Natalie Szuk: DON’T THINK TWICE, JUST DO IT!

Every student that has experienced study abroad will tell you the same thing, and if they don’t then they are lying to you. I’m going to sound like a broken record by the end of this but honestly if you’re thinking about it, just do it. And if you’re not thinking about it, then you should start thinking about it, and then you should do it.

Prater – Vienna, Austria

This semester flew by so quickly I wish I could repeat it over and over again. I won’t lie; there were a lot of hardships and speed bumps along the way, but the good by far out -weighs the bad. And I know that looking back on it years from now the only memories that will have stayed with me are the positive ones.

You’re list of reasons not to go may include the following:

•        It’s expensive
•        It’s unfamiliar
•        I’ve never been away from home for this long
•        Insert any other excuse you may have

I’m sure these are all valid excuses to stay where you are and continue your life just as is. BUT I think you should strongly reconsider for a number of reasons. To begin, yes study abroad is not a free experience and it will cost you. But there are ways of going around this. When I signed up to take part in this, program, it was a sporadic decision made three months before I was supposed to leave. This meant that I had minimal savings in my bank account, as well as was taking 5 courses in school, without the option of working full time for the few next months in order to save up. I was able to work my way around this however. We are fortunate enough that things like scholarships, student loans, grants, (and increased visa limits) exist. But what good is money for if not for spending, right? So yes, you may be a couple thousand dollars in debt with your bank, or your parents, but that’s a small price to pay in exchange for a chance to live abroad for a semester.

Lisbon, Portugal 

Second on the list we have the unfamiliarity of it all. Maybe you’ve lived in the same city your whole life and haven’t had the chance to explore elsewhere, or maybe you just have no desire to. Well you owe it to yourself to see what else is out there. Worst-case scenario you reconfirm that you’re content with never wanting to travel to a new city again. Although I highly doubt that and I suspect you’ll catch the travel bug just like me and every other study abroad ambassador has.

Never been away from home longer than that week you spent at summer camp? Well its time give it a try. It’s inevitable that you will feel home sick; especially in the beginning everything feels so new and overwhelming. But in time your new city will start to become familiar, and by the end of your semester you’ll feel sad that you’ll have to leave it behind. Also, how cool is it to think that you’ll have another city on a different continent that you can say feels like home?

Finally, to any other excuse you may have stopping you from taking part in the study abroad program, just knock it out of your head right now. Nothing is valid and I will continue to argue with you until I have you convinced that this is the best decision you will ever make. If you STILL don’t believe me, just mention study abroad to any ambassador and look at the way their eyes light up just thinking about it.

I can only say so much about it but in the end this is your experience to have and words cannot describe it.  In the words of Nike, “just do it”.

Krka National Park - Croatia

Natalie Szuk is a Bachelor of Business Administration student at Capilano University. Natalie studied abroad at FH Wien University of Application Sciences in Vienna, Austria.