This is part five of a travel column that will be updated by Simmons students studying abroad. Abigail Meyers, the Editor-in-Chief of the Voice, is studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic, for the Spring 2025 semester. Please check back for further updates in this column from study abroad students.
“You’re going to have quieter days, and that’s okay,” my mom told me when I was getting ready to leave for freshman year at Simmons. She told me the same thing the night before my parents dropped me off at the airport to study abroad in Prague.
I knew this and knew to expect it, but I never felt nervous before I left. I’ve been lucky enough to do some previous travel to Europe and was enamored with the rich culture and history throughout the entire continent. I was connecting with people in my cohort, and getting excited about new classes and a new place. I’d feel great and never want to leave, right? Right?
My freshman year of college was the toughest year for me. I spent the majority of my time by myself, and it tainted my view of alone time. Forced time by yourself can feel isolating, but my brain took it one step forward and convinced me that I couldn’t enjoy anything; the phrase “I wish I had someone to enjoy this with,” flooded my brain until I had a solid circle of friends I had met freshman year and new ones who fit into my life like perfect puzzle pieces. By sophomore year I had done a complete 180, and Boston began to truly feel like a home away from home. I still feel like it is, and I’m lucky enough to have so many people there who I miss so much already.
Studying abroad has been something I’ve known I was going to do since before I started college. Once I got approved for the program, everything began falling into place. The number of days I had before my flight lowered in numbers, and I still wasn’t nervous. Not even when my parents dropped me off at the airport, or when I opened my eyes at some ungodly hour and saw the plane on the flight map reaching Europe or every time I opened the map on my phone to see “Home: 4,260 miles away.”
Once I landed in Prague and settled into my apartment, I was ready to meet new people. I have the loveliest, most wonderful roommates who are the best exploring partners, always have a camera out and are full to the brim with insight and recommendations. The first couple weeks have been full of five hours of learning the Czech language, group lunches and post-lunch outings to places like the National Library and scavenger hunts around the city.
Soon enough, the emotions I didn’t know I was suppressing began to unpack themselves, unraveling from my tightly packed suitcase that I had to sit on to zip properly. What if I don’t end up clicking with people the way they all click with one another? What if my brain reverts back to the way it did when I was 18 and all I do when I’m alone is wish to experience things with others? What if my arthritis flares while I’m thousands of miles away and I’m stuck having to get better and gain strength while other people here are traveling and making connections?
“Give it time,” was the collective advice I got from my mom, friends who are abroad right now in other destinations and ones who have done it in the past. They were right, and deep down I knew it. Actual classes haven’t started, and everyone is still just starting to get to know each other.
I still need to get out of my comfort zone and branch out! If I don’t try new things like talking to people I don’t usually spend time with in class or at lunch, nights at pubs or solo trips around the city, how will I ever feel comfortable here?
I trust that everything will fall into place, and I’ll find my place here in Prague. Like everyone has said, I just need to give it time. I gave Simmons time, and now everything feels right. I’ll give it time here, and I know that time will eventually fly by.