Study Abroad by Roberto

Study Abroad by Roberto - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

I believe that students shouldn't be required to study abroad, but they should be recommended to. I believe that it'll offer an experience that one cannot experience within our country. I have grown up in a Hispanic culture and American culture and I am thankful for it. I am able to see the world through two different views and I believe studying abroad will give others this skill. I have been able to be more open minded in certain situations where I can see something through the eyes of an American and also a Mexican. Many people are caught up in one way of living because they haven’t been exposed to anything else. It is not their fault but the issue is still theirs to fix and studying abroad can do just that.
Being raised in one country you are also accustomed to a certain set of norms and studying abroad will show you a whole new set of cultural norms. It also helps people become open-minded and allows them to adjust to a different lifestyle that they are not used to. It helps people get out of their comfort zone and shows them a different world that they were ignorant of. I also believe that it helps with stereotypes that someone may have about a certain group and allows them to see firsthand how things truly are. Often stereotypes come from those that are ignorant of a group of people and that usually comes from a lack of contact with those people. When one is exposed to a new environment they are allowed to see the truth behind certain lies and that can help tremendously with racial tensions. With this we can learn to become more compassionate for those in other countries trying to immigrate here because of issues going on in their own country. We are unaware of the issues other countries, specifically third world countries, face on a daily basis but exposure to it will help us make a difference.
The best reason is also to see their own country in the eyes of others, often we become arrogant and think we are always right. By allowing ourselves to see the errors of our country through the eyes of others could help our own country in the future. We may think we operate the best way possible, but once we are exposed to different methods we can make better decisions on how to be more efficient. An example that can be used is Global Warming or Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), which the United States is one of few countries to be on the wrong end of the argument, and with the knowledge of other countries we can learn the truth that our government fails to tell us. A benefit that may come as well is the learning of a new language which can help someone who lives in an area populated by those speaking that language, such as someone going to a Spanish speaking country who lives on a border state connected to Mexico.