5 reasons why everyone should study abroad
Studying abroad is something that has impacted my life immensely and I believe there are a lot of great reasons why everyone should study abroad. Especially in college when you have more free-time and aren’t tied down to anything, studying abroad can help you learn more about yourself and another country. While there are tons of reasons why, here are my top five reasons why everyone should study abroad.
It teaches you to be independent.
Since you are so far away from home in a foreign country, studying abroad allows you to learn how to become independent. You have to learn to do things on your own and make decisions that you may not have ever made before. Although your family is only a phone call away, they are not there physically, which makes you think more for yourself. When I studied abroad, I did many things on my own that I never would have imagined doing. With there being a 7-hour time difference between Israel and home, sometimes I had to make in-the-moment decisions that I was unable to discuss with my parents first since they were asleep. It taught me a lot of skills that I will be able to use in the future to help me be successful.
It allows you to learn a lot about yourself.
Studying abroad can teach you new things about yourself that you never knew before. When I studied abroad, I learned how adventurous and easy going I was. I did new things that I never thought I would. One of those things included skydiving. I never imagined that was something that I would be able to do, but being on my own and learning to become independent led me to want to be adventurous. Overall, I learned so many things about myself and the kind of person that I am because of my experience abroad and it is something that I will cherish forever.
It allows you to experience a different culture and learn a new language.
When living in a foreign and new country, you have to adapt to the culture and language of the people that live in that country. At first it can be a bit of a culture shock and hard to adjust to, but once you get used to it, it is so amazing to experience life in such a new way. When I studied abroad, I got the opportunity to take a class on the language of the country and was able to learn a lot about their culture. Living in a different culture has so many amazing benefits, one which includes all of the new food. Overall, living in a foreign country taught me lots of life skills and made me more aware of the world around me and the world outside of the U.S. Experiencing a new culture was so much fun and has made me want to continue to travel the world and experience even more cultures.
You will make new friendships that will last a lifetime.
Studying abroad allows you to make friendships that you would not make anywhere else. Since you are abroad for such a short amount of time, you get close to people faster than you would have ever imagined. You are all experiencing new things for the first time and are dealing with the culture shock, which makes you become close friends so fast. Once abroad is over, the friends you made will be people that you could never imagine life without and the people that will be your friends for many more years to come. From personal experience, I met some of the best people during my study abroad and they are the people that will be my friends forever!
You get to travel and see the world.
Depending on where you choose to study abroad, you may have the opportunity to travel around to other countries and see other places. When I studied abroad, I was able to go to Italy and spend a week there visiting my friend. I was also able to go to Germany, Amsterdam, and Belgium. Aside from that, I was able to travel and see all of Israel. It was the best four months of my life and I am so fortunate that I was able to have this experience. It is something that I will talk about for the rest of my life and will always recommend it to anyone who asks.
Studying abroad changed me for the better and I am so happy I got to experience going around the world. I hope everyone gets to experience what I have gotten to experience. If you don’t believe me, try it out for yourself!
About the author
Jillian Fribush
Jillian Fribush is a senior at Towson University and is graduating in May 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going on hikes, working out, and going shopping. She loves to travel and hopes to be able to travel more once she graduates. She is the Pearson Campus Ambassador for Towson.
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