<p>I'd really love to spend my junior year abroad, but I'm concerned it will make me lose touch with friends and mess up my social life. I'm worried that when I come back for senior year, it'll be like being a freshman all over again.</p>
<p>Has anybody studied abroad and had to deal with this? How did you handle it? Or, do you know of anyone who's dealt with it?</p>
<p>Hello, what about the awesome friends you will make abroad? =D
You are going on to great things making international friendships real, you don’t need to look back.</p>
<p>If they are true friends, they will be friends when you come back. They may have grown closer with other people, but if you have kept in touch say via text or Facebook, it will not be too big of a deal and you will still find companions and acquaintances in them. From there, you just rebuild. It is not too difficult to revive friendships with some effort and not feeling shy.</p>
<p>Also, every semester there is a chance to make new friends, don’t let go of those opportunities 
In each class, either in a group or who I happen to sit by, if you talk to someone early on and ask about them for the first week, there is a 75% chance you will be friends for the rest of the semester.
I remember each new semester, I feel like a creeper because I am trying to single out of friends (and cute guys hehe) but it works!</p>
<p>The same will apply when you go abroad, don’t be shy when you first meet people, even if you feel like a dork or insecure…pretend youre not! ^Number 1 secret to making friends! ^_^</p>
<p>lol, if your friends drop you after a semester/year abroad, they’re terrible friends. this is a really really silly concern to have. i hope you realize that.</p>
<p>I studied abroad, you get back and everything is back to normal. And you will make a ton of friends studying abroad too, so you will always have plenty of friends. Your friends aren’t going to just forget about you, I’m sure they would actually be interested in hearing about your experiences, seeing pictures, and all that fun stuff.</p>
<p>Studying abroad is amazing, just make sure you go when its nice weather. I went to Europe in the fall, it was really nice at the beginning, then it was snowing and really bad weather. I almost got stuck when that huge snow storm hit, luckily I made it out on time.</p>