Mastering the Art of Balance: Navigating Adventure, Studies, and Self-Care While Abroad

Clearly, studying abroad is an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the world, learn from different communities and cultures, and grow on a personal level. It’s obviously very tempting to dive straight into life abroad and hit the ground running, exploring all of the sights and taking advantage of every possible opportunity and trip. But what happens when this starts to become overwhelming and outweighs the novelty and fun of your abroad experience? Striking a balance between experiencing everything that you can with travel and exploration, dedicating time to your classes (and even an internship), and still taking care of yourself and your well-being while also staying in contact with family and friends from back home can be an extremely daunting task. Over the course of the two months that I’ve been living, studying, and working in London, I’ve also been learning how to find this balance myself. While it hasn’t always been easy, I certainly feel like I’ve found my footing and struck a positive balance.

While I’m certainly not the expert on creating balance as a college student studying abroad, and I definitely can’t speak for everyone when it comes to what best helps create balance, there are multiple things that I have found useful in striking a balance between the “you only live once” mindset and still taking care of yourself and your academics. Over the past two months that I’ve been living and working in London, I’ve had to go through the learning curve of understanding when I’m overdoing it. Between taking five classes and working a part-time internship, as well as trying to book as many weekend trips as possible, I would be lying if I said that I’ve never struggled to find balance in my life here. With this, I want to emphasize that it is absolutely okay to lose your footing and have struggles with finding an equilibrium within your life abroad.

I’ve found that one of the most important tools in seeking balance abroad has been surrounding myself with a strong support system, both in London and back home. I’ve been very lucky to come abroad with some of my best friends, and this has been a great comfort; being in a new environment with the people who know me the best has allowed me to let my guard down when I’m overwhelmed and struggling. While it’s very important to extend yourself and meet new people, which is something that has also helped me create balance, having this support system in London, as well as the support of my family and friends back home, has allowed me to better understand what helps me find peace of mind in my daily life here. I’ve also found that taking moments for myself has also been imperative during my time abroad. There can absolutely be a lot of pressure to feel like you need to say yes to everything, going on all of the trips and excursions and everything else, but it’s important to also be able to say no when you know that’s what is best for you. Studying abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for me one that I know will be one of the best few months of my life; but it’s okay to struggle with adjustments, and knowing how to create balance in your life is important to being able to continue enjoying your time abroad.