So how many people have been dumped by their significant other of two and a half years four days after arriving 9,000 miles away from home to live and work in Sydney, Australia for three, almost four, months? I'm hoping not many because wow...it sure is unpleasant, huh? And that'd just be depressing.
I'm not writing this blog post to complain about my shiny new ex or rant about the timing or do any of those uncomfortable oversharing moments that emotionally vulnerable and jet-lagged University of Tennessee students may tend to have. Because I sure have had my fill of moments over the past week and a half. But to be honest? Even though it has been emotionally draining to deal with all the stuff I have going on at home and in my personal life while being in Sydney, especially when I still feel like I haven't settled in, my unique and somewhat horrendously painful experience really has shown me that Sydney, Australia is exactly where I'm supposed to be.
A lot of people last week wrote blog posts about our small group of UTK students becoming a loving and welcoming family. Of course, I wasn't one of them. I wrote about history. That gooey emotional stuff just seemed, well...too gooey and emotional for me. No offense.
It is true, though. The past two weeks that I've been here, I've received an overwhelming amount of love and emotional support from every single person in our group. Everyone's ability to listen and care so deeply about someone who, quite honestly, they should probably still consider at least kind of a stranger has been such a heartwarming and inspirational experience. In the past two weeks alone, I've made friends here who I feel comfortable leaning on in times of crisis, who I feel like understand me, and who I feel like really, really care about how I am as a person. It's been like, what...15 days? That's crazy.
More than that, being in a place as beautiful and open as Sydney, Australia, with all of its beaches and Chinese restaurants and Hungry Jack's (Jacks', Jackses, Jacks's? For a journalism student, I sure don't understand English) has really opened my eyes to the idea that this trip isn't about classes or making friends or petting kangaroos or internships. It's about growth. Personal growth. The painful kind of growth. The kind that things like breakups and graduations and moving 9,000 miles away from home cause you to do, whether you like it or not. And all because Dr. Swan talked to your orientation group about going to Australia and you thought it'd be pretty funny if you convinced your mom to let you go.
And being here in Sydney has definitely been good for me, at least in terms of personal growth. It came a little faster than I thought it would. And it has definitely been a little more painful than I thought it would be. But it's happening and no matter the outcome, I know it'll be good for me. Making some of the best friends after less than two weeks, learning how to deal with heartbreak and disappointment away from home, and just figuring out how to keep my head up, stay positive, and keep going.
I'm absolutely convinced that Sydney is exactly where I'm supposed to be, both professionally with my internship and personally with all the friends I have made and the growth that being here has forced me to go through. From hiking to Bondi Beach, visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art, and attending classes every day, I'm still continuing to have the time of my life because this study abroad program is the opportunity of a lifetime and no matter how things are at home, nothing can get in the way of that. I'm so grateful for everyone who has been here for me, supporting me even though we just met, helped me open my eyes to how I can grow from this experience and been encouraging me to just let it go and have fun and learn every day.
Being in Sydney has already proven to be one of the most intense processes I have ever gone through in my entire life and it's been painful, but I've been fully embracing the opportunity to learn more about myself and Australia and my goals for the future. So again, thank you to my brand new best friends here for helping my keep my head and never forget...Live free, be brave.
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