Not everybody gets the chance to live in a foreign land for a few months. So take advantage of that opportunity in college and truly experience the best time of your life. Here's why you should study abroad for a semester:
1. Get out of your comfort zone.
A lot of us have lived in the same place our whole lives. With the same people and the same surroundings. And even for those that have moved around throughout their lives, nothing’s like living abroad for a term. It’s amazing how different life is all around the world. The scenery, the people, the lifestyles. It’s important to experience a life lived in another person’s shoes or world. To take a step outside your comfort zone and explore.
2. Meet amazing new people.
Regardless of if they speak the same language or have the same customs and traditions, there are truly wonderful people out there, just waiting to make an impact on your life. The best people I have ever met are the ones I spent time with in Africa. Some of them spoke very little English while others spoke 0. But you could just feel the warmth and kindness that resonated from them and even being on the other side of the world, they made me feel at home. Meet some people that you are so unlikely to ever meet in your life. You will absolutely benefit from it.
3. Experience different cultures.
It’s easy to become comfortable with what you know. But aren’t you just a little bit curious about how other people live and what’s important to them? There is so much out there that we just don’t know and can’t comprehend. But some we can understand just a little bit better by immersing ourselves in the unfamiliar. By learning first-hand what it means to be a Native American or an Afar tribe member in Ethiopia. It may be intimidating but it is so worth the knowledge in the end.
4. Learn about yourself.
You may think you have yourself figured out but I strongly believe you know little to none about yourself until you travel. Because traveling does test your limits. It’s stressful and uncertain. You gain so much independence and get a good look into your mind and soul. And like I said earlier, it gets you out of your comfort zone. Before I spent my semester abroad, I knew that I was in search of something, a piece of me that I couldn’t quite find. And I found it in the cliffs of Ireland, the mountains in Switzerland, the rolling hills and beautiful people in Africa.
5. Humble yourself.
Traveling will humble yourself. You’ll more than likely be staying in tiny hostels with strangers you know nothing about, and you’ll be begged for money by children who have little to none, you’ll see the struggles of many everyday, especially if you go to a developing country like myself. You see how little people have yet how full their hearts are. It seems in the states that kids aren’t happy unless they have the newest toy or video game. But in Rwanda, all they had was one outfit, shoes that don’t quite fit, and a stick to play with. And guess what? They were the happiest kids I’ve ever seen.
6. See incredible places.
It’s no secret that many decide to study abroad or travel to see some incredible new places. It definitely allured to me before I jumped on board. Wherever you decide to go, I can guarantee you will see something that makes you stop and say wow. And just stand there for a second and study it and appreciate it. Sometimes the fast pace of traveling gets in the way of these moments but you have to let them in, you have to let them run their course to have the amazing effect on you that they can.
7. Gain independence.
I mentioned this a little earlier, but you gain so much independence living abroad for a semester. Obviously, you’re not with your parents any longer or even a 5-hour drive away. The only way you can talk to them is on the phone and that’s if you have a plan or wifi, or on skype on your computer, again if you have wifi. So to me, this was the first real time that I was truly on my own. I had to make all my decisions without consulting my dad first. And I’m proud of who I became because of it.
8. Learn basic life skills.
Because you have a newfound independence, you begin to learn some basic life skills. You get to be a grown up. I had to learn how the train worked, how to calculate the money I was spending in American dollars, how to figure out a way to communicate with the non-English speaking townies, etc. You really figure it all out when you study abroad for a semester, and get a peak into what the real world is.
9. Grow up a little.
Because of everything I said previously—gaining independence, being humbled, experiencing different cultures, etc.—you grow up a little. Your eyes have now seen so much, and your heart now felt so much, that you’re really just in a different category than you were before. You’ve grown up and in the best possible way.
10. Experience a semester you’ll never forget.
Everyone tells you that your semester abroad is the best semester of your life. And I’m no different, I simply can’t deny it. It’s a semester filled with joy, stress, love, fulfillment, compassion, knowledge, and amazing memories you will absolutely never be able to forget. I just got back this semester, and I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that my mind doesn’t wander back overseas. And I can’t imagine there will be a day that comes that I won’t think of the incredible places and people that I was lucky enough to experience.
