Studying abroad has taught me many lessons and improved skills that will be useful in my future academics, career, and life in general. A huge skill that I improved on while studying abroad is self-confidence. I overcame a big fear of traveling by myself across the world and living in a different country and now I am much more confident in myself and what I can accomplish. Overcoming this fear has taught me not to let fear control any aspect of my life; to not dwell on the ‘what-ifs’ and the unknown. I need self-confidence more than ever as I am about to enter my senior year of college and soon begin a new chapter of life continuing my education in hopes to become a physical therapist.
Other skills I improved on abroad include personability, communication, and flexibility. These skills are crucial when working as a healthcare professional and will translate into my work as a PT. I did not know anyone abroad, so I had to make all new friends and therefore make many first impressions and be personable. When working as a PT you work with a lot of different patients and you have to make a good impression, so they feel comfortable with you. Communication is important in all aspects of life; personal or professional. Living in a new country, you have to quickly learn the different slang, body language, and tone of the locals in order to best communicate with them. I have always been a ‘go-with-the-flow” type of person, so flexibility comes natural to me. If you are a Type A personality, you might have a hard time studying abroad because the only structure you really have is your academics, the rest is very unpredictable. Studying abroad has emphasized my flexibility and adaptability which is a skill that will be important in my career and other personal aspects of my life.
Studying abroad has encouraged me to do a lot of reflection and introspection. As I go on through my life, I continue to improve on my self-awareness and studying abroad has really amplified that for me. I think knowing yourself, your skills, your weaknesses, is really powerful and can make you very successful in the future. I will continue to manage the skills I learned while abroad and will take them with me into life after graduation.
