A mind that is stretched by new
experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
How can I express just how much studying abroad in college changed my life? Before studying abroad my only aspirations were to buy a house, marry my high school boyfriend, and start a family. Aspirations that are now so foreign to me. Now I dream of living out of my suitcase, traveling the world, and escaping the societal pressures of living a traditional life.
When I first stepped off the plane I knew my life had changed. I immediately fell in love with being in a foreign country full of the unknown where anything is possible. During my semester abroad I drank wine for the first time at a small cafe in Piazza Navona, I danced all night in front of the coliseum during La Notte Bianca, and I learned to appreciate art through Galleria Borghese.
While enjoying all these new experiences I was simultaneously discovering who I was and gaining self-confidence. Inadvertently, I was also drifting away from the life I had built back home. I tried to fight my desire to be free. I wanted to gently slip back into my old life with only fond memories of my time abroad. I couldn't anticipate the hold Rome would have on my life. Rome had expanded my mind. Rome had challenged me. Rome had ignited a desire to continuously travel and experience new cultures.
I wonder at times, not to often, how my life would be if I had not study abroad. Would I have gone on to marry my high school boyfriend? Would I have a family? I'm not sure. I've spent the past 12 years traveling and I don't regret it.
When I first stepped off the plane I knew my life had changed. I immediately fell in love with being in a foreign country full of the unknown where anything is possible. During my semester abroad I drank wine for the first time at a small cafe in Piazza Navona, I danced all night in front of the coliseum during La Notte Bianca, and I learned to appreciate art through Galleria Borghese.
While enjoying all these new experiences I was simultaneously discovering who I was and gaining self-confidence. Inadvertently, I was also drifting away from the life I had built back home. I tried to fight my desire to be free. I wanted to gently slip back into my old life with only fond memories of my time abroad. I couldn't anticipate the hold Rome would have on my life. Rome had expanded my mind. Rome had challenged me. Rome had ignited a desire to continuously travel and experience new cultures.
I wonder at times, not to often, how my life would be if I had not study abroad. Would I have gone on to marry my high school boyfriend? Would I have a family? I'm not sure. I've spent the past 12 years traveling and I don't regret it.
No comments:
Post a Comment