last minute life changing choices

Before I start, I guess I should introduce myself, and my aims for this blog.

My name is Sian Gers. I was born and raised in England, spending most of my childhood in London. My teen years were spent in an idyllic village in the northern part of England, surrounded by fields, pubs and a delicious chicken dish called 'the parmo'. When I reached 18 i bounced back off to London, to study Business Studies at Cass Business School (also known as City). Having spent the past 2 years living in London, I decided to take a year of my studying abroad, to Melbourne, Australia. In typical me style, i left it to past the deadline to apply, thinking nothing of the opportunity to explore a new country and shake up my life. it was only mid february when i was cold and sick of England i thought about the possibility of experiencing university life in a different country. my first choice for this was Canada, with the options being Vancouver, or British Columbia. My real dream was to go to New York and study there, but sadly my university only offered places in rural suburbs in America, so that option was crossed off. it was only after i spoke to the advisors that i really thought about Australia as an option. for me, the chance to live in Australia has never appealed to me. I'm far too high maintenance, having lived in London the past few years I'm used to everything being on my doorstep, and enjoy the hustle and bustle of a fast paced city. therefore, the chilled out perception of Australia didn't appeal for anything more than a holiday. However, when i really thought about it, Australia seemed perfect for a semester abroad, whilst also being a huge challenge i was scared to partake in.
once I'd been told by the advisors that, although i was applying three weeks past the deadline, i could still be considered, i spent more time researching into my future. slowly i became to realise how perfect Melbourne would be, with it being voted the most liveable city in the world multiple times, it features the multiculturalism that London also has to offer, whilst having a great student vibe towards it. My next step was to talk to my parents about it. for me, this was really hard. I'm really close to my parents, but I'm often known for jumping to decisions irrationally, so i didn't think they'd take me seriously on this idea. surprisingly, they were really supportive and all for me going, saying that it would be an experience of a lifetime, and if i were to do it they'd support me in every way. with this, i had encouragement to carry on with my application. i had to go to an interview with the study abroad office, declaring why i wished to study abroad. and although its a known fact that you pretty much get accepted at my uni from them, i was still nervous, thinking that my scattyness and late application would hold me back, with them thinking that i wasn't 100% serious about applying, and that it was just an irrational thought of the moment. luckily, i was convincing enough for them to accept me, and put me forward to my chosen university, RMIT University in Melbourne. For me, the choice was perfect. I had a lot of relatives in Melbourne, and whilst they are distant, you come to realise whilst travelling the importance of relatives, no matter how close you were to them before. its always nice to know that you have a comforting surround to go towards if you're ever feeling homesick, or just someone who's going to be interested in everything you say regarding school and your subjects, and check you're doing okay. To fast forward the boring part, my application got accepted on both ends, and whilst there was a moment on holiday where i thought i wouldn't get the whole thing submitted on time due to a dodgy connection, i managed to make the deadline and choose my options within the time permitted. once all this had been done it was on to applying for visas, booking flights and sorting accommodation. the only thing was, id booked a return flight from England-->japan-->Thailand-->England. the return date was the day before i was supposed to be arriving into Melbourne. after much consideration and debate with my mum and the study abroad office, we decided that opposed to arriving late, i should just go straight from Thailand to Melbourne after my travels, as they're closer, meaning i would have to be carrying everything i needed with me for the next year around my backpacking trip of Thailand... fun.

once id told everyone and got over the initial excitement, i started to feel regret and fear towards the massive decision id made. before, it had just seemed like a fun idea to play with, studying abroad in Australia and living in a hot climate. however, when i thought about uprooting my life in London, and leaving all my friends and family for such a long time, i had a massive freakout, and pushed the whole thing to the back of my head, refusing to talk about it with anyone. looking back now, i can't believe i was so scared, as now that I'm here its literally been the best decision of my life, its opened my mind so much, and allowed me to experience things that wouldn't have been possible before. all I'm saying is, whilst its nice to have a comfortable life, and be happy where you are, don't be afraid to mix things up and move abroad. the first few weeks are hard, and saying bye to your friends is even harder, but theres so much more of the world to see and be experienced, it seems pointless to just live your life in just one small part of it, missing out on so much.
whilst over in Australia, i plan to travel around, visiting both places in the country, and other countries in the southern hemisphere. so far, i have travelled to Japan and Thailand prior to flying out. i also have just been on spring break, and went to Indonesia, which was absolutely amazing.
i'll continue to blog directly about these places and my experiences in these places, and i hope to inspire people to take the leap and jump out of their comfort zone, as for me it was completely worth it.