Making the most of the final months

Whilst my entire year abroad so far has undoubtedly been the most exciting, fun, confidence-building and interesting time of my life, I can’t help but feel that I perhaps didn’t make the most of my time here in Berlin last semester, as I dedicated far too much time to getting the best grades possible, and spent almost as much time in the library as I did last year. Whilst good grades are important, it is vital to remember that this is simply a pass/fail year, and that instead of devoting what I now realize was completely unnecessary amounts of time hitting the books, I should be out there doing more socializing, exploring, travelling and partying, which is what your Erasmus year is really all about. So with the start of the new semester, I have taken much more enjoyable classes (with a lot more field trips), as well as only taking the necessary amount of classes (rather than doing extra ones that I thought would be ‘intellectually challenging’), and I am also spending pretty much every free moment doing something fun with my friends, and partying even more than last semester. Whilst the dramatic change in weather from minus 10 degrees to a balmy 25 degrees has probably been a significant factor in this new lifestyle choice, I am also keenly aware that time here is running out, and that I’ll be leaving Berlin in about 3 months. Without sounding too cliched, I really do want to have no regrets when I’m stepping onto that final flight out of town, with the full knowledge that I’ve had the best summer of my life. Luckily I’m in the kind of city, and have the kind of social circle where there really isn’t a problem, and the rest of my days and weeks are booked solid with nights out, chilling in the park, mini-trips, museum visits, and shows. Whilst much of how I live my life is driven by a pervasive sense of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) which follows me wherever I go, the fact remains that this is the one and only Erasmus year I’ll ever have, and that I need to do all I can to make sure I’m making the most of such an amazing opportunity, in one of the greatest cities on Earth.