There are many reasons why people move abroad – for some, it is the draw of a new world, a new culture, and a way to leave their old life behind and begin a new one. For others, it is a purely pragmatic decision fuelled by the desire to study and then work in an international environment, to earn in dollars, a financial decision, if you will. Then for some others, it is the call of their heart, much like the Welsh word, ‘hiraeth’, meaning a nostalgia and longing for a place you have never been to.
Numerous people, numerous reasons. Everyone has a different reason, based on their experiences, hopes and aspirations. But one thing is common among all of them – the belief that studying abroad will make them smarter, will make them better, and turn them into well-rounded individuals with the ability to take on the world and all its challenges.
Studying abroad will undoubtedly make you thriftier. You will think twice before spending on an unnecessary item since you know that you have a certain budget within which you have to manage your rent, your food and essentials, your other necessities and essentials. Thus, at least until you get a full time job and begin earning, you will surely learn to manage your finances smartly so as to not drown in a sea of debt.
It also makes you independent and teaches you the importance of patience and timeliness. Once you are out of the comfort of your home, you do not have your mother to wake you up for college in the mornings, nor will you have her aid for cooking and cleaning. Essentially, you will have to grow up and become adept at handling all these chores. But more importantly, you will learn to become emotionally independent as well, since in a new world, without the aid of family and close, old friends, you will be on your own on dealing with emotional troubles in all of your new relationships, whether they are professional or personal.
Furthermore, you learn to depend on yourself and realize that whatever life throws at you, however dark the night, it will always be followed by a golden dawn. You learn to trust yourself, you learn that making mistakes is alright, as long as you learn from them and are willing to do better next time around. You realize that failure is not the end of the world, and that success is not the end of the road either. Like that old saying goes, ‘Failure is not fatal, success is not final’. You learn to keep improving throughout life, to keep on bettering yourself, and you understand that though things may seem bleak at times, they will not always remain so. You learn to believe in yourself and the way of the universe, you learn the value of hope. All of these words that you learnt in your school as a young lad in your ‘Value Education’ lectures come back to you, only now, they have new meaning and you understand their true depth and gain an insight into the way of the world.
You become a smarter person, but most importantly, you become a better human being, and that is what truly matters.
