I despise this question of what I would do differently if I studied abroad all over again because I feel as if it takes away from the real lesson learned: that we can live life to its fullest no matter where we are, but time goes on and we must make mistakes. Moving into a house full of strangers, barely able to speak the language, is so uncomfortable within itself that I could have been two doors down from home and felt like a foreigner. I could say that I would be more outgoing, that I would stop my señora from what she was doing and make her talk to me... But I didn't. And if somehow I could redo my first study-abroad experience, I wouldn't do anything differently.
That
isn't to say that I did everything perfectly. Knowing that I only had
three months to do everything I wanted to do in Sevilla and in my
travels was incredibly overwhelming. It filled every free moment with
pressure that I should be spending my time here or there. When I wanted
to stay in at night I had to weigh the guilt into my decision. But after
a while, all I really wanted was to feel comfortable doing nothing. I
wanted to spend an evening talking to the friends I've made- American
and Spanish- without feeling like I wasn't taking advantage of being in a
different country. And what I learned is that doing exactly that was taking advantage for me. Sevilla began to feel like home, and the friends I made I have missed every day since I left. 
So
whatever I did during my experience, however I dealt with all the
challenges and struggles that I expected and those I did not, whatever
made me fall in love with Sevilla the way I did, I wouldn't trade for
any other experience, because it was mine.
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