When I first spoke to a college recruiter, I was told that I should consider attending university outside of my home state. As a city girl from Colorado with an immense love for her state, I was hesitant. He told me, however, that the Midwest was full of "kind folks" who would be the people who would help me out if my car got stranded. His encouragement lead to me to looking at a couple of universities outside of my comfort zone, outsize of home, eventually leading me to find my home away from home.
While I did not choose a university too far away from home, the experience has been live changing. I definitely recommend studying out of state, and below are just five of the many reasons to take the dare.
1. You get to experience something different from your home state
Pushing yourself to study somewhere that isn't quite home, even if it is just one state over, allows you to experience something different. Different people means different food, colloquialisms, accents, and adventures. While this may feel a little risky, it pays off as time goes on. There are plenty of new, fresh faces out there, and getting to make some friends that you would have never met otherwise certainly changes your life. The state and the people are different, and while sometimes it may seem like people are just a lot different than you are, over time you'll start to realize that it feels a little more like home.
2. It pushes you to be more social
3. You always have a topic of conversation at the ready
When I started college, it seemed like not a single soul had ever heard of my hometown, and no one in my hometown had heard of university. Now that I'm closer to wrapping college up in a neat little bow, I've noticed that telling people I'm from Colorado always starts a conversation . . . especially when I have to explain that no, I do not live in the mountains. (That would be pretty cool, though!) The default college questions involve someone's major and where they're from, and while answering with your state name only could be faster, talking to someone about home is a lot more comforting than you might expect, even if you're just telling them where your hometown is in relation to the state capital or a random landmark.
4. Other people from your state make good friends
Though I don't have many friends in Kansas from Colorado, the ones I have made have been pretty great. They make somewhere so far from home feel more like home, because they can relate to the state pride and the homesickness just like I can. These friends offer not only a lunch and study buddy, but sometimes a ride home. Friends are great, especially the ones you make in this new state, but the ones you make who understand your feelings of home are pretty awesome. That, and it allows you to take your in-state friends home with you so they can experience something new, too.
5. Going home means so much more
I am blessed to only need to pay for two tanks of gas to head home and not a plane ticket. I don't take the chance that I actually get to go home for granted, but being home means so much more to me when I don't get to do it very often than it would if I did if ever weekend. Any time with my little brother, my parents, my grandparents, my pets, and my extended family becomes precious time. I cherish this limited time so much more than I did when I got it every single day, and for that, I'm grateful. (Plus it lets get get in some extra puppy therapy.)
All in all, you ought to knock down some walls and give studying away from home a chance. It isn't quite studying abroad, but it gives you a chance to grow and experience something different from what you're used to . . . and it makes things much more fun.
