Thank you Wyoming for being my home

If someone would have told me at the beginning of this school year that by the end of it I would find myself at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, I most likely would have only seen it as a dream. 

I had wanted to visit Wyoming since I was little, but I never imagined having the opportunity to live here, even if it was just for a short while. This place has created a home for me and will now and forever hold a very special place in my heart.

When I had chosen Wyoming, I had many people ask me “Why there?” Now my question for those people is “Why not here?” Living and learning to love somewhere new has been a privilege I never imagined.

I have created some amazing friends out here and gained a sister from Switzerland. In these last few weeks of my semester, I will face some of the hardest goodbyes I have had to face in a while. From learning to swing dance, going to union events to visiting many cities and places both in Colorado and Wyoming, I have seen and done so much. 

The idea of leaving makes me feel conflicted. There’s the part of me that is happy to get home, but there’s also the huge part of me that wants to stay. In the few weeks I have left, it is hard to pick the things that I still want to do.

I was given a limited amount of time out here, and the end came faster than I expected. I went through ups and downs, but this was the best rollercoaster life could have put me on.

I have grown as an individual in more ways than one, and I am so grateful for that. I have made enough memories to last me a lifetime. My semester at the University of Wyoming has been one of the best semesters of my college career and I am so proud of myself for going outside of my comfort zone. 

I would like to thank both the MSU Global Engagement Center for making this possible for me and the University of Wyoming for creating such a welcoming home for the semester. There are no words to describe my gratitude.

I wouldn’t change a thing about my experience and I could not be more grateful for the blessing that it has been. This has been the opportunity of a lifetime, but now my journey out here is coming to an end. 

Goodbye Wyoming, thank you!

Header photo:  I have created some amazing friends out here and gained a sister from Switzerland. (Courtesy Andrea Schoenecker)

Write to Andrea Schoenecker at andrea.schoenecker@go.minnstate.edu