Being accepted on exchange still feels so surreal and it’s hard to believe I am leaving Adelaide in just 4 days! It is such a daunting thought, to be leaving everything I know and have grown up with and be thrown into this whole new world for a few months. Daunting yet so so so exciting! It feels like such a big step into the unknown, which I never really thought I would be able to do – yet here I am.
Leaving Adelaide is going to be such a bittersweet experience, leaving friends and family who I feel comfortable with but heading to my new life in an amazing place with people who I am sure will be amazing too.
I first head to Bali with my family for a week, then solo travel Greece, and finally onto Manchester. So it almost feels like I am in limbo for a while, between my old life and new life. However, I feel as though Bali and Greece will be such an amazing introduction to this new independent lifestyle. I am wondering how I will be feeling on my first few days in Manchester but I am so so excited to see how much I am going to grow.
Studying fashion in the UK feels like such a dream! It’s so cliche but this opportunity is such a once in a lifetime experience, and as much as it scares me I know it is going to be SO worth it. I am so excited to meet people from around the world who are interested in the same industry as me and am so ready for my world to open up in terms of the possibilities.
Once the 3 and a bit months in Manchester are over my parents will be joining me for Christmas and we will be travelling with friends through Morocco and Spain! Everything about this trip just totally thrills me, I have been to Europe once before and it just totally opened my eyes to how different each place can be. So I can only wonder how living in the UK and travelling in Europe for this long will make me feel.
Only a few days left to say goodbye to Adelaide for now, and I am SO excited for what is to come. I’m excited for the ups, downs, experiences, memories, and unexpected. This sure does feel like one massive adventure and I just can’t wait. Here we go!
Grace Kandelaars, Bachelor of Creative Arts (Fashion) student, heading off on outbound exchange to MMU for S2, 2018