#tbt 15 years ago I was wrapping up the best semester of my college career. Ironically it was the semester I wasnt anywhere near Radford Universitys campus. That August before, I took a leap into completely unfamiliar territority by leaving everything I knew to study Spanish in a foreign country. An inexperienced 21 yr old, Id flown only once before and never spent extensive time away from the comforts of home or my college campus. I returned home four months later a much stronger Spanish-speaker and with experience traveling throughout Spain, plus a few days in Morocco. I made solid friendships with Spanish, Swedish and French students who are scattered all over the world now. Despite time passing and the distance between us, we will always have that shared experience in El Puerto de Santa Maria. What I cherish the most from studying abroad has to do with the three beautiful young people in these photos. My host family took such good care of me and allowed me to fold into an already busy home with four kids between the ages of 7-23. I gained multiple family members including a little sister, Monica, (in the OVER THE TOP shirt) and two little cousins, Cristina and Manu, who have all grown up way too fast. They are now roughly the same age I was when I first arrived in Spain and joined the family. It fills my heart to see them grow up to be the amazing people they are today. If I ever have any trepidation when faced with a challenge or new experience, I think fondly back to fall of 99. I shudder to think of who I would have become had I backed out and not boarded that SpanAir flight four months earlier. Parents, let your kids take on reasonable challenges, even it scares you a little. If they arent challenging themselves, give them a loving nudge to do so. Hopefully one day, youll give your baby a teary-eyed, big hug before putting them on a plane like my mom did. Youll probably both be scared if not petrified. But your baby will return a young man or woman, prepared and eager to take on lifes curve balls and having met incredible people who will forever inspire them to be a better person.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 17:32:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015