Too many Americans spend too much of their lives in America. Out of roughly 315 million US citizens, 6 million currently live outside the 50 states. That's less than 2%. Similarly, among US college students, only 1% – about 300,000 – study abroad. These statistics make me sad. Now, there are plenty of reasons to avoid living abroad for an extended period of time (let's define "extended period" as 6 or more consecutive weeks). And by plenty, I mean one.
For the majority of young Americans, college students or otherwise, the lack of impetus to try out the expatriate life all boils down to one thing: it's hard. After all, travel isn't cheap. It takes a lot of planning. You may need to learn a new language. You would have to rearrange your class schedule (if you chose to study abroad). You would have to make new friends. You might miss out on the fun stuff your old friends are doing back home. What if you didn't like it? And how would you even start packing?!
In my not-so-humble opinion, none of the above should be grave enough concerns to keep the average young American from what may well be one of the most formative experiences of his or her life. Yes, moving to another country is hard, and scary too. But as Tom Hanks said in A League of Their Own, "It's supposed to be hard... It's the hard that makes it great." What's so great about it? Glad you asked. Here are my top 5 reasons you should live in another country (for a while):
1. You might find you don't actually like everything about America.
Contrary to what we were taught in school, the United States isn't actually the best at everything. Sure, lots of Americans complain about things... things like health care, the education system, the corrupt government, and the abundance of potholes. But more often than not, we make these complaints with the underlying assumption that even though our country isn't perfect, it's still doing better than all the other countries at just about everything. It's only when you live abroad that you can get a grasp on where our country actually falls short, not just of unrealistic expectations, but of fully attainable goals. You know they are attainable because you see them being attained right in front of you.
2. You will meet really interesting people.
Your friends at home may or may not be awesome. But either way, chances are they're a lot like you. After all, you grew up in the same country, learned the same pledge of allegiance, watched the same TV shows, shopped at the same stores, and probably went to the same school for at least a portion of time. Living and working (or studying) overseas is probably the surest way out there of making some friends whose life experiences are completely different from yours. They will see differently from you on everything from religion to politics to entertainment. Trust me, their schools did not teach the same history classes yours did. Have fun convincing a Brit that the Revolutionary War was justified, or a Russian that we really did land on the moon.
3. You will have to take responsibility for yourself.
I know, I know, you do/did your own laundry at college so that makes you a grown up. But seriously, moving to a new country will throw everything you thought you knew about taking care of yourself into question. Your budget (if you even had one before) will be in a new currency. Your phone won't work. Your electronics won't even plug into the wall without an adapter. You'll probably have to rely on public transportation. Simple things like doing laundry, buying food, and deciding what to do in your free time will feel like small victories. And you will find that all of a sudden, you feel a whole heck of a lot more like a real adult.
4. You might actually get somewhere in that pesky search for meaning in life.
Staying in one place for too long tends to breed complacency. A lot of freshman show up to college all excited about the opportunities ahead of them, but by sophomore or junior year, most are so used to the same old classes/homework/extracurriculars routine and/or so consumed by the looming job hunt that they've forgotten all about that excitement. But there really is more to life, if you have the drive to seek it out. As my high school French teacher always said, "No guts, no glory." International travel definitely takes guts, but there's something about getting outside of your comfort zone that brings about personal growth. The kind of growth that reminds you that the naïve idea you once had about doing something purposeful in life wasn't naïve at all. In other words, your time abroad might well be the kick in the pants you needed to get on with what you were actually meant to do.
5. You'll have a helluva good time.
Whether you're studying at the University of Sydney, volunteering at a medical clinic in Bolivia, interning in a European embassy, or teaching English in Japan (or any of about 50 million other possibilities), I can pretty much guarantee you won't regret it. Now, take that guarantee with a grain of salt. There is a slight possibility you could be hit by a bus because you looked the wrong way at a crosswalk, or get a nasty infection because you cliff jumped into a bacteria-infested lake. But assuming you're smart about where you go and when (Syria, for instance, would be a bad choice at the moment), you will come away with some of the best memories of your life.
P.S. - Check back soon for a post on how to travel abroad!
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