Going abroad is a big deal. My school is amazing, because they make it a requirement for everyone to go abroad at some point during their four years studying there. I personally think everyone should do a GO Long program. In the end, it is so worth it. It doesn't matter if you don't “find yourself” on your trip. Let's be honest, even if you did, there is no such thing as “finding yourself” because you are always changing. The person you were yesterday is gone. That is true every day of your life. Every day you are leaving behind parts of you for new or refurbished parts. Going abroad will show you the importance of trying to “find yourself” even though it can't be a forever experience. But traveling abroad is not a forever experience, so it all ends up okay. The important thing is that you interact with a culture that is different from your own. Even seeing a different culture opens your eyes to the world. It has been freeing, let me tell you, to hear what Europeans have to say about America. Some of it is eye-opening, some of it I already knew, but all of it gives me a new perspective on my home. Everyone should be given the chance to experience a new perspective, even if it is one you do not share a belief in.
I have found it surprising how easy it is to fall into a routine here. I thought it would be more different than home. Although there are subtle differences, most of it is much alike to America. I think returning home will be strange but also refreshing. I am the kind of person that needs an established routine in my life, and now I know that anywhere in the world that I go, I am capable of creating a routine for myself. It is empowering to know that I am capable. I have said all of this before in my blog but I want to reinforce the fact that traveling abroad will change your life. Not in big ways. You won't return home a changed person. But you will return home with new perspectives and a new understanding of your own capabilities.
You will also learn how to say goodbye. I know it sounds sad, and it is. But going abroad means that at some point, you will have to say goodbye to the places you have been and the people you have met. I'm going to be honest right now. I'm a shy person, and the only reason I have friends here is because Ayla Moreash came up to me the first day and said hi. I may not have learned to let go of my reserved nature and my fear of speaking to strangers, but I have met people here, even if it was through someone else. I'm still going to have to say goodbye. To my friends, to my school, to Scotland and the UK. I am going half a world away, and there is no way New York or Pennsylvania will ever capture my breath the way Scotland did. I will have to say goodbye. But I think it is a good skill to learn. Life is full of goodbyes. And going abroad gives you your first taste of falling in love and having to leave someplace behind. It's good practice, because goodbye is never actually goodbye. Facebook posts and Instagram photos. Twitter feeds. Pictures. Letters. Souvenirs. Memories. All of these things are not full of goodbyes. They are rememberings of the places you have been and the people you have met and everything you have had to leave behind but will never forget.