In
a few weeks, I will leave to spend my entire senior year abroad in Chile,
completely and absolutely out of my comfort zone. A pretty big decision, I
know, but interestingly enough, this whole process started with a very small
decision—the decision to read a new book. I had just finished the one I was
reading, and I needed something new. I asked my mom for a recommendation. She
recommended a book she had read a few years ago when she was trying to make a
plan to help me apply for colleges.
The Global Student,
by Maya Frost, is a book filled with tips and tricks for getting a good
education. Mostly, however, it emphasizes the importance of getting a global
education in this increasingly globalized society. As I read through the
multitude of interviews with former exchange students that were published in
the book, I heard countless people gush about how much the experience changed
their lives, propelled them to success, helped them find their passions, and
how they would not trade their year abroad for the world. I simply thought, “I
would be crazy to pass up an opportunity like this!”
Getting
my parents on board, surprisingly enough, was not difficult at all. My mom had
given me the book in the first place, so she always knew this was a
possibility, and my dad is completely obsessed with other cultures—we have a
house in Rosarito, Mexico and he is down there speaking the language every
weekend—so he is supportive of anything that will broaden my horizons to the
rest of the world.
Once
I realized that this had moved from being an abstract dream to something that
could actually happen, I began to work on the logistics of it all. My first
hurdle: school. If I was going to be in another country my entire senior year,
how would I be able to graduate on time? After a few days of scrambling, some
amazing people in the guidance office at my school found my perfect solution. I
could stay in all my regular junior year classes (5 APs was stressful enough) and
then take the core requirements that I needed to complete during senior year
through an independent study program called Fresh Start. This means that I
technically graduated from high school this year instead of next, leaving my
would-have-been senior year open to study abroad without worrying about
transferring credits or repeating a year. I know all my extra work this year
set me up for an amazing learning experience next year that I could never get
in a classroom.
From
the moment I picked up that book, everything about this decision has fallen
into place. I haven’t had any huge hurdles to jump over or problems to deal
with. I feel like everything around me is pointing me in this direction. I know
some people probably think I’m crazy, or I’m giving up my education, or I’m putting
myself in danger, or about a million other concerns. I know that this will not
be easy, and that I will be an outsider in a country whose language I do not
speak, and that I will be homesick, and that applying to colleges from a
foreign country will probably be my biggest challenge yet. However, above all
of these things, I know that I want to do this. I want to have an experience
that I could never get in a classroom, or even in the United States. I want to
learn about myself, and about the world I live in, and I want to be more than
just one more kid from Southern California who takes the well-trodden path. I
want to be bold, daring, and just maybe be rewarded for these qualities in the
long run. I want to study abroad.
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