The opportunity to study abroad goes beyond the classroom. It starts with living alone or in a place you’ve never been before, taking the metro every day and meeting new people and new versions of yourself. But even in the classroom, you can find treasures: professors who do much more than just teach — the ones who push you to be better every class and are so passionate about their subjects that it becomes almost impossible not to match their energy; classmates who come from all over the world and open your eyes in every conversation; and the simple act of learning itself. Academics are something we may not appreciate day to day, but even those “mere lectures” can open our eyes in so many ways.
Moving abroad, I have found beauty in things I once suffered from in school, such as the typical anxiety of the first day of class. That anxiety never truly goes away on the first day, but it is the same nervousness that leads you to start maybe awkward conversations that end in amazing friendships. Everyone is new, and everyone is open to talking and getting to know others. That nervousness I always tried to hide and deny whenever I tried something new has shown me its power. Now, I don’t want to get rid of it; now it is something I treasure, because it pushes me to try new things.
I still have a few months here in Paris, but I already know it will be hard to leave — from my last class at the university to leaving the studio where I have lived. But I promised myself to never forget what I learned in Paris, or the people I met who taught me something every time we talked or spent time together.
