Okay, I know what you're all thinking. What a cliche, right? A young college girl travels out of the country for the first time and falls deeply, hopelessly in love. It sounds an awful lot like the tired plot of a bad romance movie, but I can promise you the reality is entirely different from the glitzy scenes you've seen play out on the big screen.
Yes, I fell in love while studying abroad. Actually, I fell in love twice! Have I lost you yet? Well, for those of you still reading, allow me to explain. I've had a job since I was sixteen years old, and more often than not, I've had two or three at the same time. Prior to participating in my study abroad program, I had never been out of the country, and there hadn't been a whole lot of moments in my life where I was able to exist in a world free of financial worry where traveling was even a remote possibility. I didn't think going abroad was possible for someone like me. Going abroad was for those kids whose parents put them through college and the kids who traveled to exotic places literally every summer because they didn't have to worry about paying rent or retaining a job. Travel of that magnitude was meant for students who could easily afford it...or so I thought. That's not to say the lives of these students were never hard, just very different than mine. Different enough, though, that when the study abroad director presented the trip to my Spanish class, a majority of the students' eyes lit up while my eyes remained fixated on the floor. I knew I couldn't go. I couldn't risk losing my job. How would I pay for my apartment if I wasn't making any money and was in a entirely different country? Who would take care of my pets? Would I even be able to find another job upon my return if I did go? My eyes remained unmoved, but the director slid a pamphlet across my desk anyway. Six months later, I landed in Mexico ready to embark on the experience of a lifetime. I had no idea what to expect when I signed up for this crazy adventure. All I knew was that I didn't want to waste a single minute worrying about things back home. I spent far too much time being stressed out in back in the US, and this was an opportunity to recreate myself. The thing is, I didn't recreate myself at all. Instead, once I was absolved of all the constant stress and worry I clung to so tightly, I reverted back into the purest and most genuine version of myself. I felt myself breathing deeper, laughing harder and fully engaging in the world around me, and it was then that I fell in love. I fell in love with myself. For the first time in six years, I fully embraced who I was and in turn the world around me did the same. You see, the United States can be a wonderful place. It has a diverse population, great food and countless breathtaking views but the American Dream
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About the AuthorMoriah is an Arizona State University student with an innate passion for learning and travel. Archives
October 2017
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