Disclaimer: This is by no means an extensive or official guide on immigration regulations for F1 student visa holders in the US who choose to study abroad outside of the U.S. As an international student with no permanent home in the U.S and no family members to help, I’m writing this article merely to share my experience.

I’ve spent a large portion of this semester being reminded that no matter how many plane tickets I purchase, this semester isn’t a vacation. Sure, my family and friends may assume I spend my days leisurely weaving through a labyrinth of canals. But in reality, I spend a large portion of my time nestled inside, my eyes frantically scanning through the roughly 100 pages of reading and various essays I have to complete each week.

With only a week left until I take my last exam and my mom comes to spend ten days here in Spain before taking me back to the U.S., I can’t help but be a little excited to see my mom and go to the States.

You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I’ve been thinking about that saying a lot. We are so prone to taking things for granted. Really, I think it’s impossible not to take things for granted. We subconsciously grow accustomed to different aspects of our lives. Often, it’s only when those things are gone that we even realize they were there in the first place.

For a lot of students, knowing that you want to study abroad is the easy part. There’s a fire in your heart fueled by a pressing need to see as much of the world as you can. It’s choosing the right program for you that can get confusing. I kind of stumbled upon Nice by accident. Most of my friends were studying in Barcelona, and at first, I wanted to go there too. However, something was off; I just couldn’t get myself to commit.

My time in Morocco is winding down (too, too fast!) and I’m trying to find ways to appreciate all of the moments I have left here. Sometimes appreciating the present moment can be really hard, especially when you’re stressed about writing papers, figuring out your summer plans, or physically not feeling well. Then you feel even more stressed because all those moments that you weren’t appreciating have passed and you have even fewer left! I don’t know about you but sometimes it makes me want to just hole up in my room, watch Netflix, and sleep.

I’d like to begin with a short but important disclaimer: I have no idea what it is like to be a member of a minority group in the U.S. or what it’s like to live my entire life as a minority in any country. I have gotten a tiny taste of it and that may be all I will ever get. I recognize the amount of privilege this comes with and while I am grateful for the life I have been able to live, I am sad and frustrated that it exists at all, because “privilege” inherently means that some have rights or receive benefits that others do not.

Before choosing to study abroad in Berlin, I was heavily discouraged from going to Europe because it is significantly more expensive than the Caribbean or Latin America.