Whenever I thought about studying abroad, it had always been the goal to do it for a year. My reasoning was that I wanted to be as fluent as possible in Spanish and to integrate myself as much as I could into a new culture. I think most people decide to just go for a semester of study abroad, which is done for a lot of reasons. First of all, they may only be able to do a semester because they have to fulfill certain requirements at their colleges. Second, people just don’t want to leave their lives at home for too long of a time and that is totally valid. Also, students might have real responsibilities at home that don’t allow them to be gone for a whole academic year.

I think when you are able to go for a year, however, you should do it. Personally I got a much deeper experience of the culture by staying for a year. There were of course difficulties from being there a year. Almost everyone I knew ran out of their savings by the end of the year, even those who thought they were budgeting well. Things happened at home that I missed out on and I was away from most of my family and friends for nine months. But I definitely would stay for a year if I could do it again.

Being there a year helped my Spanish a ton. I know students who are in Spain for a semester can improve their Spanish a lot, but I think by the time they leave is when they are really getting a handle on the language. The extra semester allowed me to really feel comfortable and fluent. Also, I was able to get to know more Spaniards.

In my second semester I moved into an apartment with two Spanish students, something which I set up all on my own. Learning how to rent a room in Spain really pushed me to be more independent and learn how to do new things. For example, I had to figure out how to send money to my landlord’s account through the ATM and coordinate with my roommates on paying our monthly bills. Living with the host family for my first semester was great, but everything was taken care of for me, including meals. Even though I did have access to my study abroad program, by the second semester I was mostly doing things on my own and only went on scheduled trips with them.

Being in Spain definitely made me feel like I was really living there. I think for students who only study abroad for one semester, it can feel more like a vacation, which is not necessarily a bad thing because they still can have great, enriching experiences. When you’re there for a year, however, you get to experience the feeling of having actually learned to live in a new culture. You learn the subtleties of the culture and how to interact with the people in different ways. Also, being in Spain for so long allowed me to travel a lot in Europe, something I had always wanted to do. Students there for only one semester also did a lot of traveling, but because they had less time I think they ended up not spending enough time in the actual place they were studying in.

I wish everyone could experience living abroad for a year, but I know it’s not realistic for a lot of students. If the only thing holding you back is fear of being away from home or of missing out, however, I definitely think you should rethink your decision. Living in another country for a year is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot people and the pros far outweigh the cons. You will grow in ways you never thought you could and make new, close friendships. You will get to know and understand a culture that is not yours, which will be invaluable as you enter the job world and work with people from different nationalities. So don’t overthink it too much, just do it.

On top of a mountain in Ireland.