time we have on earth. Find time to search for the adventure that your heart needs, to take time for yourself. Don't get stuck in a rut of safe and comfortable, try to always push the boundary to live fully and dare deeply. The days fly by way too fast and before you know it you will be looking back at your life thinking what if? What if you could instead look back at your life and just smile and say heck ya. That's how I want to live.
- Sometime you just need to let go - I love to plan, to dissect a place and find the best things to do. I make lists and lists for my lists. But sometime I get so caught up in that plan that my mind thinks of what is coming next instead of where I am in the present. While I have been in Australia I have been trying to work on that, to really take in each moment, to let go of the plan and just exist and live in it. My dad has always told me to stop and smell the roses, I think he knows that I get caught up in trying to go everything and do everything, so this is his way of saying slow down, let go. Being in Australia has showed me the importance of that statement. It is in the moments that I truly let go, where I stopped to smell the roses and let myself enjoy the moment that I have enjoyed the most. It's the random stops on a road trip, staring at a massive sky filled with bright stars, seeing a koala holding it's baby close in the wild, laughing and sharing a bottle of wine with a close friend - those are the moments that I remember because I let go, and when you let go you gain so much more than you could ever plan.
- The future is scary and exciting - While being abroad I have had a lot of conversations with different people about the future, about what our dreams are and where we see ourselves going. Since my program is a 5 year program, I still have one more year before I graduate but thinking of what happens after that is intimidating. I strongly believe that people get to different parts of there lives at different times. When the time is right you get a full time job, you settle down. However, there is still so much I want to do in my life, so many passions I want to pursue. I want to be a Park Ranger at a National Park, to travel the shores and mountains of far off countries, to road trip the US visiting every national park in my path, to live and love deeply, to backpack through the Swiss Alps, to pursue photography, to teach kids the importance of the environment, to salsa dance in Spain and spend months exploring New Zealand. I have so many things that I want to accomplish in the future. I know I may not get to all of them, but my goal is to take my life one day at a time, to let it take me where I need to go and have faith that I will end up where I need to be. I know my dreams may seem a bit far fetched for some but I know that I can live and experience as much as I can in my life if I work hard and jump fearlessly.
Here are some of my favorite moments and photos from my time abroad:
Going home is going to be an adjustment. I’ve seen friends come home from study abroad and struggle to readjust back to their everyday lives. Reverse culture shock is something I know is inevitable. Yet I know that if I take what I have learnt while being abroad and apply it to my every day, I can keep adventuring and making the most out of this life I am lucky enough to live. How you live is a choice and I hope to keep living it with a smile on my face and a new adventure, mountain and friendship around each corner.
Cheers - keleniak
p.s. Before this experience I promised myself I would do one new/possibly scary thing a week: Well it's been a lot of amazing weeks and the biggest risk I took was moving to Australia by myself and you bet your booty it was worth it.