Mia Perry and Lauryn Madrigal in Copenhagen. Photo courtesy Mia Perry
Personal growth emerges through change, yet change itself takes root in discomfort.
Leaving home to create a new one is no exception.
Moving to another country embodies this transformation, especially for students who choose to further their education abroad through Pepperdine’s International Programs.
Amid the uncertainty of a new setting, sophomore Isabel Norman — studying abroad in London for the 2025-2026 academic year — said it was the family by her side who ultimately transformed a foreign country into a place she would eventually call home.
“When I first came to London, I felt like I had made a mistake,” Norman said. “But the community here surrounded me and they became my new home.”
Embracing Discomfort
Home rarely disappears all at once — instead, it lingers quietly in the spaces between excitement and fear, making itself known just as students step into the unfamiliar.
One of the biggest discomforts study-abroad students face is the longing for home, familiarity and the love of family.
When junior Sofia Preston touched down in Buenos Aires for the 2024-2025 academic year, she felt as though she entered another world; a place where she was uncomfortable, starting the painful process of growth.
Although the feelings of homesickness hit her in the midst of the newness she faced, it was the community around her who eased her mind.
“It’s easy to be homesick while abroad, but it’s hard to stay in that state of mind because of the people around you,” Preston said.
Norman said although she rarely feels homesick anymore, the hardest hit of homesickness was before she even touched down in London.
“On the flight over, I was crying and felt nervous about leaving home,” Norman said. “But now I look back on that experience and feel so grateful for the life I’ve built in London.”
Sophomore Mia Perry, studying abroad in Switzerland for the 2025-2026 academic year, said the goal of studying abroad is to grow, even in the midst of newness.
“With abroad, embracing discomfort is so important,” Perry said.
Photo by Haylie Ross
From Strangers to Family
Among the unfamiliarity, adventure, culture shock and the overwhelming feeling of dread that comes from moving to a new country, a program turns into a family.
When students take the leap of faith to move overseas, they aren’t making the journey alone; each program includes other Pepperdine students abroad in the same position.
These fellow students eventually transform from strangers to family.
Sophomore Patrick Tabscott — studying in Heidelberg, Germany for Spring 2026 — said his circle has wonderfully expanded since he made this life-changing journey.
“We have spent so much time together that we’ve basically become a family overseas,” Tabscott said.
Norman said she was weary about making friends when she first got to London, and now, she looks back on those feelings of doubt with a sense of appreciation for her London family.
“I’ve always said home is where family is,” Norman said. “And being abroad I’m at home because it’s my London family.”
When Preston returned to her home in Malibu, she said she felt an awkward yet beautiful divide of having two homes and missing the one she wasn’t in.
“Coming back home was honestly a bigger adjustment than it was going abroad,” Preston said. “I became homesick for Argentina.”
However, she has a small piece of Argentina with her always — the students who went and came back alongside her.
“I do feel like I have two homes,” Preston said. “The best part is that I have a part of my Argentinian home here with the people who went abroad with me.”
The Home Within
With a transition as formidable as moving overseas, Perry said there is a common agreement among students that they will return to the United States forever changed.
“There’s a consensus between all of my classmates here that we all feel different and we have grown so much,” Perry said.
The beautiful diversity of cultures and backgrounds is what Norman said would leave an imprint on her heart for the rest of her life.
“I have grown a certain type of empathy while being abroad,” Norman said. “There are people from all walks of life in London, and living here makes you love them all.”
Being back in her usual setting in Malibu after a year living in Argentina, Preston said she grew into a new person and now views those changes as the true meaning of home: being at home with oneself.
“I learned who I was while in Argentina,” Preston said. “And I guess that really is what home is — being confident and comfortable within your own skin no matter where you are.”
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Contact Haylie Ross via email: haylie.ross@pepperdine.edu