The World is Shrinking by Emma

The World is Shrinking by Emma - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

The world is shrinking. It no longer takes 2-3 weeks to get information to people on the other side of the globe. Communication is instantaneous anymore. Travel is quicker. What used to take days or weeks to reach a destination, can be achieved in hours now. Because of these changes and facts, it is becoming more vitally important to travel and be educated about where you are going.

My junior year of high school my family hosted a foreign exchange student for a year. It was a great experience. Not only did he teach myself and my family about his country and culture, but we were able to share our country and culture with him. In doing so, I learned from him what a great experience it was to travel and study in a different country and the personal growth that he attained because of his experience.

I believe that studying abroad is a vital part of starting to help the world heal and become a better place. Immurse yourself into a culture and take it all in. Learn how to study differntly than you are used to. Learn how to live in a different culture than you were raised. This not only helps you appreciate where you have come from, but to also appreciate different ideas, values and customs around the globe. Bring that knowledge and understanding back with you, share it with your community. Let people in your community know how wonderful it is to have different customs and ideas to grow from and gain bigger and brighter ideas from.

Open your mind to differences and see the world truly for what it is, a beautiful and fascinating place just waiting to be explored by eager, energentic and knowledge thirsty young adults.