My artifact is a picture I took in the Plaza de España en Sevilla, Spain. This was taken in the July of 2017, the summer after my sophomore year. After saving for two years I had the opportunity to study abroad for 2 months in the summer. During this experience, I stepped drastically outside my comfort zone and lived in a foreign country with a host family, even though at this point I barely spoke the language. The firsts two weeks were scary, and communication was frustrating, but the more I experienced the culture the more comfortable I became. I never been truly immersed in a culture so different from my own, and I had never had to “fend for myself” in the way I needed to there. Although the summer was scary at first, it ended up being one of the most rewarding and incredible 2 months of my life. I learned and grew so much, and was able to form relationships with people that were incredibly different from me and also incredibly kind.