*Real as in its my 100th post and I'm about to get metaphorical and shit.
But first to celebrate that it is my 100th post here is a picture of 100 cupcakes.
Now the metaphorical stuff.
Recently (and will mention more in future posts) I had a visitor come over for a few days and during those few days the topic of travel and why we were abroad came up in various conversations and it made my realize WHY I came to Sweden to study abroad or most of all WHY I chose to study abroad in the first place. So as I reach my 100th post, I give you the REAL, HONEST reasons as to why I chose to study abroad and chose to study abroad in Sweden. Cue in inspirational music and here we go:
1. In my first year at Sonoma, I noticed little signs on the big lawn in between Stevenson and Darwin Hall that stated "Come Study Abroad!", "Want to know how it's like to live in another country?", etc. Walking to class everyday, I would see these signs and think to myself "You know, I kind of want to do that, that seems like a cool thing to do".
2. Once again in my freshman year, I was laying on the ground in my living room at 2 in the morning feeling like an old lady because my back was hurting, and decided to look into the information about Studying Abroad. I looked at the different countries that were on the list and what I could study in those countries and then really thought that I could do something like this and really wanted to do it.
3. When it was set in my head that I was interested in studying abroad, I mentioned it to a few people that I was considering it and several people said this similar statement:
" My one biggest regret in my years of college was not studying abroad, I really regret that and wish I could go back and do it." That made me want to go even more.
4. Browsing through Pinterest and seeing multiple beautiful, breathtaking pictures of countries and telling myself that I want to go to there.
5. My roommate Jenn (Hi Jenn!) lived abroad for a year and didn't stop talking about it for the whole time that I knew her and kept on telling me that I should do it and that it would change my life and my perspective on the world and since she kept on telling me stories and telling me to do it, I took it as a sign to do it.
6. The first person I told that I was doing this was my sister (Hi Ivonne!) and she told me to do it and that if I really wanted to do it that I should go through it despite what people said and as a younger sister I was always told to listen to my older sister, so I did and I'm glad I did.
7. I was sitting in the Financial Aid office at Sonoma State talking about my financial aid next year due to my RA job and in the midst of the conversation, I asked my financial aid advisor how it would work if I wanted to study abroad and the guy who was helping me got so excited and went on a 30 minute rant about studying abroad. He spoke more about how great it is to study abroad than my question about my financial aid, so I took that as a sign as well.
8. I was talking to one of my coworkers who said that he had signed up to study abroad twice but backed out twice and said that it was one of his biggest regrets in college and that I should do it no matter what hardships come and that I would become a better person after I did it.
9. I was 19 years old at the time and wasn't sure when I would have the time to travel the world and live in a different country so I took a chance that let me do it.
10. I was 19 years old going on to 20 and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was set on going into Journalism and then after taking a course on Newspaper Writing, I realized that it wasn't for me and had a mini-panic attack that halfway through college I had no idea what I wanted to do and decided to let this opportunity guide me in to letting me figure out what I wanted to do.
11. I take a lot of pictures and here was an opportunity for me to take lots of pictures without people judging me or telling me that I'm taking too many pictures.
12. My 19 to 20 year old brain didn't realize how hard it was going to be to save up and live in a country for a year without going home, but decided to do it anyway because it still seemed like a cool idea and all the hardships would be worth it.
13. Speaking to people who had studied abroad always got excited about talking about and kept on saying how amazing of an experience it was and how no matter how hard and expensive it is, it's totally worth it and the memories are unforgettable.
14. It seemed like a really cool idea and I couldn't get it out of my head and when something stays stuck in my head for a long period of time, I take it as a sign that I should do it.
15. I'm the type of person that can't stay still physically and metaphorically. My mother used to get mad at me for fidgeting a lot when I was a kid. The thought of staying still in one place for a long period of time drives me crazy and for me to go away for a year in a different environment fit that fidgety-personality in me.
16. Along with my cousin from Spain, I'm the only one in my American/Spanish- Basque family member to study abroad in a different country.
17. I wanted to experience all the four seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring & Summer and not global warming seasons: Cold Mornings, Warm Afternoons, Cold Nights or Warm Mornings, Cold Afternoons and nothing at Night.
18. California is beautiful and all and is a "Golden State" but I felt that other countries have so much more to offer that California doesn't.
19. Europe is a beautiful continent with so much rich history and is the History that has always interested me in elementary school, junior high and high school.
20. I secretly wished I lived in the medieval ages just to see what it was like to live in a castle and wear all those outfits and to see different European castles up close and person was (and still) something that I wanted to see.
21. In the near future, there was going to be a time where I would be away from my parents for a long time and why not start now and have them get used to it for the future.
22. My family always took trips to Spain but only to the Basque Country, and with no offense to the Basque Country, I felt that other countries had a lot more than the Basque Country and I needed to see them. The thought of only going to one country and not only that but ONE PART of a country and not seeing anything else for the rest of my life, scared me.
23. I didn't want to be that person that never did anything adventurous with their life, specifically never going out of the country and not seeing things that would blow their mind. Seeing myself in my old age and possibly knowing that I didn't go outside of California or the Basque Country encouraged me to go abroad more, I HAD to see things before I got really old to do anything.
24. I was 19 going on 20 and this was something that I wanted to do not what other people wanted to do. I'm not that type of person that wants to go on with their life doing what other people wanted me to do because it made them happy, I wanted to do something that I wanted to do because it made ME happy.
25. I kept on having weird dreams that I was in a place that I didn't recognize and I took that as a sign that I was in a different country and little to my knowledge I've had deja- vu moments of those dreams while being here. My brain was telling me that I was going to go abroad in little bits and pieces, even when I didn't know I was going abroad.
26. Walking into that study abroad office, I had the idea in my head that I did not want to go to Spain, I wanted to go somewhere new. I already knew Spain-Spanish, I knew the culture and I knew how things worked and going back to reason #15 staying in the same places would drive me crazy, I would get bored and regret not going somewhere else.
27. I saw my friends and acquaintances talking family trips to another country once a summer or once every over summer and the want to travel grew even more as I had huge FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) of not going to these countries that everyone else was going to.
28. The only things I knew about Sweden were IKEA, Swedish Meatballs, darkness, snow and blonde haired blue-eyed beauties. Sweden is still all about that but more.
29. I wanted to see what it was like to get lost in a country where I didn't know the language much to my parent's dismay. Later did I realize that getting lost in a country where I don't know the language is actually a good thing, because then my senses are more aware and I familiarize myself with the area.
30. Let's be honest, European money is way prettier and colorful than US money and I wanted to start a collection of European currency.
31. I saw people fall into the routine of going to school in California, getting a job in California and living in California for the rest of their lives and I wanted to be that person to show them that you can live outside of California and still make it alive and be okay.
32. I wanted to be that cool older cousin that traveled to many countries and lived in a foreign place and hope to inspire them to do the same.
33. I saw my friends with the Starbucks tumblers and mugs from different countries and wanted my own collection and the only way to start that was to travel.
34. I wanted to take the path that lead me to awesome and I knew that traveling would lead me there.
35. I wanted to try to learn another language so I could consider myself trilingual (which didn't work out the way I wanted to, but I know most words in Sweden than I did before hand)
36. Going back home and wearing outfits or accessories that I bought in different countries and when people ask me where I got that I could sound cool and say "Oh, I got this in Sweden/Berlin/Barcelona/Prague/Madrid/London/Copenhagen etc" because let's face it everyone pretty much shops at the same stores and hearing that people got different outfits from the same store kind of gets boring after a while.
37. I wanted to see how European fashion was in another country and to my surprise each country has their different types of fashion which I will try to attempt when I come back to the states.
38. No offense to American boys, they are beautiful, but European men dress nicer and I just wanted to be able to stare at them everyday without being creepy.
39. I saw a picture of the Swedish prince and knew that Sweden was a good choice to study abroad.
40. I've spoken Spanish my whole life and wanted to take a break from it and experience a new culture that was not related to Spanish culture much to many people's surprise.
41. I wanted to experience real snow once in my lifetime.
42. Sweden is a country that no one really knows about and going somewhere where not many people know about intrigued me even more to go to Sweden.
43. My options were Sweden, Chile and Israel and my parents said absolutely no to Israel, were on the fence on Chile and so Sweden seemed like the safe choice (although now Chile and Israel seem like interesting places to visit, so they are definitely on my bucket list).
44. I read that Sweden is one of the top countries to consume the most coffee and have a specific word for going out and drinking coffee and eating with friends ("fika") and I absolutely loved the concept of it. Mo' Coffee, No Mo' Problems
45. Sweden didn't use Euros and I wanted to see what the currency was like and how it was like to live in a country without Euros.
46. I wanted to see if I could discover a part of who I was that I didn't know about.
47. I wanted to see how big the world was.
48. If a future job had to have me travel a lot, I wanted to see if I was able to adjust to a different culture and different environments.
49. I wanted to walk on streets with cobblestones and adjust my feet to the weirdness.
50. I would be legal in Europe and wanted to sit at a pub with a beer in my hand and not have anyone bug me about it.
51. I wanted to experience culture-shock.
52. I always told myself that I was independent but I wanted to see if I was really independent and I wasn't just saying to impress people.
53. I wanted to see if the stereotypes between America and Europe were real or just the fault of television and movies.
54. I want to have a story to tell my children and grandchildren that their mom/grandma lived in another country and traveled at a young age and how the experience made her the person she was today.
55. I wanted to inspire people without the use of baked goods.
56. I wanted to be remembered for something other than baking delicious desserts.
57. I watched The Muppets religiously as a kid and never understood a word the Swedish chef was saying and now I kind of do.
58. There were many issues going on in my personal life and felt that a fresh start in a new place would help me think and reflect on those issues and actions.
59. I wanted to learn how to leave my camera down and experience life through my eyes and not a lens.
60. I wanted to know how it was like to live on non-processed foods and learn to cook with a certain amount of time before my food expired.
61. I really didn't want to live my life the same way as everyone else around me was, I wanted to be different and experience things and not live my life in a routine.
62. I wanted to make stupid decisions and look back and regret those stupid mistakes but also look back and laugh at myself for making those stupid decisions.
63. I needed to learn how to relax in stressful situations and laugh at myself when I make a mistake and a foreign country seemed like the perfect place to do that.
64. I didn't want to worry about the cost of gas, I only wanted to worry when the next bus was coming.
65. Public transportation, to me, is the most genius thing that Europe has and I think America should have more of it because it's pure genius and economically and financially smart.
66. I wanted to go running and not get honked at or made fun of because I was running in a place where there was traffic.
67. Some European countries still have Kings and Queens and I think that's amazing.
68. I think it's amazing that some European countries still have royalty because I secretly want to be a real princess and not a Disney princess at Disneyland where I have to stand in the Southern California heat, I wanted the real shit.
69. Did I mention the Swedish prince?
70. Europe is old and I like the oldness of it. Sometimes I feel that California is losing that oldness and starting to look more modern. Old is okay.
71. I wanted to go to a club with friends and not worry about guys grabbing my butt and trying to dance on me, I just wanted to dance in peace to 80s music.
72. I've always wanted to say that I'm an "international student" because I always thought that was cool to say, and it totally is.
73. I wanted to live in a country where people didn't look at me funny when I said my name or go farther and insult my name. (The first still occurs but the second doesn't thank the sweet lord baby jesus).
74. I also wanted to live in a country where people have weird names just like I do and we could be best friends and create a club with other people that have weird names and all be best friends and show people that just because we have weird names doesn't mean we are weird people (well I can't personally defend myself, but I can defend the others).
75. I was curious to see how the school system was in Europe compared to America.
76. I wanted to see those breathtaking sunsets where the sky is blue, pink, purple, orange, red and yellow all at once and have a glass of wine to enjoy it and just be at peace.
77. I wanted to be in nature instead of the suburbs/big city because despite the bugs, wild animals, and allergies, nature is actually really beautiful and breathtaking.
78. I was curious as to how America has influenced certain American countries. (Some countries it has influenced, others not so much)
79. Noted for its extreme darkness, I wanted to prove to people that just because I only had 4 hours of sunlight I wasn't going to be a depressed hermit for 4 months.
80. I wanted to see if there was other food that Sweden had to offer besides meatballs.
81. Living in California for so long, I forgot how grateful I was to living a beautiful state let alone a beautiful country and felt that going abroad would help me appreciate my home state more, and it has.
82. I wanted to see how it was like to fly by myself and how to navigate an airport letting me to realize that airports aren't as scary as I thought they would be.
83. Wanting to show people that just because your parents say "No" doesn't mean that it's the end of it and the discussion is over. The discussion is over when they see how capable you are of doing something and when you prove to them that you can do it.
84. I wanted to learn how to be frugal, as I take advantage of that and drain my bank account repetitively without realizing that I could be saving so much money if I think and be frugal.
85. I wanted to treat myself to another country and another taste of life.
86. I wanted to prove to people/my family that Spain, although it is beautiful and its culture is fascinating , it isn't the only country in Europe.
87. Looking at airline prices to travel to different countries in Europe and being surprise of how cheap it was to travel and how come it isn't cheap to travel to the East Coast with those prices (C'mon America, let's be real).
88. I wanted to take a touristy photo in the most tourist areas in the big cities just to say I was there.
89. I imagined myself living in a big house with pictures of my adventures all over so my guests and future children could see where I've been in hopes of inspiring them to do the same.
90. I wanted to familiarize myself with a different culture.
91. Proving to myself that I can do anything extraordinary as long as I have my mind set on it.
92. The more I repeated to myself that I wanted to study abroad, the more I realized how much I REALLY wanted to study abroad.
93. I sometimes felt that American society had a lot of influence on me and pressured me to look and feel a certain way and I just wanted to get out of that for a while.
94. It wasn't Spain.
95. I needed a little push to show that I could do anything no matter how big and scary it was and this was that little push.
96. I wanted to experience life for what it was there for, to live.
97. I wanted to find a European boyfriend, which to my disappointment didn't really happen (sorry guys, I still got 1 more month though!)
98. I wanted to meet people from all over the world and make connections.
99. I didn't want to stop believing that I could go live in another country by myself and have the opportunity to travel.
100. Living in California, a little part of me always felt out of place, and when I was in Spain a little part of me felt at home. I wasn't sure if it was Spain giving me that feeling or just the feel of the European life, so I wanted to see how European life was like and whether that little part of me was telling me something. I wanted to discover that little part of me and figure out why I felt so out of place sometimes. That little part of me now let me know that I felt belonged in Europe and that Europe was the type of home for me. Don't get me wrong, I love California like the next person does and the vibe, food and people are fantastic, but Europe is a special place for me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is just something about this continent that continues to surprise me and will probably continue to surprise me. Going abroad didn't mean that I was leaving home, it meant that I was coming home for a little while and that soon I would return back to California. Going abroad was going to show me where I was in my life and where I belonged and it did.
So there you go, my 100 reasons why I chose to go abroad and why I chose Sweden. Some serious, deep reasons and some funny reasons but those are all it. I hope you enjoyed those 100 reasons and I hope I help clear some reasons for you as to why I came here to Sweden and why I left California.
Happy 100th post and have some cupcakes or meatballs to celebrate.
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