There are turning points in life that you remember with more clarity than you'd like. One of mine: June 29, 2016, when I was certain I was dying. It was 3 a.m. and I was in Amsterdam, at the end of a six-month study abroad stint. In just a few hours, I was supposed to board a flight home to Canada, yet there I was. Hot cheek pressed against a cold toilet seat, gasping for air. Shaking so intensely that I was-between bouts of vomiting-grateful for the international student insurance I'd surely need for an ambulance ride to the ER.
It was the first panic attack I'd ever had. I had no idea it wouldn't be my last.
Half a year earlier, I'd gladly left my university's Montreal campus behind. My school was known for making students feel like success was always just a little out of reach (it's one of the top colleges in the world...and we were constantly reminded of that fact). I needed a break from the pressure. The Netherlands beckoned, and in Amsterdam, I found the relief I craved. Sure, I took a few sociology classes, but in those six months, what I really did was see the world for the first time. I discovered commonalities that spanned cultures (turns out, we're all just looking for someone to enjoy an Aperol spritz and reality TV with) and found a family in friends from places I'd never heard of (I now have a couch to crash on in almost every continent). I fell in love with a city, with a boy (spoiler: he's still in the picture), and with a way of life that was slower, more joyful, and somehow more meaningful than anything I had known.
This story is from the Issue 05, 2022 edition of Cosmopolitan US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 05, 2022 edition of Cosmopolitan US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
sabrina carpenter
The singer, actor, and miniskirt enthusiast just wants to chat.
Y'all Better Not Be Sleeping on Canada
It’s so much more than Niagara Falls, okay? And it’s literally right there points up*) waiting for you and your next epic vacation.
We Need to Talk About Secondary Infertility
With reproductive medicine under political attack, this long-overdue conversation is more necessary than ever.
Young Love ON THE Streets OF Mexico City
OUR COUPLE SPOTTING SERIES HEADS SOUTH TO BRING YOU MORE DELIGHTFUL PAIRINGS.
Is Speed Dating...Back?
Hear us out: one outfit, one makeup application, multiple dates.
You're About to See Vacation Everywhere
Sunscreen. But, like, fun.
LOOKING FOR TONI LANE
She was crypto's It Girl, the young woman onstage at the conferences hyping blockchain as a way to radically reshape an unjust world. The young woman at the industry parties schmoozing with wealthy venture capitalists to get them on board. The young woman at the spiritual retreats seeking endless ways to self-improve. People loved her. And then she disappeared. What happened to Toni Lane Casserly-and what does her tragic death reveal?
Higher Power
There will be no \"I just can't believe it!\" sentiments in this story. Twenty-two-year-old pop sensation Tyla isn't interested in being a wide-eyed ingenue-she always knew she'd get here.
COQUETTE
You know it. Tarot actor Avantika knows it. Having gotten a much-needed update, bows are absolutely inescapable right now. Here, we humbly suggest a few ways you can wear them without looking like everyone else.
What It's Really Like to Cut Off Your Parents
More and more young people have entered their family estrangement era, for better or worse. But mostly for better.
