Introduction

Just about a year before I went to Australia, I was really unhappy with who I was. That was during my spring semester of my sophomore year. So, I took that summer to take a step back, and look at what was making me unhappy, and try to change it. I read a lot more, ate healthier, and formed a few crucial habits that I still use today to help in my never-ending task to better myself. It was during that summer that I realized I needed to study abroad somewhere; I couldn’t spend another semester at Wesleyan.

I started my search for a place to study abroad. The first thing that I did was immediately narrow my choices down to a place I believed I would never have a long opportunity to spend a large amount of time there. European countries were the first to be eliminated because I could get there easily. But what about the literal other side of the world. When is the next time I can spend a long amount of time there? I then immediately narrowed down my choices to either Australia or New Zealand. I figured that an English speaking country would be a lot easier to navigate around. It was a hard call between the two. Both had their own appeals but there was something about Australia that I was drawn to more. So upon starting my junior year at Wesleyan, I had my heart set on going to Australia . I got a head start on my application to go abroad, but because of an incident I was involved in during sophomore year, they tried stopping me from going. I was undeterred. If they wanted a fight, they were going to get one. I wrote essay after essay to plead my case, I spoke to the Wesleyan Study Abroad Office, I spoke to the program IFSA- with whom I would be studying. I got character references after character references, and I even spoke to the Dean. Finally, just weeks before the semester ended, I got the go ahead to study abroad at Australia National University in Canberra, Australia.

*Just a side note: These first few travel essays (really up to Tasmania) were the first major pieces I’ve written. This is earlier work and it is definitely rough. I thought about going back and rewriting them for a hot second but then I thought otherwise. This is a good way to showcase how my writing has evolved. Thank you for your patience as your bear with my sloppy writing over these essays.


Table of Contents | Arrival