Dear readers,
This blog post, I wanted to focus the topic of discussion towards self-reflection. At this point in my exchange period, the term is approximately halfway through. It is a good time for me to access myself, asking myself whether I have met my goals, been challenged through adversity since my time here, my personal growth.
I still remember the day of freshman orientation, in the heart of downtown Chicago’s Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion. There were about 2000 of us incoming students, and I distinctly remember the speaker talking about this comfort zone box. He mentioned venturing beyond that safe zone: more than simply attending Northwestern, completing the degree, and moving on with life. It’s going beyond the academics, and truly attempting to go past any mental or physical limits one self-imposed on him or herself. Since my time at Hong Kong, I can attest to the fact that I have broken out of that comfort zone, and strive to do so with the new opportunities that present themselves before me. From having to find my own way to obtain a passport ID in order to retrieve access to my dorm in the hot and heavy weather in a place I was lost, to spontaneously agreeing to join people for a weekend travel trip, these are all things that bring both growth and excitement to my life.
The have been a couple of times that I have had to adapt to a new culture. Back in Chicago, as a sheltered student, I was not able to go beyond my hometown, and when I did, it would be with my family at a close relative’s place. Going abroad for me also meant being away from my family for the first time. Would I be able to cope without them only being a 40 minute drive away from our beautiful Evanston campus? Could I manage things by myself, without their presence and guidance? I am glad to have discovered the answer to that, and it’s been a proud yes. By being detached from my family system, I have been able to form a different kind of personal shelter, one that stems from the groups of people and individuals I have met here in Asia.
Going abroad allowed me to meet a lot of different people in each country that I had the luxury of spending time at. Now, whether it’s Taiwan or Thailand, I am happy to say that I have made a couple of close local friends there. Not only has this broadened my network, it has strengthened my connection to the world. This is in addition to the countless people I have grown close with here in Hong Kong. They represent a global network to me, and I am no longer geographically limited to the United States. Close friends from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Indonesia, I am happy to have fostered, and will continue to grow these powerful connections. As I have also spent time conversing with my hall faculty and professors during office hours, they have come to understand more about Americans and also myself.
Choosing to study abroad has no doubt been the single top decision, and probably the highlight period of my life. In this time, I have seen and done much more than my past years in America. Almost every day is something different, and I believe that my free spirited nature definitely enjoys being away the U.S. for a while, a place I have grown uncomfortably familiar with, as if it was enclosing me inside it. To everyone reading this who is considering going abroad, I would recommend it wholeheartedly. It is a big learning experience, and something that will definitely challenge you, and will look back with many fond memories. Alas, it has been a whole new world.
Best regards,
Victor