Dear Debbie,
I’m a sophomore here and the deadline to apply for studying abroad is coming up in November. I’ve been looking at the different programs available (there are a ton), and I’ve narrowed my search down to a few. The only problem is I’m not sure I’m ready to go to a totally different country but I’m also worried I’ll regret not taking this chance. So my question is, how do I know if I’m ready to go? – Uncertain
Dear Uncertain,
This is a tricky one but hopefully I can help you out here! I actually studied abroad myself in Ireland for a semester and I loved every single minute of it. I cannot rave about it enough. The classes I took, the people I met, the places I went were all more than I could have ever hoped for. Even considering studying abroad is a great first step to being ready to go! It means you’re starting to look for more experiences. However I won’t lie to you; applying is one thing but actually boarding the plane to leave is a totally different matter. As my flight time approached, I suddenly started second guessing myself. An experience I had waited months for and there I was almost too scared to get on the damn plane. But is anyone perfectly ready to leave home, be it going to college or moving out? Majority of the time the answer is probably no. Sometimes the only way to experiences is to literally push yourself off the cliff; in this case, that push would be applying (I was once too scared to zip line but I really wanted to do it so a camp counselor pushed me really unexpectedly. I thanked her for it). If you’re already considering the regrets you could have by not doing this, before you’ve even applied, I think you will regret not going. We have to get out of our comfort zones to continue to grow and this definitely qualifies as outside the comfort zone. I hope you decide to take the plunge to apply! Few people regret going and most regret not going. Good luck making your decision!
– Debbie