Family
As my year abroad is coming to a close, one thing that I have realized, is the importance of family to my personal well being. An aspect of my abroad experience that I have struggled with the entire year is not seeing my family. During my study so far at UMass Amherst, I always had the option of going to see my family at basically a moment’s notice. If I got the flu, I could very easily go home the next weekend. If I was in a concert, my parents could visit me for the day and see the concert, without any difficulty at all. My mom would sometimes even go out to Amherst so she could join me for lunch. This year, being away from my family was a big adjustment. I learned that I needed to really make effort to talk to my family. I couldn’t just rely on knowing that they would always be there when I was at home, because I wasn’t at home! It was easier to keep in contact with my parents than other family members as I had a better idea of their schedule, but still, there were plenty ...
