Second semester sophomore year is when everything gets finalized. Housing for junior year and acceptance letters into colleges abroad. I’m one of those sophomores that decided to not go abroad and to stay in Allentown. You hear all your upperclassmen friends telling you about how great their experiences were and hear all about where they studied and all the places they went to. But leaving home for anywhere for three to five months just didn’t sound appealing to me.
Of course, I want to travel the world and explore new places and cultures, but I thought that by studying abroad I would miss out on classes that are only offered every so often or fall behind on GAR’s/major requirements. Staying here in Allentown definitely has its perks. I’ve become so much closer with those who aren’t abroad in the fall or in the spring, or abroad at all. You learn so much about people you were kind of friends with because they’re the ones that are here with you all year. You get to create your own “abroad hashtags,” like #AbroadInAllentown or #NotAbroad. You go to concerts early in the Fall semester with people you wouldn’t expect to drive 5 hours with but you bonded over the music and simply had to go.
Not only did I learn a lot about others by not going abroad, I learned a lot about myself. I immersed myself in numerous different clubs, taking on way more executive positions than I thought I could handle, yet here I am, still alive. I’ve grown closer with my professors, and I even was able to get two littles for Alpha Phi Omega. This year may have been a whirlwind in a lot of different senses, but I’m really glad I stayed here in Allentown. Yes, I could have been in Israel, Australia, or even Washington D.C., but I have found my comfort zone here.
So to all of you sophomores that are going abroad next year, way to go! You’re obviously going to have the most amazing experience of your life. And to those who aren’t going abroad, you’re going to meet so many new people you never thought you would become friends with. You’ll be able to meet seniors coming back from abroad the previous year and you’ll get to mingle with new freshmen too.
And to all of you freshmen, you have plenty of time to think. Think about where you’d want to study, what you want to study here, and if going abroad makes sense to you. It didn’t to me and I made it, I’m still okay. Yes, abroad is a big part of decision making when looking at colleges, but it doesn’t have to be the be all or end all. Going abroad may enhance your college experience, but it’s not going to make or break it either.
So here I am, second-semester junior year, and no, I didn’t go abroad, and yes, I’m a-okay with it.