The truth is that all of us laugh at the saying YOLO, You Only Live Once, but it actually is a good motto to live by.

In less than a month, I will be leaving for England. I keep repeating that to myself, but it still doesn’t sound real. Harlaxton College has been in the forefront of my mind all semester and a countdown is still dropping on my wall.

On Dec. 28, I will be walking off a plane being picked up by two of my best friends and staying with one of them in London until I head off to school. I am extremely lucky to have met so many people from around the world in the last few years that have made my dream of studying abroad into a reality.

The fact is that I used to hate being by myself or away from home. Many people would be homesick spending months away from family, but I have been doing it my entire college career and that makes this process so much easier. I have learned that there is more to family than blood.

In all my travels, I always take the time to talk to the person next to me, whether it be on a plane, train or standing in line at a store, because I love to hear about other people’s lives. Just one unique fact about a person makes the whole conversation meaningful.

As a camp counselor, a university admissions assistant, a journalist, a photographer and most recently a world traveler, I’ve learned that the only thing holding me back from meeting someone new is myself. I’ve learned to put on a smile and relax because it could be the most exciting conversation of my life.

This chance to see England will be a chance to travel, but I am more excited about meeting new people and seeing international friends than the sites themselves. It is not places that create memories, but the people in them.

There are too many times in life when it would be easy to let life pass me by, to live vicariously through others, but I don’t want that to happen to me. My goal in life is to not look back and have regrets, and so far it has been a success.

Yes, there were times where I look back and say maybe that wasn’t the smartest move, but I still don’t regret taking those chances and learning from them. Harlaxton is the just the opportunity to open my eyes to the world that I was looking for.

As I continue to travel down the path I have chosen, I know that I will live with no regrets, always enjoy the people around me and live in the moment because we are only young once.