Studying abroad has been something I have been looking forward to my entire life. I have always had this vision of living somewhere in Europe and traveling to so many of the beautiful places I’ve always wanted to go to. I chose my study abroad destination with careful consideration. I chose the ISEP Prague semester for a few reasons. I’ve always been drawn to Prague. It’s been a place that I’ve always wanted to go to. This program also had the option of picking me up from the airport, which was a great thing to know when traveling to a country I have never been to before. My program also allowed me to connect with other students studying abroad that semester beforehand so we all knew familiar faces before landing in Prague (this is actually how I met my best friends in study abroad).
I was able to travel to so many amazing places and make so many great memories. The first trip I went on was to Poland. We went on the one weekend that semester where all of central and eastern Europe flooded and the weather was awful. I also caught the flu and had a very low moment of throwing up in the bathroom of our hostel and on the bus the entire ride back to Prague. My traveling only went up from there. I traveled to so many different places including Mallorca, Munich for Oktoberfest, multiple different cities in Italy crammed into 1 weekend, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and all of Scotland (which ended up being my favorite trip of the semester), Dublin, Vienna and Salzburg, and ended it with Budapest. Unfortunately, all this traveling hasn’t been enough for me and I have a travel bug that I can’t get rid of.
I didn’t realize how truly life changing studying abroad would be. I am a very type A, anxious person and I had to be okay with the unknowns of study abroad, like not knowing anyone when landing in Prague or running through the Rome airport and not knowing if we would make our flight or not. We have so much life to live. I’ve met so many different people that are living their own lives, and being 21 years old living in Europe for a few months helped me realize how much of a life I have to live. I worry so much about my future and where I’m going to go in life, but studying abroad made me realize it’s okay to not worry so much and everything in my life is going to work out just how it’s supposed to be. I feel like I’ve changed so much in the past few months than I ever have before and I can’t imagine what I’d be like without it. I have a new perspective
on life and have come out with friends that I guarantee I will have forever. I went from crying on my way to Prague because I was so nervous and scared of what was to come, to crying on the way back home because I didn’t want that experience to be over. I would do this experience over and over again with no regrets and I’m so excited to see where my next adventure is going to be.
Annie Layton (BS Psychology) spent Fall 2024 studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic through ISEP. Annie had the following to say about studying abroad, “Studying abroad has been a beautiful journey that has broadened my perspective, challenged my comfort zone, and left me with memories that will inspire me for a lifetime. This was the best choice I’ve ever made.”
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