Goals for Study Abroad

It feels amazing to be this close to studying abroad. I’ve wanted to travel for as long as I can remember, and the study abroad program was a big part of what drew me to Maryville College. During my freshman year, I remember feeling disbelief – international travel, this thing that I’d been dreaming about, couldn’t have suddenly became attainable. No way! Sometimes I still feel like that – am I actually getting ready to go abroad? Fairytale stuff is happening in my life. All of that being said, trying to describe my reasons for wanting to study abroad seems like a daunting task. I think that what initially drew me to it was pure curiosity – I want to see other parts of the world, and know what else is out there. I’d like to see for myself the amazing places I’ve seen in pictures, and get to know another way of life, another culture. How does humanity differ in its span across the world, and in what ways does it stay the same? I’m excited to begin my journey in finding out.

Another big aspect of my desire for study abroad has to do with my trouble in finding a definitive career plan – I don’t know for sure what I want to do after I get out of college, and I’ll admit that it scares me. I haven’t found my passion yet; and I don’t know what it is that I can offer to the world. Basically, I’m entering into a time in my life when I feel that the best possible thing I can do is explore. I need to put myself in unknown situations and jump at new opportunities. I have limits that need to be pushed, and horizons that need to be broadened. How else can I learn more about myself? What better way to find out where I fit in the world than experiencing it in as many different ways as I can? This may sound a little cheesy, but one of the biggest things I hope to gain from this trip is self-discovery.

I’m also looking forward to my classes – I found some really fantastic courses about subjects in psychology that I’m interested in. That’s actually another way I’m hoping to further along my career search – these classes aren’t ones that someone in my major would usually take, but I’m excited to see how they’ll go.

My last reason for studying abroad has to do with the people I hope to meet and learn about. I want to gain lifelong friends out of this experience. I hope that I will find people who open my eyes to a new way of life and help me to embrace the unknown, but I also want to give some of that back. In some sense, I think that this may be one of the most important purposes of my trip.

To be honest, I’m kind of trying to reign in my feelings about the trip at the moment – I don’t know where I’m placed yet, and I’m trying really hard to remain carefully neutral about all of my choices. When I find out where I’m going, I want every part of me to be excited – even if I don’t get my first choice. However, I’d definitely still say I’m starting to get crazy excited/terrified/starry-eyed/nervous/over-joyed. I’m guessing that’s normal?

To maximize my experience, wherever I end up going, I want to go in with the mindset that behind every opportunity I stumble upon, I might find something great. I also want to go out of my way to find new people to meet and get to know. Lastly, I think it’s really important that I stay focused on having a full experience while I’m abroad – I know it’s going to be a challenge to balance studying, seeing new places, and adjusting to a different way of life.