When I left for my semester in London, I was told by friends that had studied abroad previously that I was going to have the semester of my life, but that when the last couple of weeks hit I would be ready to return home and to Rollins. I’m sorry Rollins, but I don’t think I’m ready for you again.
I obviously love Rollins. This is the school I picked to spend five years attending. But London was a completely different atmosphere than Rollins and while I was there it was hard to imagine myself returning. I was initially nervous about fomo. Like really nervous. But I found myself not keeping up-to-date with people at school. I didn’t care to watch their SnapChat stories, and I never really went on Instagram to see pictures of yet another formal. While they were doing the same thing every weekend, I was in a new country with new people experiencing completely new things.
As cliche as it sounds, studying abroad is the best way to find yourself. I did the big move from a small town in Massachusetts to the culturally opposite town in Florida. I thought that was all the growing I was going to do, but boy was I wrong. I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow Rollins like I outgrew my hometown. I gained a better appreciation for what else the world has to offer outside the two bubbles that I found myself in. I had to navigate my way through countries where English was not the main language, and where they loved to badmouth American politics (all while they are experiencing Brexit).
I think I’m at an advantage for having studied abroad. I feel much more of a global citizen than I did before, and I’m not afraid to dive into new and scary things. I probably will become that annoying person that always talks about “that one time I studied abroad” but it really brought me so many experiences to talk about!
One thing I learned while being in different countries in Europe is that every seems to be interested in every culture different than their own. So while we were American students studying in Europe, the locals we met in various places were eager to learn about our culture as well. Calling “unis” colleges and having the concept of sororities and fraternities was the most foreign concept to them. It was cool to be able to share my bits of home, too. And while they were utterly fascinated with our culture and politics, they always made sure to tell us how they didn’t want to Americans involved. As an American who was brought up on the ideal that the rest of the globe relies on us, it was interesting to hear otherwise.
If you’re someone who lives in the Northeast, it’s easy to escape to Florida for the winter. If you’re someone who lives in Scotland, you have to travel to a completely different country to feel the slightest bit of summer. The most interesting little fact, and the one that will stick with me forever, was when my tour guide in Ireland said that he was astounded to know that 80% of Americans don’t travel outside of the United States ever. For Europeans it couldn’t be more common. When he told this to one of his groups an American student stood up and said, “well we don’t need to travel anywhere else because we have every diverse place someone would want to travel in one place.” It does make sense, but I’m so glad that I’m apart of that 20% that feels the urge to get out and explore the world.
Thank you Rollins for this opportunity, thank you CAPA for encouraging exploration and travel, thank you Europe for your patience with all of these crazy American students, and thank you London for a place I can forever call home.