Finding the Guts to Study Abroad
Ask yourself one question: do you want to study abroad? The experience can truly be something that changes the game for you. However, you do want to always think about whether or not you can handle the process that leads up to studying abroad, let alone any challenges that come your way. Do you really have the guts to study abroad? Don’t worry right now if the answer is no. You have plenty of time to learn what you like and don’t like so that you can make the jump to studying in a foreign country. That’s truly what studying abroad is all about.
Make sure that you start thinking about where you’re going to study at. The best approach here is to make sure that you are looking at the country in question. Knowing something about the country that you want to study in can be helpful. Just picking a country out of thin air because you think that will lead to a job isn’t a good thing. If you have no passion for where you’re going to be living for some period, you’re going to get burned out and want to go right back home. That’s a lot of wasted money, and you just took up a slot that another student really wanted. In the spirit of fairness, it’s important to make sure that if you really don’t want to do something that you back down from the commitment as soon as possible. This way, the opportunity is freed up for someone else to step in. When you’re really good at your job, it can feel like everything is moving forward in the right direction. On the other hand, this is so much more than just a career move.
Trust us — something indie you will change when you start studying your field of choice abroad. You are going to be exposed to a lot of different people, who all want to make sure that you have the best of everything. That’s something that might throw you for a loop, especially if you haven’t traveled very much. You might wonder how you’re going to adapt to a culture where everyone looks different than you. Make sure that you’re remaining culturally sensitive. They don’t always know what you’re going through, even when you tell them. You need to make sure that you have a little patience. The process is going to be different for everyone. Some people have traveled to the point where studying aboard isn’t a big deal for them. On the other hand, some have never really even left their homes, and college is a big step for them.
Where you land on the scale just depends on what you’ve experienced up to this point. But if you’re deeply interested in studying abroad, it never hurts to do your research. Make sure that you actually talk to students that have completed the experience, not just talked about it on Tumblr or Instagram or Twitter. Anybody can talk big about travel — but it seems that fewer and fewer people are honestly embracing it the way that they used to.
So, weigh in — would you study abroad? Do you worry that it’s going to be expensive? Sound off in the comments!
