Change is Coming!!
“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.”
― C. JoyBell C.
I’d be lying to you – and myself – if I didn’t admit there are many things I’m nervous about. Going abroad for an extended period of time evokes a wide range of emotions. There’s the obvious emotions like: excitement, nervousness, anticipation, and uncertainty, but there are also a million and a half other emotions that spring up on you at all different times throughout the process of getting ready to go. In this blog, I’m going to address some of the many emotions I’ve been feeling (and that you may often feel when preparing for a big change i.e. college, travel, moving) and some tips on how to ride out the roller coaster ride.
Although it is very exciting to experience change, there is also a lot of anxiety that can come with shaking up the normalcy of the life you know. In getting ready for my trip to Italy, I realize that more and more, I’m feeling anxious: what if I can’t adjust to the way of life in Italy? What if something happens back home? What if I can’t manage my school work? What do I pack?! It’s important to realize that there is a lot of uncertainty involved with change. Until you establish a new routine, or begin to experience the change, you may realize you had a much better imagination than you ever thought possible! What I mean is, you may start thinking of all the things that could go wrong, all the "what ifs". It’s okay to be nervous, and it’s important that you are prepared to maneuver any bumps that may arise in the middle of the road. But instead of letting yourself get lost in a heap of nervous and negative thoughts, try instead to think of a positive spin to each of your worries.
For example: Negative thought “What if I don’t make any friends?!” can be instead turned into a positive thought simply by saying to yourself, “I can’t wait to meet everyone, I wonder what everyone will be like.”
It’s much easier said than done, but with a little conscious effort, you’ll start to notice that the more you put a positive spin on your fears, the easier it will be to take on change with a positive, upbeat attitude.
Another extremely common emotion when it comes to traveling (and often with change in general) is stress. Stress can come on almost instantaneously when you finally come to terms with the fact that a large change or, in my case, long term travel is upon you. For some people, a little stress can be a good thing, it can act as the match that lights the fuse under your procrastinating bum to get you going and get things done. For others, it can cause them to completely shut down and freak out. Everyone’s different, but the best thing in this situation is to try and find a middle ground. A little stress is good, but it’s important to be calm. Here are a few tips I’m trying out as I get ready for my trip:
1) When it gets too overwhelming: take a short break. Breathe, do something you enjoy (reading, shopping, napping etc.) and try to think of all the positive things that will come after you finally set off on your travels or after the craze of change settles down a bit.
2) Write out a to-do list. I love the feeling of crossing things off of my to-do list and it keeps things in order so I’m not constantly wondering “what was that other thing I had on my list? I know there was something!” When you finally cross off the last thing on your to-do list, you can be confident in knowing that you’ve done everything (because it was all on the to-do list) and that you’re ready to go.
3) Don’t convert your stress into anger or frustration directed at others. This will only lead to more stress, frustration and anger at yourself for snapping at others. You then have another thing you’d have to add to your to-do list: apologize to all the people you snapped at.
4) Don’t be afraid to ask for a little help! I’ll admit it, when I’m stressed, anxious, or nervous, the best thing for me to do is ask for help. My sister is coming home in two weeks, and I know how stressful it is for me to pack, but I also know she’s great at it! So I’ve already recruited her help in packing for my trip! It just so happens she’ll be visiting the weekend before I set off, so it's a well-timed trip home (well, for me at least) for some much needed packing guidance.
Change isn’t a bad thing. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe so perfectly put it, “Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes”. So get out there and live. Don’t be afraid to embrace change.
Life is beautiful and there is so much waiting out there for you.
~la vita è bella~
― C. JoyBell C.
I’d be lying to you – and myself – if I didn’t admit there are many things I’m nervous about. Going abroad for an extended period of time evokes a wide range of emotions. There’s the obvious emotions like: excitement, nervousness, anticipation, and uncertainty, but there are also a million and a half other emotions that spring up on you at all different times throughout the process of getting ready to go. In this blog, I’m going to address some of the many emotions I’ve been feeling (and that you may often feel when preparing for a big change i.e. college, travel, moving) and some tips on how to ride out the roller coaster ride.
Although it is very exciting to experience change, there is also a lot of anxiety that can come with shaking up the normalcy of the life you know. In getting ready for my trip to Italy, I realize that more and more, I’m feeling anxious: what if I can’t adjust to the way of life in Italy? What if something happens back home? What if I can’t manage my school work? What do I pack?! It’s important to realize that there is a lot of uncertainty involved with change. Until you establish a new routine, or begin to experience the change, you may realize you had a much better imagination than you ever thought possible! What I mean is, you may start thinking of all the things that could go wrong, all the "what ifs". It’s okay to be nervous, and it’s important that you are prepared to maneuver any bumps that may arise in the middle of the road. But instead of letting yourself get lost in a heap of nervous and negative thoughts, try instead to think of a positive spin to each of your worries.
For example: Negative thought “What if I don’t make any friends?!” can be instead turned into a positive thought simply by saying to yourself, “I can’t wait to meet everyone, I wonder what everyone will be like.”
It’s much easier said than done, but with a little conscious effort, you’ll start to notice that the more you put a positive spin on your fears, the easier it will be to take on change with a positive, upbeat attitude.
Another extremely common emotion when it comes to traveling (and often with change in general) is stress. Stress can come on almost instantaneously when you finally come to terms with the fact that a large change or, in my case, long term travel is upon you. For some people, a little stress can be a good thing, it can act as the match that lights the fuse under your procrastinating bum to get you going and get things done. For others, it can cause them to completely shut down and freak out. Everyone’s different, but the best thing in this situation is to try and find a middle ground. A little stress is good, but it’s important to be calm. Here are a few tips I’m trying out as I get ready for my trip:
1) When it gets too overwhelming: take a short break. Breathe, do something you enjoy (reading, shopping, napping etc.) and try to think of all the positive things that will come after you finally set off on your travels or after the craze of change settles down a bit.
2) Write out a to-do list. I love the feeling of crossing things off of my to-do list and it keeps things in order so I’m not constantly wondering “what was that other thing I had on my list? I know there was something!” When you finally cross off the last thing on your to-do list, you can be confident in knowing that you’ve done everything (because it was all on the to-do list) and that you’re ready to go.
3) Don’t convert your stress into anger or frustration directed at others. This will only lead to more stress, frustration and anger at yourself for snapping at others. You then have another thing you’d have to add to your to-do list: apologize to all the people you snapped at.
4) Don’t be afraid to ask for a little help! I’ll admit it, when I’m stressed, anxious, or nervous, the best thing for me to do is ask for help. My sister is coming home in two weeks, and I know how stressful it is for me to pack, but I also know she’s great at it! So I’ve already recruited her help in packing for my trip! It just so happens she’ll be visiting the weekend before I set off, so it's a well-timed trip home (well, for me at least) for some much needed packing guidance.
Change isn’t a bad thing. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe so perfectly put it, “Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes”. So get out there and live. Don’t be afraid to embrace change.
Life is beautiful and there is so much waiting out there for you.
~la vita è bella~
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