My first post of my sophomore year of college and it's already the second semester. Damn. This may be a sign of why my topic is today: I have these questions inside me that I haven't been able to express in writing or even in myself. Have I lost myself? My spiritual practice? My limited wisdom? Or have I just lost my naiveté? Long story short, I am applying to Study Abroad.
It has been an important part of my educational experience that I go outside of my comfort zones. Coming from California to an entirely new city was one of the biggest tests of my strength and courage. Designing my own major in Gallatin has been another test; it has tested every conception I had about myself, my goals, my passions, and my future. After being here for almost two years now, I am exhilarated by the idea that I can continue pushing myself and continue to experience things that most people never have the opportunity to. Study abroad is one of those opportunities.
I am applying to NYU London because I am overwhelmed by the opportunities that come with that program: the ability to study philosophy and middle eastern politics is incredibly important to me, and the ability to travel within Europe is equally important. I have academic goals hand in hand with experiential goals in mind for my study abroad experience; that is the true meaning of education for me. I want to live and experience another culture, many cultures if I am able, and I want to learn from those cultures. I want to learn things about myself that I can only learn from going (once again) outside of my comfort zone and into a foreign environment.
I tend to over think things. I make lists, plan incessantly, and organize until there is nothing left to analyze or plan for. And then I keep planning. By the end of my freshman year I thought I had it all planned out: internship in the summer, study abroad in the spring. It wasn’t until I heard President John Sexton speak about his spirituality and his vision for our global university that I realized that I can’t plan everything, and I need to be open to changes and to diversity and to everything in this world. I have been planning so much and for so long that I began to loose sight of the opportunities and the beauty of this present moment. I need this more than anything… to take a leap of faith in myself and in my own abilities. I need to let go; I need to just live and trust that I am capable and powerful and can jet across the world without any doubts. I need this.
