Sylvia Dobbe: Fearless in My Own Presence
Since a young age, I have been traveling the world. At age one and a half, I flew overseas for the first time to Scotland with my family. Over the years, I traveled to Italy, Germany, all over Egypt, and before my time abroad in Winchester, England, I went to England for my aunt’s wedding. However, all of these amazing adventures before going abroad were always with someone. I was with my family and family friends. But honestly before my time abroad in England alone, I really did not feel scared of the ideas of this new loneliness I would experience for the three months there. Most people and articles I read told me over and over about that the hardest thing to face is the fear of being alone. My experience was different. I embraced the fear, and it truly did not affect me, but the time there did however change me.
Buckingham Palace, London 2014
Buckingham Palace, London 2025
After the eight-hour flight to England, I had to manage my two suitcases alone. I found my bus and hopped on until I reached Winchester. Then, I went to pick up my ID and key, and next I found myself alone in the dorm room I would be in for the next three months. And honestly this was the first, and really the only time when the fear creeped in. I was alone here, and there was no going back.
My friends from Switzerland at the Needles on the Isle of Wight, England
After some time unpacking, I went on a tour of my new flat I shared with my seven other flatmates. I ran into two of them in the kitchen and attempted some small talk but of course, the awkwardness of it left me thinking about how hard it might be to make friends as an outsider. I left and finished unpacking. Later in the evening, I heard a knock on my door and opened it to find my entire flat standing outside my door. They asked if I wanted to join them at the pub for drinks and time to get to know everyone. Even with jetlag, I was very excited to join them and get to know the people I would be living with for the next three months. I saw this as a chance to start new friendships, and the irrational idea of loneliness began to lessen.
My flatmates and I went to see one of our friends preform with his band at the famous Railway Inn in Winchester
We all headed to Spoons which is the pub for uni students. We all laughed, shared stories, and got to know one another. They asked about America and life back home, and I asked about England too. Each of them was from a different town in England. It was so interesting to hear about all of their differences, including their accents. It made the fear of being different from them diminish some. We would go out to the pub or hangout in our flat consistently. I taught them words and card games from the States, and they would share theirs. I quickly found friends and that fear of loneliness disappeared almost completely. I also started to see a slight change in myself. My perspectives of life shifted from ones of academic focus to ones of prioritizing the idea of getting the most of life.
I loved sketching locations, this one is of the Winchester Cathedral
I managed to have classes only three days of the week from Wednesday through Friday. Every other day was spent traveling. Exploring the beautiful town of Winchester in every free second. Life was amazing! I fell in love with the town and England itself. I did many solo trips and some group trips with few abroad students from the States and from other European countries, making friends as I went. Loneliness never crept in once during all of this extensive exploring.
Me and fellow Lander student, Rose Castillo, in France
I travel throughout England exploring all of the amazing destinations to see, as well as outside of England. I saw major sighting from my bucket list like the cannels of Venice in Italy, the ancient temples in Athens, Greece, the beautiful countryside of Wales. I even saw the hidden gem of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens in France and the crazed city of Paris.
Venice, Italy with its basking sun
But no matter the time spent outside of the country, I longed to see more of England. England is just a beautiful country with so much history. I am a huge Jane Austen fan and so much of my time was spent seeing locations like all her homes, and locations from my favorite adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (2005 version). I saw the infamous rain scene location at Stourhead Gardens where I met and be-friended fellow Austen fans. I went and explored the streets of Bath with one of my abroad friends and went on one of my favorite solo trips up to Derbyshire to see Standage Edge Cliffs and Darcy's house (Pemberley) at Chatsworth House from the movie.
Stourhead Gardens (the famous rain scene from Pride & Prejudice)
My trip to see the famous Downton Abby house filmed at Highclere Castle was one of my favorite trips. After watching every season and all of the movies, I was so excited to see this location and replay all of the scenes in my head while on tour. Just walking around the gardens was gorgeous and during my tour I met fellow fans of the show. This was one of the few moments I longed for company and for my mother to be there with me; to see this dream location with her after watching all of the screenworks with her.
Stourhead Gardens (the famous rain scene from Pride & Prejudice)
During all these trips, I never felt lonely or had that fear come over me. I was comfortable with it. I traveled and made friends. I almost feel like my time abroad made me appreciate being alone. My trips alone were some of my favorites. They gave me time to think and really appreciate what I was seeing. I was on my own schedule and could do just about anything I wished for in the moment.
Jane Austen's House in Alton
During my trip to Stourhead Gardens I made friends with two fellow American University students studying abroad in Italy who I fangirled with all day. We took pictures, reenacted scenes together, and laughed the day away. I also met a lovely Jane Austen influencer who I met up again at Jane Austen’s house in Alton where she gave me a private tour and so many amazing items off her Etsy 3D-printing account, including a replica of the famous Darcy bust, as well as her own book! I transformed into someone who wasn’t scared to talk to strangers and found friends in times I thought I would be alone. Looking back at myself before, I doubt I would have reached out to those people the way I did.
Athens, Greece
In the last weeks before I left for America, me and my now close flatmates reminisced about the beginning of meeting one another, and it was so crazy to think back to a time we weren’t all friends. One of the silly guys in the group told me that the night they first asked me to the pub, they asked one another if they should invite the “American.” We all laugh about how funny that was, and it was crazy to think back to who I was before my time living there.
Solo concert to see Max McNown in London
While abroad, there were many moments this thought came over me, but I found that when I was alone, I was more confident. I would talk with strangers and on many occasions, I made friends with them; like how I made a great friend I sang and danced with during my solo concert to see Max McNown.
Saw Munford & Sons at the O2 Arena in London!
The fear of being alone is something I challenge myself against during my whole time abroad. I made friends and connections everywhere I went. The idea of these solo trips more times than not turned into trips I found amazing like-minded people. I have always been a social butterfly, but that confidence grew increasingly and the fear of being alone became nonexistent. I changed as a person, and I felt better for it. My time there changed me, and it made me deeply think about who I am now. I am not the same girl I was before coming there.
Sylvia Dobbe is a Graphic Design major with a minor in Internation Business. She is from Irmo, South Carolina and plans on graduation Spring of 2028. She studied abroad at the University of Winchester in England during Fall of 2025. After graduation, she is looking to move abroad, work for a remote graphic design company, and do freelance photography.