"Don’t count the days; make the days count." –Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was one of the most influential athletes that ever lived, and although this article is not about him, these words of wisdom reflect the essence of what I am going to talk about: take the opportunities given to you and fill your days with as many experiences you can. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and grow as a person.
I just got back to the United States after spending the last three weeks traveling across Europe for a class I took at my university. Despite not being the typical study abroad trip lasting several months and including the integration into a foreign culture, I know that the memories I have made and the experience as a whole will last a lifetime. Our group consisted of Honors students and communications majors, and as a group we traveled through three countries. We made our way through Italy, France and England via Rome, Venice, Florence, Sienna, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Milan, Paris and finally London.
My philosophy has always been to take on as many opportunities as I can and to do as many new things as possible and to worry about being in debt after school is over. Perhaps this is not the most economical approach to life, but it makes for some really interesting and good experiences (it helps that I have parents that want me to experience as much as I can too.)
When I first found out about the trip, I immediately planned on going and I immediately tried to get my girlfriend to attend. After dating for more than three years, I thought a proposal in Europe would be perfect—I already had the ring and now I had the opportunity.
My girlfriend is a business major and is thus much more economically aware than I am. In addition to this, she is usually more hesitant to travel than I am. However, after taking French for several years, the fact that Paris was on the itinerary was a huge influence on why she decided to say “yes” to the trip. Thankfully I got her to say “yes” to me as well and it was just as perfect as I imagined it.
What I hadn’t imagined was how much I would learn—not just because of a class, but through traveling itself. I am an English speaking American—more specifically an American-English speaking American. I have never studied Italian or French to much extent and English in England—while still English—is much different than I previously ever thought about. I suppose it makes sense that the trip was exclusively for communications and Honors students as you have to either be smart or good at communicating to figure things out—I kid, you neither have to be smart or a good communicator to appreciate the beauty of other languages! It is amazing to watch and immerse yourself in the culture of foreign countries, regardless of the amount of time you are able to spend there.
If you ever have the chance to travel abroad, do it. Whether it be for a vacation, a class, a job or just for the experience, do it. Make the most out of your days there and use the experiences to open your mind to new ways of thinking. You only have so much time in life, make the days count.
