To you:
Going abroad is for thrill seekers, adventure catching people who have completely and utterly lost it. Well, I guess I lost it because I came- I saw- and I conquered Dumfries, Scotland. Whenever I called my parents and told them about going to Scotland, they were a little confused and wondered why because it was out of no where. Now- I’ve made a lot of impulsive decisions being 20 years old, but this the biggest impulse decision I had ever made and surprisingly enough, it all worked out. I prayed- a lot. I was stressed out- a lot. I questioned what I was doing- a lot. However, through this adversity is where the silver lining was. Under the stress and confusion of international travel, you get to experience many different things, especially whenever you are experiencing it alongside some of your favorite colleagues in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
Whatever doubt you have regarding going abroad, throw it out the window- finances, safety, cultural differences- just get rid of it. This sentence is hard to tell people about study abroad because I am a very Type A person, but sometimes you do have to just let go and go with the flow. By allowing myself to do this, I was able to hop on a plane for 8 hours to see a country that is much similar to us here in the United States, but also so different. Being in a different country is a whole new world- one that I couldn’t tackle on my own. The biggest piece of advice for leaving the country is this…
TEAMWORK.
This is because the network of a team is really the reason why you are on this study abroad. You have to connect with your colleagues, your professors, the country you are going to, and specifically the locals that will help you around. These examples were just a few because it takes so many people-to-people connections to get from point A to point B. The goal largely for you is to get out of the classroom and apply it abroad to travel and learn globally. However, the goal is so small compared to the process. So be proud of the process of getting to your destination (and back)! Encounter all you can encounter and be prepared for your plan to get off track (or even derail all together).
In the famous words of Nike, “Just do it!”
Sincerely,
Hannah Rull
