Dear Moody,

If you know me, you know that travel has always been a huge part of my life. When I was little, any trip to the airport was seen as an exciting adventure (even if it was a 45 minute flight to visit family in San Antonio). Airports, to me, have always represented the human race loving and leaving and leading millions of lives. 

I remember the day I got my first passport. I was ecstatic, and showed it to each member of my family with an increased sense of urgency. I couldn’t believe that a little booklet was my ticket to anywhere I wanted to go. I wanted streets in different languages to know who I was. I wanted foreign cities to recognize me. I wanted the world to have proof of me. It was almost like I craved my life to scream, “I was here!” even after I was gone.

So, when the news came that this summer I would be studying abroad in Dublin, Ireland with Dr. Love, and representing Texas Global as a Texas Global Ambassador, my reaction was to jump and scream and cry and wake up every day of my spring semester wondering what it would be like.

And well, to put it lightly, it was one of the most impactful experiences I have had in my 19 years. I learned quickly that traveling abroad is one thing, and living abroad is another. I told my family and friends back home, “Every day is a surprise.” Which it was. Traveling abroad gives you access to numerous day and weekend trips, culture, food, public transportation, and late night laundry and movie nights with your roommates.

By being a Texas Global Ambassador, I was able to represent Moody and Texas Global to prospective study abroad students through Instagram stories and a blog article! This was a dream come true. I got to center my storytelling in this role around using study abroad as a gift to both my past and future selves. This came out the most tangibly in the work I did for Texas Global in this role and my nightly journaling I completed while abroad. 

The journaling comes from a place of wanting to remember the grounded, peaceful, experienced person I became in Dublin, and to have the journal as a sort of time capsule for years to come .I have this fantasy of my grandkids finding the journal and begging me to recount my adventures. In this fantasy, I reluctantly give in at first, but quickly move into a theatrical storybook reading of my adventures as a 19-year-old girl abroad in 2025.

Studying abroad gave me many gifts of friendship, experience, laughter, learning, and moments of awe. But my favorite gift has been the memories and people I have gotten to share it with this summer while representing Moody. Moody has already given me so much in my first year, and I cannot wait to see what the future brings and how my study abroad experience plays into it.

Slán!

Claire Daugherty