Glasgow, You’ve Been Grand

I’m beginning to write this post on my last night in Glasgow and I’m not quite sure where to start. How could I ever find the words? I wish I could spare you from hearing the phrase that has been echoed by every study abroad enthusiast, but I think it’s true, ‘studying abroad will change your life.’ 

I think it made me look at the world differently, wanting to have a deeper understanding. I’d be lying if I tried to say anything more flashy than that, maybe that’s all that needs to be said right now. An experience like this does change a person. No matter if it goes perfectly or nothing goes according to plan; putting yourself in a new environment, opening yourself up to see the bigger picture, and welcoming so many new people into your life in your formative years, teaches you a lot about the world and I know you probably saw this one coming… but it teaches you a lot about yourself. 

Last few days in Glasgow

The day I arrived back from London, I had to go straight to my apartment and finish my last final exams. I can’t remember how many hours I was glued to my desk or when I even went to bed, but I woke up the next morning and, like magic, there was snow on the ground. I went for a walk through the park across the street to take in the weather that I rarely get to see and breathe in the chilling air (and I, of course, slipped on the ice with a coffee in hand).

On my second to last day, I took the train to Edinburgh with one of my flatmates and a friend to walk through the Christmas market, hit a couple more museums and enjoy the city that’s so easy to love. After a full day of running around, the three of us just sat on a park bench at the top of Princes Street Gardens. A moment unspoken as we all admired the Edinburgh skyline as the sun went down and did our best to burn those perfect little moments into our memories. I’d been filling my time so thoroughly, that I had to remember the importance of taking those quiet moments to let it all soak in.

My last day was quite perfect. I was cautious not to start thinking about the time that had passed and did my best to just exist, to not miss a thing. I went to the Kelvingrove Museum, where I walked around my favorite exhibits and sat for the organ concert that was full of holiday tunes. I met one of my flatmates at a cute donut shop by our apartment, where we sat laughing and talking and enjoying the friendship we had. 

I then went by myself for a last walk through the university campus. The sky had an early evening glow and the light reflected so majestically on all the buildings. I walked through the cloisters, pet the unicorn statue for luck, and stood under the clock tower looking out over the city, gazing at the view I had everyday walking home from class and that I couldn’t believe was real. It was therapeutic to say the least, to take the time to look at everything around me and exist, feeling deeply content and completely whole. 

That evening I went to see the Scottish Ballet perform at the Theatre Royal Glasgow with one of my other flatmates who is a dancer. It reminded me that one thing I’m very happy I did while in Glasgow was take every opportunity I could find to indulge in the art and the culture of the city. We walked back through our favorite street on the west end and the city was oddly quiet, as if Glasgow knew that night was for me, so I would have the city all to myself one last time. 

Final thoughts

The best four words that I can think of to describe my experience would be: emotional, liberating, isolating, and exhilarating. The emotions and the isolation I learned to use to my advantage, so I really wouldn’t have changed a thing. My experience was truly made all the better because of my four incredible flatmates: four strong women who came from opposite sides of the earth to see what a change of scenery had to offer them. Now I have new friends in Canada, Mexico, Switzerland and Japan. The last night that we were all together, it was hard for us to say goodbye. We put off the inevitable and sat talking in our kitchen until the wee hours of the morning and took a few photos for some holiday memories. 

I’m also so grateful for the incredibly creative and supportive learning environment that I got to be a part of at the University of Glasgow. I’ve never felt very confident in school, but here that didn’t matter. Everyone was passionate in their own ways, wanting to learn to enrich their lives and not to control their lives. 

So if you’re thinking about studying abroad anywhere in the world, I suggest you use every resource UF has to offer and take every chance to do so. Gainesville will always be here for you, but you won’t always be a student with the opportunities to travel and study the world at large. The funny part for me is that, before the fall semester, I was a chronic over thinker, constantly anxious about everything I had to do. I’ve come back with a bit more ease in my step. I didn’t even know I wanted to go to Glasgow until the opportunity sat in front of me and I knew there was no life in which I could ever say no. I suggest always leaving yourself open to go wherever the wind blows you. If I had shut myself off and assumed the worst, I never would have had the courage to get on the plane in the first place. 

Glasgow (or Scotland in general) might be the place for you if you like the idea of curling up in a cozy pub any night of the week, you don’t mind eating fish and chips a lot, you want a taste of mid-size city life with easy access to incredible nature, you want to be able to easily explore the regions around you, you want to be immersed in a lively city that shares their art and their culture with pride, you want every person you meet to be the kindest human you’ve ever talked to, and if you want to experience a country that always feels warm and bright in spirit (despite only having 6 hours of daylight and it being around 10 degrees fahrenheit with wind chill in the winter). 

A few things I’ll remember about Glasgow: the little birds that chirp in complete darkness at 2am as if it was a bright summer morning; the conversations I had with all my Glaswegian Uber drivers (a.k.a. the nicest humans I’ve met in this lifetime); the fun chants that the whole crowd would start at concerts and gigs, like it’s unspoken Glasgow music etiquette; the sun setting at 3pm in winter; the constellations you could find despite the city light pollution; the glorious walk I took back from campus everyday through gothic, lamp lit buildings that gave me a beautiful view of the city, and that’s to name a random few. 

Glasgow has become a very special place to me. I think it’s the first city I’ve ever lived in that felt like home. A place that I never felt alienated from, but always welcomed. A city that loves music and art (maybe even more than I do). A city that I made my own. It’s sad to leave a place that you fell head over heels for, not knowing when or how you’ll be back, but maybe knowing that from the beginning is why I pushed myself to not waste a minute of my time and I’m happy I didn’t. 

My mom pulled out a University of Glasgow ornament for me on Christmas morning and being the sentimental girl I am, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I’m overwhelmed by how much this experience has so sweetly satisfied my soul, filled my heart with joy, and made me feel capable and complete in a way I never have. Until next time Glasgow… you’ve really been grand!