Do you dream of walking past all the royal palaces on the streets of London everyday? How about having pizza, pasta and gelato as your main food groups? Or jet setting off to Paris for the weekend?
These are just some of the crazy realities of studying abroad. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and will be the most incredible adventure of your life. I will always encourage anyone and everyone to take the leap and do it. These are my top reasons why you absolutely should.
1. Traveling.
Studying abroad gives you the opportunity not only to live in a foreign country for a semester, but it also gives you the chance to visit some other amazing places. In Europe for example, traveling from one country to another is as easy as a bus, a train ride or a cheap flight. So taking a weekend to explore Dublin or hopping on the Eurostar from London to Paris will become your norm. Getting to experience a new city for the first time is an irreplaceable rush.
2. Make new friends.
The thought of living in a foreign country by yourself can be very scary. Just remember when you go to study abroad everyone you meet will be in the same boat and is just as scared as you are. Traveling with people and getting to experience these amazing new adventures together will make you lifelong friends. Every time you think back on all of the things you did one of the best things that will stick out are the friends you got to explore the world with.
3. Adventure.
When you’re living in a foreign country everyday feels like an adventure. There’s no better time to do crazy things than when you’re a college student. We don’t have the budget we’d like, but when else are you going to have the time to gallivant around Europe? The money becomes a background detail when you get that first taste of exploring a brand new beautiful city. College is the time to make crazy memories and studying abroad gives you the opportunity to make crazy memories you’ll never forget.
4. It gets you out of your comfort zone.
I am one of the shyest people in the world so before going abroad I had no idea what would happen. When you face your fears and anxieties head on it can lead to incredible things. When you do take that jump and do something that scares you to death it feels incredible and makes you feel like you can take over the world.
5. It will look great on your resume.
It’s an awesome experience to talk about in a job interview. You will come back with so many stories and adventures that will totally make you stand out to a potential employer.
6. Experience a new culture.
Here in America we tend to think the way we do things is the way everyone else does them too. Studying abroad gives you the chance experience a culture different than the one you’re used to and it’s fascinating. Seeing the way other people do things and just go about their daily lives and how different the rest of the world can be it will give you a great new perspective. Studying abroad will be the best decision of your life. It gives you the opportunity to do some amazing things in a short amount of time that some people wait their whole lives to experience. It will give you such a unique perspective on the world and it will give you memories and friends that you will carry with you forever.
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