When I arrived in Spain foggy with jet lag last September, I was ridiculously excited, but I definitely didn't fully realize that I was embarking on the adventure of my young life. Nine months immersed in Spanish culture, meeting new friends, travelling alone across Europe, and discovering myself - however cheesy it may sound - has taught me how limitless the world, and life, can be. It is impossible for me to do justice to my European journey, so I am on a mission; to encourage any and all undergraduate students who are considering study abroad to go. Don't make excuses not to live your life. Carpe diem! When you are a tired, overworked adult in the real world, then you will have excuses; now you have none but your own fear of the unknown.
According
to the Institute of International Education, around 30% of American citizens
own passports, and only about 1% of college students study abroad annually
(Andriano, 1). After spending the best nine months of my life studying in
southern Spain, I cannot help but wonder why so few students pursue the unique
opportunity that is international education. I'm not talking about a
semester-long drinking spree, partying with other Americans. I'm talking about
real study abroad, to immerse yourself in a language and a culture that is
completely alien to you. After a lifetime awash in the familiarity of American
society, it is difficult to recognize ourselves as victims of automatization,
incapable of thinking for ourselves outside of the reality concept our small
world has formed for us. Study abroad offers us the chance to defamiliarize our
habitual, automatic perception, see the world with fresh eyes, and grow as
human beings. There is no better time than now to travel, study abroad
education is affordable, and international education is not only an invaluable
life experience, but it promotes cross-cultural goodwill and healthier
international policies.
I've
spoken to a lot of students my age who say they plan to travel when they have
the job, the money, the spouse, a break; something. But what they fail to
realize is that there is no better time than now. We are college age students,
and right now, we are standing in a rare window of our lives that may never
open again. We have all of the privileges and abilities of adults, without all
of the responsibility. No mortgage or career or family to take care of. This is
the time to be selfish, my friends. Travel will never again be so easy.
Furthermore, you are young now. Your perspective on life is still fresh and
malleable. Expose yourself to new life experiences and different cultures,
challenge yourself to grow, before your worldview has hardened into its mature
form. You - not to mention the rest of the world - will thank yourself for
taking this opportunity to get a little enlightened.
The
other thing I've heard a lot of: I can't afford it. Well, Ok, fine. You
definitely cannot, if you are expecting to travel like your snooty great aunt,
and if you aren't willing to put in the time and energy to search for the best
study abroad program for you. But I will tell you a secret. If you are
open-minded and you really want it, you can go abroad, period. You are young.
You will probably never again be ok with surviving on grocery picnic meals in
Paris or sleeping on grimy sheets in chaotic hostels. Few students recognize
this, but travel can be cheap if you are willing to let it be. Even more
importantly, study abroad programs that cost the same as your in-state tuition
exist, and so do a plethora of scholarships and grants. Check out the Office of
International Programs' study abroad website, www.studyabroad.colostate.edu,
and talk to the friendly folks at Laurel Hall about the right program for your
budget. On top of that, study abroad will pay you back. International education
is a great addition to any resume, and the skills you learn abroad will help
you in whatever job you end up in - and employers know this. In my young life
I've learned that the only investment I can't regret making is an investment in
life experience. So invest in the time of your life, and a wiser, more
open-minded version of yourself.
One
other excuse I've heard a lot of: study abroad is incompatible with my major.
Well I'm here to tell you that this isn't necessarily true. I've known
engineering, theatre, psychology and biomedical science students to go abroad
... and get credit for it. I encourage you to talk to your advisor and research
programs before you dismiss such an amazing opportunity on the basis of
scheduling. Nowadays, short for-credit summer trips with professors are
becoming increasingly common, and while they may not offer the immersive
experience of a longer trip, they are a good option for students who cannot
commit to a bigger block of time. I spent a year abroad and knocked out an
entire, impromptu Spanish minor, and will graduate a semester late for the
experience. Nonetheless, there is still no doubt in my mind that I made the
best decision of my life. Don't rush through college: explore your options or
broaden your horizons and remember that, even if you don't get all of the
credit you want for your semester or academic year abroad, international
education would be an invaluable learning experience that would put you
literally a world ahead of your peers.
Education
experts recognize the value of study abroad, too; "experiential learning
encourage[s] students to draw their own conclusions about the relationships
between their values, beliefs, norms, and behavior" (Wynveen, 349). In my
opinion, this is the number one reason to study abroad. Because you may learn
some things about yourself, people, and the big wide world that you couldn't
learn in twenty years of sitting on the cushy pedestal that is your own country
and culture. Social psychologists say that one's social dominance orientation
(a measure of our tendency to enforce social inequality and discrimination
towards out-groups) can be lowered by socialization (XXX). In my experience, inter-cultural
socialization through travel promotes heighted conscientiousness towards the
values and beliefs of other groups of people, not to mention a more creative, unprejudiced
and self-reliant self. Challenge yourself to grow, study abroad.
The
world would be a better place if all students seeking higher education would
take some time out to study abroad. Just imagine a young, mobilized voting
network made up of students who are literate to globalization, able to identify
with peoples of all backgrounds, and practiced in freethinking. Such a
population could recreate American foreign policy and make this country a
better, more tolerant place to live. Study abroad gives students the unique
opportunity "to grasp meaningful and generative global
citizenship learning as they forg[e] bonds with “cultural” others, unaided (or
unencumbered?) by structured interventions" (Killick, 384).
For
those of you who want to go abroad to get drunk, party with your American
buddies, speak loud English to the locals, and stay in on the weekends to Skype
your boyfriend at home, I reassure you that study abroad is neither affordable
nor practical; and it won't make you a better, more interesting person or a
more worldly voter. Please forget everything you have just read, and schedule a
spring break trip to Lake Havasu. Don't be offended. I'm not offended. It is
for the best. But if you are up for a challenge, if you want to make friends
from all different cultures and walks of life, if you want to warp the way you
see reality, if you desire to explore the world and yourself and come home much
more experienced and a helluva lot less smugly self-assured, then study abroad
is for you. International education provides college students with an
affordable, perfectly timed, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. While it may not
be easy to do the research, find the resources, apply for a visa and
scholarships, sit still on an airplane for 12 to 18 hours, speak the language,
sleep on the occasional train station platform, be away from your family, or
function in a new and foreign culture, it is all worth it. International
education will make you not just a student of school, but a student of life.
Works Cited
Andriano, Bryan.
"Engagement Practices and Study Abroad Participation of First-
generation
American College Students." DigitalCommons@Fayetteville
State
University
14 Aug 2012. Faculty Working Papers
form the School of Education. Web
17 Sept.
2012.
Killick, David.
"Seeing-Ourselves-in-the-World Developing Global Citizenship Through
International
Mobility and Campus Community." Journal
of Studies in
International
Education Vol. 16 Issue
4 (Sep2012): 372-389. Academic Search
Premier.
Web. 14 Sept. 2012.
Wynveen,
Christopher J., Gerard Kyle, and Michael A. Tarrant. "Study Abroad Experiences
and
Global Citizenship: Fostering Proenvironmental Behavior." Journal of Studies in International
Education Vol. 16 Issue 4 (Sep2012): 334-352.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 14
Sept. 2012
