Submitted by Marissa Serrao on the 2019 spring semester study abroad program in Australia sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics…
The fourth week in Sydney is one that I will never forget, and not because I walked the tippy top of the Harbour Bridge. It was memorable for a reason bigger and more frightening than any of that adrenaline inducing activity. It was the week that my roommate who had been visiting left to go back to the United States, which happened to line up with the time when the two other CIS Abroad girls who I spend practically every waking moment with, had left to go to the Sunshine Coast.
In the beginning of the week, I had been excited and curious by the prospect of spending four days alone in Sydney. I had never truly been that alone. I had travelled away from family and friends many times, but I had always been with a group of people. I had spent several days alone in the States, but this was different. It would be a true test of my independence, and although I was hesitant, I was also eager to test my abilities. Always with a plan, I made a tentative schedule of my days. When I woke up on the first day, I was ready to go, and felt nothing really, positive or negative about the experience. I got up, went to work, and went about my day per usual, and when the workday was over, I hopped on the bus and took a trip to a beach I had not yet explored. Tamarama is a surfer’s beach, with daunting rip curls, and very few swimmers brave enough to hop in the waves without a board. I headed to the rocksthat looked like chunks of various planets had fallen to Earth and formed a collection of cliffs and caves. I stashed my shoes in my bag and began climbing to the small pools which were created by trapped water from ambitious waves. I sat upon a cliff overlooking a beautiful view, with no one, but myself to share it with.
With my friends off in different places, and everyone I know and love tucked in their beds in a different time zone, was the moment that felt as if I truly had been alone on the planet. I started to fear for when the girls left for the States at the end of the month and I would have a full four weeks by myself in Australia. I didn’t know how I was going to do it.
Fast-forward to three days later and I am sitting on a big red rock, overlooking an incredible view after hiking over ten miles on sand and stone. I felt invigorated, liberated, and truly grateful to have had the opportunity to hop from beach to beach down the east coast of Sydney all by my lonesome. It was impossible to feel anything but empowered after such a long and physically exhausting day, but although my body’s energy had been waning, my mind had never felt so clear and vibrant. I was grateful that I allowed myself to have the independence to do the things I had wanted to do, even if I had to do it alone. I knew then that I had nothing to fear for at the end of the month, and once the girls were gone and I was alone again, the adventures would not end. I truly had one of the most fantastic and eye opening days of my life, and I know that if I never got out of my comfort zone and allowed myself to grow, I would have never gotten in the mindset I am now. I can and will accomplish the things I want to, whether that be on my own, or with fifty other people by my side.
