This is a secret. I write now in a class; even my favorite class cannot hold my attention on this day. Therefore, I must write down my whirlwind brain thoughts and attempt to capture them. I am writing for little reason other than thought itself, but am hopeful it spits out something worth reading. I am learning so much here; the differences in law, culture and social expectations were expected but so much different in practice. It is a different world here, and hope to illustrate not necessarily the differences but the feeling those differences provide. I feel safe here; I feel welcomed and at home and proud to be American—a feeling long escaping me since the exponential decline in patriotism and an upward moving nation.
What I have learned while away, in part, is what it means to be American. I think becoming American happens more and more every day to me, even across the world. I think this is because I am forced to confront my differences, and therefore assign them more deliberately to my identity. I have met people from around the world here, from Singapore to Kenya to France. All these identities work seamlessly together—sharing thoughts and ideas and disagreements—to create genuinely more involved and educated identities for those who partake. I have learned and laughed, contemplated and cried with these people. They are now a part of me, and I them. I am lucky to have found them and none of it would have been possible had I not dived headfirst into this adventure called study abroad.
This adventure has single handedly improved my idea of myself. I have learned immense truths about myself; what I like and hate, how I spend my free time, and what I want my future to look like. This semester was described to me as a wind tunnel of experiences and people, never catching everything you wanted to. I see it now differently. I have found spaces to make my own and I am learning every day more about what kind of adult I want to be. That sort of lesson is invaluable, and I have been lucky to find such an experience. Studying abroad is much more than legal drinking and parties and accents. If you use it, it can be a time for you to shed expectations and find truths about yourself, something I’ve found to be unique and worth the effort.