Returning to Loyola After Abroad

The one-year anniversary of when I left for Australia is fast approaching,  and here's how I see campus differently...

    "One year later..." words that keep playing in my head like it's some kind of a film. I have been on campus for a full semester since returning from my semester abroad in Australia. And now I am beginning another semester, my final semester as a Loyola student.   

    So much has changed. Particularly, within myself. Not to be the person who so freely says, "Study abroad changed me!" I do not mean it in that same sentiment. However, after reflecting on being back to Loyola for nearly a year, there are so many tiny details that others might miss. 

    My time abroad gave me so many opportunities to be truly present. I had the opportunity to study at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia. The campus itself was beautiful. So much of Australia's natural world is integrated in the rest of its functioning world. On any given day on campus, you could hear the sounds of the cockatoos that grazed on the lawns like miniature cows, you would walk passed vibrant flowers, and even over small bridges that overlooked a flowing river. 

    Of course, the chill of Baltimore's winter temperatures makes those days seem so far away. But there is still so much beauty on campus and around the city. 

    While abroad, I took every last thing in. I kept a journal that was filled by the end of my travels with words, receipts from specialty stores, postage stamps, miscellaneous pieces of train tickets and postcards. Every little thing became art, something beautiful to cherish. 

    A year later, I still keep a journal. I try to jot down any moment where I find myself happy. It has helped me to stay present, and as a senior, this has become an important resource. Flipping through the pages, it was often the seemingly small moments that fill the pages. 

    Being back on campus, I write about moments shared with my friends that last until 3a.m. I write about walking to campus before sunrise and getting to witness it. The moments spent in classes where I find the best discussions make it onto the page. And I sometimes get to the end of the day with four different journal entries. Because happiness does not always have to be paragraphs long, sometimes it is a few simple sentences that mean the most to you. 

    The practice of noticing becomes sharper the more you use it. The capacity for extraordinary things you experience in life depends on what you notice.

  I have allowed myself small moments in between the spaces of hectic schedules. Like the photo pictured above. I walked out of the Humanities building, tired after a long day, but I was instantly so thankful to see the campus bathed in pink light from the sunset. 

    Although I am not still in Australia, which has become one of my favorite places, there is still beauty here. Contrary to popular belief about monotony, you may walk the same path every day, but it does not become stale as it's traveled every day. It only becomes your own. You become the only one who can pick out the most intricate details. Everyone else is just passing through.