The best advice that I have ever received was from my older brother and he said, “If you’re going to fail, fail big”. Obviously failure in any context is not the goal, but always wanting better for oneself should be the goal. You might be wondering how going abroad will help you, which is a completely valid question, but the answer to that is personal growth. You can only see how capable you are of doing things through experience, and what better experience is there than packing up your entire life and studying in a completely new environment for a period of time?
I thought coming to China would disconnect me from all the things that I enjoy, but looking back at my journey, I was completely wrong. Being in China has made me realize who I am as an individual and reassured me to never live in fear. I found old things that I’ve always enjoyed at home here in Shanghai, too, such as finding all my favorite comic book characters at ComicCon, playing American football, Disneyland, and traveling. I’ve also found out more about myself and discovered things I didn’t even know I enjoyed, like climbing mountains, watching tennis, and going to art museums. There isn’t anyone who could have predicted my study abroad experience and that’s the beauty of it— the randomness of everyday life.
I always thought it was cheesy when people said they made lifelong friends on their experience abroad, but I have to tell you, I can certainly say I did. You make close bonds with people because you're on the same journey, experiencing together the highlights and the lowlights of the trip. I’ve gotten really close with people from Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, China, and the United States. One of my lifelong friends that I’ve made on this journey is my roommate, Marshall.
