The Best Semester of my Life-so far!

As I reflect on my semester in Remagen, I am shocked with how much I have changed this semester.When I was leaving Philadelphia in search of an exciting semester, I promised myself that I would challenge myself. I was a little intimidated by the thought of completing my first internship, yet alone in a foreign country, but I did not let the fear stop me from becoming who I am today.Instead I decided to change my perspective and turn my fear into confidence. I decided if something does not challenge me, than it is too easy. I immediately picked up work when I arrived in the international office.

I decided to work to adopt the mindset that I was working hard to develop my skills further and help the international office grow, rather than working to clock in - clock out. I also decided to become the CEO of the international business simulation class, and this decision had very large impacts. I am now very good at making professional presentations, making agendas, and managing very large projects. I learned how to deliver presentations with confidence, emotion, and professional language. This class also forced me to come in contact with the target group for the class, refugees. I would have never expected that I would make friends with refugees on my semester abroad! I enjoy volunteering because I get a personal satisfaction that is connected with the experience, and I like the feeling of making a positive change in the world.

Most importantly, I will always remember the friends that I made while here in Remagen. These friends turned into family quite easily, and I learned a lot of lessons from my friends. For example, usually I am a very independent person and sometimes this means that I do not accept help and I do not want to give others help. However, there were times that I needed to depend on other people, and these people offered help so selflessly. I appreciated the help of others a lot because I saw the help as a burden for them. This made me realize that it is not a burden to help your friends and even strangers, and now I am looking forward to helping the incomings next semester. Overall, I am very proud of the person whom I have become this semester. Next semester I want to continue my professional growth while also prioritizing organization in my life