Rose Castillo: Traversing Self Exploration Through Studying Abroad
Traveling has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl reading the Geronimo Stilton books, oh how I longed to go on heart racing adventures in far off places. After all, if a mouse could do it, why couldn’t I? Reading was my precursor to studying abroad, delving into stories in different countries such as Madeline in Paris, Paddington in London, and the Magic Treehouse children going to places all over the globe (both real and fantasy). I came to learn that studying abroad was a possibility for college while I was in high school. In fact, the opportunity to do so is a major factor as to why I came to Lander.
My first time ever being on a plane was at the ripe age of 20, flying from Atlanta to London. I had never traveled alone while in the US, let alone gone to a country by myself to live there for 3 months. I had no idea who I would meet there, how I would be treated by my classmates and professors, how different school or life would be for me, or how I would cope being over two thousand miles away with a 5 hour time difference from my mom, my friends, and my boyfriend. I was scared that I would be alone and that I would be too nervous to go out and would waste the opportunity I had wished on for my entire life. Spoiler alert: I was more than okay!
A sunrise photo above London during my first plane ride. I was very excited to land, navigate the airport, and head to Winchester!
The most memorable moment during my time abroad occurred while I was on a 9 day backpacking trip with a new friend of mine, who also happened to be from Lander. Sylvia and I had spent weeks planning, making executive decisions as to what countries we were going to visit, specific towns, what day, how we would get there, where we would stay, read endless reviews, making our daily itinerary, and the most nerve-wracking part, committing to it all and paying for non-refundable bookings. Our planning had commenced when we decided to travel to Dover, Calais, Paris, Venice, Athens, Charleroi, Girona, and ending in London to head back to Winchester. I do not think that the idea of nine day-long trip coming to fruition hit me until the night before when I was packing my singular backpack. Cramming as much as I could into every nook and cranny with space to spare for souvenirs while setting my alarm to wake up at 5:00 am, the realization struck me that waking up to this alarm meant that I would be catapulting myself into making my lifelong dream become a reality. I was nervous that something would go wrong or that I would have made a mistake, but my excitement ended up overshadowing my doubts.
The stop on the trip I was most looking forward to was spending two days in Paris, France - something my mother and I had talked about since I was in elementary school. She and I had always talked about seeing the Eiffel Tower in person, eating macarons, and taking in as much of the art and views as possible. I like to think that I did my younger self justice, having spent the morning at the Louvre admiring the abundance of statues and paintings in one iconic location, walking over to the Eiffel Tower and reaching the top of our climb at sunset. After a long climb with shaky knees and exhilaration as a result, we explored more before seeing the tower sparkle and drinking the richest hot chocolate of our lives, ending our sightseeing at the Arc de Triomphe, buying macarons for the next day, and walking back to our hostel. Those were the best memory-filled 18 miles I could have walked in one day. On our second day, we finished exploring by climbing Montmartre and watched the sunset while listening to street music. We ended our Parisian experience by enjoying steak frites and escargot, a delicacy that my younger self would not believe I had the guts to try, yet was one of the highlights of our Paris stop.
A photo of me enjoying the Eiffel tower sparkling at night before heading to drink hot chocolate at Carette and sightseeing at the Arc de Triomphe
It was such a cathartic moment that culminated in a reflection of how I have progressed as a person since I was the little girl in Beaufort, South Carolina dreaming of a place I had read about and everything I have persevered through to be sitting on Parisian steps. I had been a shy child that, as I grew into a teenager, lead to me being anxious and in my head about how others perceived me, what they thought of me, as well as having a strong dislike of my photo being taken because I was embarrassed for others to see and to be judged for it. As I sat on those steps, I realized that college and studying abroad has led me to become someone I couldn’t say for certain that my younger self would recognize; being social and confident in myself, taking lots of pictures and having myself be the subject of many, and being brave enough to navigate unknown places and having the faith in myself that I would be okay no matter what happened.
The view from Montmartre steps while listening to street music and enjoying the sunset fall below the Parisian buildings
While I had most looked forward to being in France, Greece was easily the highlight of my trip. It was a surreal experience to be able to climb up to the top of the Acropolis and walk among ancient Greek ruins like it was any other day. While there, it was almost as if it was an out of body experience seeing myself stare at stones many centuries older than I that will likely be there long after my time has ended. Plus, I loved petting every cat that I encountered, trying authentic Greek food, and strolling around the lit-up town. This stop gave me the reminder that I should always stay open and not always depend on sticking exactly to a plan, as the best memories and experiences can be the most unexpected ones. I have always been an individual that had to abide step-by-step by a plan and leave nothing to chance, when that leaves less opportunity for amazing memories to occur and to relax to enjoy visiting new places.
A photo of me with Athens as a backdrop before climbing to the top of Acropolis and exploring more ancient Greek ruins
Studying abroad gave me not only the opportunity to travel and explore, but to also learn more about who I am as a person. It showed me that I can thrive on my own, be who I want to be, and not always have to be in a social setting to feel accepted. Most of the weekend trips that I took I went alone, and I am forever grateful for that because I got to revel in the beauty of the world on my time and extensively did so in places such as Amsterdam, Galway, London, Winchester, and Cardiff. While my time abroad only lasted 3 months, the memories it gave me and the self-reflection it allowed me to do will last a lifetime.
Rose Castillo is a Senior Criminology major with minors in Chemistry and Forensic Science graduating from Lander University in May 2026. She is from Beaufort, SC and studied abroad for a semester at the University of Winchester in England in the Fall of 2025. After graduating from Lander with her B.S., Rose plans to obtain her Masters in Emergency Management at Lander before continuing into her career.