How Studying Abroad Changed my Life by Nicole

How Studying Abroad Changed my Life by Nicole - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

Studying abroad is a life-changing experience that I feel every college student should experience. During the last year, I was able to take part in a foreign-exchange program with a group of German students from the city of Hildesheim. Hosting my student, Lisa, in the fall of 2014 was a truly humbling experience, but it wasn’t until my actual stay with her in Germany that everything started to change for me. I have had a previous encounter with foreign travel; during my freshman year of high school, I was able to spend ten days visiting Madrid, Spain, Morocco, and other various cities in the south of the country. Although being in Spain was a truly enlightening experience, living in Germany and encountering the day-to-day life of the people who live there has had an immense impact on my life.
In the last portion of our stay in Germany, the group took a week-long excursion through multiple cities. During this time, I took on a leadership role among the group. I used my strong communication skills and critical thinking in order to help create consensus within the group, lead my peers to evaluate choices and act on those choices, navigate a foreign transportation system with a large group, and negotiate foreign relations with the locals. Although I do not possess a page-long list of elected leadership positions, I have always believed in my ability to lead others by setting strong examples for my peers and studying abroad has helped me realize that.
During my stay, I met people from across the ocean and realized they had the same hopes, fears, and passions as I. I was able to live an average day-to-day life that included family events, school, and local events that really gave me the opportunity to be part of a community during my visit and transform myself. My trip impacted my plans for the future by lighting a spark in my passion for food and leading me to investigate culinary schools with study abroad programs so that I may once again experience the fulfilment of being in other countries. But most importantly, living in Germany gave me perspective. I now have new goals and valuable skills I can use to achieve those goals and a connection to people and places that will remain in my heart forever.
When I arrived home, I returned with confidence, maturity and insight into who I really am. Being surrounded by unfamiliar people and places helped me grow as a person by teaching me to be confident in myself and forced me to develop maturity and responsibility. I was immersed in a different culture that caused me to reflect and appreciate my own. I developed language skills and was able to learn from local teachers and other students. I was surrounded by unacquainted history and was able to create connections with places and important historical event. All of these things have impacted who I am and how I act in the most beneficial way.