Danielle Brooks: The People Along the Way
If you could go anywhere in the world for just one day, where would you go? My answer to this question changed drastically in the span of a year. Before studying abroad, I would not have had a clear answer to this question. I wanted (and still want) to travel to many places around the world. I had so many places I wanted to see; it would have been impossible to choose just one. I was more interested in the number of stamps in my passport than the people I would meet outside the airport.
When planning my study abroad semester, I partially chose Winchester, England because it was close to many other countries. My plan was to go to as many places and countries as I could in the 16 weeks I was over there. I made a list of all the places I wanted to see before stepping off the plane into England for the first time. The list was long and extensive, but I thought I could see it all. I started out strong by going to London, Southampton, and Stonehenge within the first three weeks, checking off three boxes on my list. On my fourth week, there was a weeklong break from school, so I travelled with another student to Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. I was bedazzled by the new and exciting places and things I got to see. I met some interesting people in the hostels, but I was more focused on the new sights and places—the book of Kells, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, windmills in Amsterdam, the beach in the Hague, the Gravenstein, the Ghent Altarpiece—all the time enjoying the scenery, the bustle of town, the trains and buses, the new foods (Belgian waffles are to die for), but not giving much attention to the people I met at my destinations. I travelled to many other places in the weeks that followed.
Glendalough Upper Lake, Ireland
One weekend I decided to travel to London by myself. Since I had been there a few times before, it was not completely unfamiliar, but I wanted to see the changing of the guard and the National Gallery of Art. My friends did not want to go to London that weekend, but knowing I could not waste a weekend, I went by myself. At first it was exciting. I could do the things I wanted without waiting for other people. But as the day went on, something did not seem right. I did not have a friend there pointing out things in art that I did not notice before. No one was there to show me something new. No one was with me pointing out odd differences between America and England. No one was there to talk to. No one was there. In the great city of London, I was alone. That day, I checked many things off my list, but I did not enjoy myself like I had on my previous trips because no one was there with me.
After that adventure, I intentionally started to do more things with people. I travelled to Wales and tried a Japanese restaurant with my flat mate. I played card games with the other Lander students. I began going out more with the people I met in my classes. I hiked up St. Catherine’s Hill with my friends. I did not travel to as many new places as I wanted to, but I enjoyed my time with my friends much more than marking things off my list.
Looking downstream at Winchester City Mill
During spring break, my parents flew to England to take me on a speed tour of Europe. Their mindset was much like mine had been: visit as many places as possible in a short amount of time. In two weeks, my parents and I travelled to Wales, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, and parts of England. My parents were on a mission. We were always on the go, never slowed down with a tight schedule of the places we must visit. Don’t get me wrong: the trip was so much fun and we saw so many places, but I wish we had slowed down and talked to more people. I realized on that trip that some of my favorite memories of travelling earlier in the semester were the people I travelled with and the people I met along the way. During my tour of Europe, I knew something was missing…people.
The last three weeks of school flew by. My friends started coming over for dinner and games weekly. We would go to town more frequently. We went to our favorite Boba Tea place every week. We sat on the lawn in front of the Cathedral, visited bookshops, and studied in the library together. I spent more time with my flat mates. Then it all came to an end. At the beginning of my study abroad experience, I thought it would be hardest to say goodbye to all the new places I had seen but I found that the hardest part was saying goodbye to my friends that I may never see again.
Weekly Boba Tea in Winchester
After returning home, I keep up with my friends, but it is different now because I cannot see them frequently as I could in England. But life moves on.
Five months after returning from England, someone asked me, “If you could travel anywhere in the world for just one day, where would you go?” I realized at that moment how my study abroad experience had changed me. My answer was no longer checking off one more country or one more continent off my bucket list. I said, “If I could go anywhere in the world for just one day, I would go to Winchester, England so that I can see my friends again.” I learned that life is not so much the places you go but the people you go with and meet along the way.
Danielle Brooks is a Junior Nursing major with a certificate in Genetic Health Studies. She studied abroad at the University of Winchester in England in Spring 2024. After graduation, she hopes to work as a pediatric nurse specifically with children that have genetic disorders.