By: Allison Lam

Nothing has ever felt more surreal than traveling to London. Personally, I’ve only ever traveled with my family. I was always scared to go anywhere too far without my parents. Truthfully I’m not that knowledgeable about anything involving travel. Not only that, but I have traveled out of the country only one other time when I was young. So of course it was obvious that I was definitely not completely prepared for the trip.

I always try to take precaution, and my parents are very protective of me. We all tried to make sure I was fully prepared to go on my trip. Though, if I could go back and to give myself advice, I would probably mention a few things. First off, to pack more warmer clothes. It was to my understanding that the weather in London would be nice enough that I wouldn’t need to pack any warm clothes. However, seeing as London’s weather can change rapidly whenever it wants (a tour guide mentioned that this was normal for London weather), I find myself often stuck feeling a bit chilly with all the shorts and short sleeved shirts I packed.

I would also tell myself traveling without my family can be sad at times. I was so excited to be traveling on my own for once, having my own responsibilities and rules. But even though I was used to being without my parents (thanks to dorming), there were a lot of times so far into the trip where I would miss them. If I could go back, I would tell myself that it was good to be excited, but to remember to talk to my parents as much as I could, whether it was on text or through call. Because while traveling for study abroad can be fun and interesting, it can also feel a bit lonely at times.