Hannah Lovett: From Blind Optimism to Confident Capability

I have always been successful. Academically, I was top of my class and confident in my education. I have always been determined and hardworking in extracurriculars and jobs. It was rare for me to face the harsh sting of failure because I only attempted things familiar to me. But, what I lacked in the 20 years of my life was individual adventure into the unknown. At Winchester, I was on my own.

Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark

I had never been on a plane before when I booked my ticket to London Heathrow. I didn’t even know I was going to study abroad at the University of Winchester until a few months prior. I mean, I always wanted to, but was never able to fully commit. Then one day, I decided it was now or never. So, I sent the email and never looked back.

When I told my family about my spontaneous decision, I was met with some resistance. They were worried about my safety during this new journey. They would worry, “You’re in a strange new place where we can’t help you if you need it.” Although I know how lucky I am to have such a great support system, I knew that this was something I could face. I just kept telling myself, “If everyone who studied abroad before me can, then there’s no reason I can’t do it too.” This kind of blind optimism is what carried me through my first day in England. After struggling through three trains, asking numerous strangers for help, and finally arriving in Winchester, my adventure meter was pushed to its limits. Nevertheless, I desperately needed dinner, so I started the trek down the hill into town. Did I know where I was going? Absolutely not. Did I find my way to the local McDonalds? Of course. My blind optimism was coming in very handy at this point, but it didn’t solely carry me through my four months abroad. Instead, I discovered something else: a newfound confidence in my capability.

First Guiness in Dublin, Ireland

Luckily, I found some amazing friends who made the transition easier. We would have lunch, study, and explore town together. Although we were able to handle the challenges of everyday life in this new city, the one thing we were all inexperienced in was travel. Our first big break from classes was coming up, and we knew this was a chance to go farther than the train ride to London. So, we sat down and book tickets to Copenhagen, Denmark. Did we know what we were going to do when we got there? No. But we knew this was our opportunity to explore, and we didn’t intend on wasting it. That trip ended up being the steppingstone that pushed me to travel more. With each European excursion I went on, my confidence grew. If I could survive an anarchist commune in Copenhagen and traverse the busy streets of Paris, I could do anything. The real test of my capability came when I began to plan my spring break. At Winchester, this holiday was not one, not two, but three weeks of unbridled freedom from academic responsibility. This opened the door to much more than quick weekend trips booked on a whim; this would require serious commitment. We began meeting weekly for hours. Planning where we wanted to visit, booking flights, researching hostels—we essentially transformed into amateur travel agents on those nights. There were accommodation disagreements, location changes, date switches—the whole shebang. Eventually everything came together on the page, and all that was left was to get on that first plane.

Weekend in Paris

And that plane took me on the trip of a lifetime. Those three weeks were some of the most enlightening weeks of my life. I tried new foods like stuffed grape leaves and pastel de natas. I saw centuries old artwork by some of Italy’s finest painters. I hiked through Swiss mountains and climbed to the top of the Acropolis. Although this trip was an overwhelming success, it didn’t come without challenges and failures. 

Not only did we encounter a pickpocket fiasco on night two, but we also dealt with a missed train in Switzerland, a lost backpack in Venice, no way back to Winchester at midnight in London. But through all of this, I practiced and strengthened my capability. Not only was I confident in my meticulous planning and organization, but I was also able to prove to myself that I could handle any situation when it goes awry. While these memories were unforgettable, this confidence was the most valuable thing that I took home with me. 

Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy

Before coming back to the States, I didn’t think much would change for me. I would come back to the same family, friends, and university. I assumed at the start of my journey that this would be a temporary reprieve from the normalcy of life at home—then I would return with just a few more stamps on my passport. I could not have been more wrong.

The Acropolis in Athens, Greece

I have always been successful. Before, this was because I only attempted the familiar. Now, I am successful because I can face challenges and learn from my mistakes. My experience abroad proved to me that if I can not only survive but thrive across the Atlantic, then I can face anything. With enough determination and confidence in my capability, the world is my oyster.

Grindelwald, Switzerland

Hannah Lovett is an English major with an emphasis in professional writing and double minoring in Business Administration and Public Relations. She is from Nichols, South Carolina and plans to graduate in Spring 2026. She studied abroad at the University of Winchester in Spring 2025 and intends to work in publishing or public relations after she graduates.