I am currently 3,365 miles from home. I am 3,892 miles from school. Needless to say, I am far away from all that I have ever known.
I should be clinging to every bit of home and every bit of Elon that I can. I should be keeping close every person I knew before this trip. I should be surrounding myself with all the people and things that make me feel at home in this very different country.
But I won’t.
If I wanted everything to be just like home or just like Elon then I would have stayed in one of those places for the semester. I wouldn’t have made conscious effort to convince my parents to spend the extra money. I wouldn’t have even applied.
We all choose our study abroad for a different combination of reasons, be it cultural immersion and language or historical sites and career aspirations. Regardless of why we want to study in another country, we should all recognize the unique opportunity we have to get meaningful alone time while we’re abroad.
I wouldn’t expect anyone to get the “full experience” in a country if they surround themselves in the same social environment they have in their own country. But taking some time to be alone – that is where the growth and experience happens the most.
When we’re alone, we directly feel, see and engage in the world around us instead of having our experiences filtered by the outward reactions of others. Sometimes it can be nice to go places with a friend or two but if we minimize the chatter and the distractions we can truly take it all in.
Some of the best learning in life comes in a series of moments when our eyes, ears and minds are open, and our mouths are closed.
I hope that all of my friends and classmates studying abroad this semester will break away from the people and habits that make them feel at home, and venture off alone. Familiarity does give us comfort, but comfort won’t give us much growth. Embrace the inner silence. Learn to love being alone.
I should be clinging to every bit of home and every bit of Elon that I can. I should be keeping close every person I knew before this trip. I should be surrounding myself with all the people and things that make me feel at home in this very different country.
But I won’t.
If I wanted everything to be just like home or just like Elon then I would have stayed in one of those places for the semester. I wouldn’t have made conscious effort to convince my parents to spend the extra money. I wouldn’t have even applied.
We all choose our study abroad for a different combination of reasons, be it cultural immersion and language or historical sites and career aspirations. Regardless of why we want to study in another country, we should all recognize the unique opportunity we have to get meaningful alone time while we’re abroad.
I wouldn’t expect anyone to get the “full experience” in a country if they surround themselves in the same social environment they have in their own country. But taking some time to be alone – that is where the growth and experience happens the most.
When we’re alone, we directly feel, see and engage in the world around us instead of having our experiences filtered by the outward reactions of others. Sometimes it can be nice to go places with a friend or two but if we minimize the chatter and the distractions we can truly take it all in.
Some of the best learning in life comes in a series of moments when our eyes, ears and minds are open, and our mouths are closed.
I hope that all of my friends and classmates studying abroad this semester will break away from the people and habits that make them feel at home, and venture off alone. Familiarity does give us comfort, but comfort won’t give us much growth. Embrace the inner silence. Learn to love being alone.