The Final Countdown- Semester In Review

    The Final Countdown 

Semester In Review 

Sometimes situations do not turn out the way you expected. Sometimes God works in your life in ways that you might not see or understand in the moment. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there.

This semester has been a crazy four months and I cannot believe that we only have 7 days left in our semester abroad! One week from this moment I will be landing in Washington D.C!

As I reflect back on these past few months, I can see some incredible memories and experiences that I never dreamed I would ever encounter, but it also wasn’t what I was expecting. People who have studied abroad in Austria in the past claim that this was the "best semester of their life" and they "wouldn’t change it for anything," and although this may be true, it is not always sunshine and roses.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a great semester filled with unforgettable memories and irreplaceable people, but I also did not experience the drastic change that everyone described to me. I may have grown in maturity, I may have become more confident in my traveling abilities, and I have learned things about myself that I did not know when I arrived. However, there are so many parts of me that I feel have not changed after this semester. But that’s the funny thing about God. He works in His own time. He may have been working in me all semester and I might not realize it now. But as I look back on the semester in the future I may see how my experiences and my adventures affected and formed who I am. He may have been using me to affect the lives of those around me, without me even realizing it. Maybe that is the problem with the world. We are so focused on ourselves and what we can “get out” of an experience or a relationship that we don’t stop to realize the impact we may have or could have on those around us. We might be so blinded by what we want or how we benefit from a situation that we might not even realize that He is using us to benefit another who needs it more then we do.

          So yes, this semester isn’t what I was expecting. To those studying in Austria next semester or in the upcoming years, I am telling you that it’s going to be great, but it’s going to go fast and it may not be how everyone describes it to be. You’re going to miss home, you’re going to get stressed, you’re going to work hard, things aren’t going to work out how you want, you’re going to struggle, there may be drama, and sometimes you’re going to regret even going to Austria in the first place, but you will have a good semester and you will be where you are supposed to be at that moment in time. You may have doubts about going to Austria, you may arrive and realize you have no idea what you are doing in a foreign country, but trust God, realize that you are where you are supposed to be, and recognize that even if you’re semester isn’t the “best semester of your life”, you will learn, you will grow, you will struggle, and your experiences will affect you and those around you, even if you don’t realize it in the moment.