Back in the Good Ol' USA

It still blows my mind that our short excursions to Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria were already over a month ago. As much as I want to still say that my exhaustion still is off jet lag, sadly that excuse is now invalid (thank you Junior Year BMEN...). Even though I run mostly on lack of sleep, I look back on my trip and my experiences with a lot of gratitude and thankfulness for the experience, and in this post I want to share the life lessons I learned while abroad.

1. There is always room for improvement and there is always learning to be done. As much as the US wants to say that we are the best, we have things to work on with health care being a prime focus of discussion on the trip. We as individuals can always learn from others, and there is always going to be someone else with a different way of doing things or thinking about things. There is always more to learn.

2. Live life in a way that reflects joy and take in every little moment. Spending New Years in Berlin was still to this day one of the coolest things I have ever done. Why get bogged down in the little things when we should just really celebrate life, every day?

3. Learn about others. Everyone has a cool back story or a way of living. Everyone has a reason as to why his or her life is the way it is. Learn about it. Learn about the culture of the place you're in.

4. Understand the past. This not only applies to history, but in personal life as well. As we understand the past history, it keeps us from repeating the same mistakes or to put things in place that will keep us from making the same mistakes. It is also important to understand one's own past mistakes to be able to make changes.

And last but not least,
5. Take a risk. Studying abroad is a risk. We can't continuously live in our comfort zone, because in that place we do not expand or grow. Do something that scares you. Conquer a fear or do something out of the abnormal for you. You can't grow as a individual if you never have new experiences. I feel this is why so many people are depressed in their day to day lives: it's the same routine. Keep your brain alive and your body alive. I think of this definitely more my adult life and what is to come after I graduate. I continue to think about this and the thought of moving out of Texas. Maybe now is the time to go, take a chance somewhere else after May 2015. Be open to all possibilities because I don't know the future or what life is going to bring. Never close doors.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience. As tiresome as it was and as many walking tours as we did, I am so thankful for the experience and the people I had the opportunity to travel with: definitely couldn't have ever asked for a better 10 people to go with, professor to learn from, or of course coordinator to keep us "schnelling", running for trains, and still arriving early.

But let's be honest, my diet coke does taste a lot better with ice in it and man, did I miss queso and Mexican food.

I guess I am signing off for the last time :(,
Jessica