{"id":951,"date":"2026-08-27T16:08:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T20:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=951"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:08:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T20:08:51","slug":"whimsy-and-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/2026\/08\/27\/whimsy-and-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"Whimsy and Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Written by: Aaric Hager | Fall 2024<br \/>\nBU Exchange Semester in Uppsala, Sweden<\/p>\n<p>If there is one phrase that sums up my time abroad, it\u2019s the cliche term \u201cgo with the<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-968\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager2.jpeg\" alt=\"Picture of Aaric in front of street art\" width=\"285\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager2.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager2-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager2-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 285px) 100vw, 285px\" \/><\/a> flow.\u201d\u00a0When my friend in the middle of our class asked me to come to Sweden with her, at that moment I thought, \u201cwhy not,\u201d and now I\u2019m somehow here, living life to the fullest as of the last handful of months. And I truly think that this mindset is one everyone should try to incorporate into their own attitudes if they choose to go abroad as well! At home, I play volleyball, and one of my biggest concerns was how I was going to continue my hobby and fitness. Lucky for me, there is an amazing gym, better than any I\u2019ve found in the US, that has more than served my needs. Through this student gym, I was able to play volleyball up to 4 times a week playing in a competitive tournament league as well as a recreational open court, meet some of my greatest friends <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-967 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager.jpeg\" alt=\"Aaric with his volleyball team on the bench\" width=\"219\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px\" \/><\/a>here, and find a ton more activities to try. This includes rock climbing, futsal, badminton, racketball, etc! I\u2019m so lucky to have randomly chosen to dive into an expensive, yet worthwhile random membership that would honestly change my time while abroad. Furthermore, outside of the gym, I said yes to a bunch of random things! Whether it was to go clubbing with a bunch of classmates I hardly knew, biking what felt like long agonizing miles to a huge lake, or simply walking about and experiencing nature and the beautiful night time city, I was lucky enough to find myself in these amazing experiences just by chance. Along with randomly joining volleyball, these random experiences have also led me to meet new people, make new connections, and create bonds with people<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager3.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-969\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager3.jpeg\" alt=\"Scenic photo of gardens with the sun shining over it\" width=\"298\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager3.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager3-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager3-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager3-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" \/><\/a> that have become fantastic friends to me. But the biggest thing everyone should be free and open to is their perspectives. While abroad, people have challenged not only my way of life, but my thinking as well. I am constantly pushed out of my comfort zone, urged to create new friendships, try new things, and talk with people hearing and understanding all their different stories. Because of all the international students around me, I\u2019ve had truly remarkable conversations about life that, if you&#8217;re willing to open up to, can both be some of the most impactful and fun experiences of your time abroad. I urge you to always open up to new opportunities, and know that experiences will pass by if not seized, and that by sometimes not \u201cgoing with the flow,\u201d may lead you to miss out on things that will stick with you well past you leave your studies abroad\u2026<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager4.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-970 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager4.jpeg\" alt=\"Selfie of Aaric with friends sitting at a table\" width=\"436\" height=\"327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager4.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager4-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager4-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager4-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/files\/2025\/11\/Blog-Post-Aaric-Hager4-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by: Aaric Hager | Fall 2024 BU Exchange Semester in Uppsala, Sweden If there is one phrase that sums up my time abroad, it\u2019s the cliche term \u201cgo with the flow.\u201d\u00a0When my friend in the middle of our class &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/2026\/08\/27\/whimsy-and-flow\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9196996,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9196996"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1006,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions\/1006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}