Since deciding to study abroad in India this summer, I have been asked a lot of questions. Many of them begin with the word "why". Why did I choose to go abroad? Why India? Why this summer?
The answers that spring to mind are all instinctual and hard to verbalize. It"feels right", this experience "will make me grow, and "I need a new perspective." So, here is my attempt to explain the cliched phrases I've been struggling to express aloud.
I spent my junior year of high school in Beijing, China. The nine months there were simply amazing. I met some pretty incredible fellow students, struggled through hours of learning Chinese, lived with a kind host family, and explored a beautiful, complex nation. But for all the adventures and challenges, the most rewarding part of my time abroad in China was my personal growth. I left the US a fairly mature fifteen year old, but came back a more dynamic, aware, self-assured young woman. From at least my own point of view, it was quite the transformation.
After three years, that self-awareness has disconnected. Part of it is general busyness, as my course load, student government activities, and work schedule make me more goal oriented than emotionally in touch with myself. Another cause is complacency. I am happy at school--happy with my major, my relationship, my friendships. I am good where I am, so there are no true hardships and overwhelming challenges causing me to reevaluate myself.
But, this summer I will be brave and do just that. The seven weeks I am spending in India are expected to be fun, new, bright, wonderful, and difficult. I am choosing to immerse myself in another new culture, and take a challenging course on global problems. I am facing my complacency head on and forcing my own paradigm shift.
If is fortunate that time in India fits in with my studies. This Spring I took a wonderful course on the past centuries' connections between the United States and India. We looked at the mutual influence of the Civil Rights movement and caste struggles, cultural ties formed by immigrants, and technology partnerships. Like in many of my Global Studies courses, the topic that fascinated me most is globalization. India and the United States have a unique connection as the two largest democracies in the world. We both have unique roles to play in the fields of politics, technology, and environmental problems. And it is in India that I can learn most about the role of both that country, but also my own, and if possible my own individual position in the world.
So with this background, I am finally able to answer the question "why am I going?" I am spending the summer in Pune because it will allow me to grow and stretch my limits, learn about a fascinating and relevant country, as well as form a better idea of what I may want to do in my future. After all, graduation is less than two years away, and as a Carnegie Mellon Tartan I know exactly how high the expectations are.
The answers that spring to mind are all instinctual and hard to verbalize. It"feels right", this experience "will make me grow, and "I need a new perspective." So, here is my attempt to explain the cliched phrases I've been struggling to express aloud.
I spent my junior year of high school in Beijing, China. The nine months there were simply amazing. I met some pretty incredible fellow students, struggled through hours of learning Chinese, lived with a kind host family, and explored a beautiful, complex nation. But for all the adventures and challenges, the most rewarding part of my time abroad in China was my personal growth. I left the US a fairly mature fifteen year old, but came back a more dynamic, aware, self-assured young woman. From at least my own point of view, it was quite the transformation.
After three years, that self-awareness has disconnected. Part of it is general busyness, as my course load, student government activities, and work schedule make me more goal oriented than emotionally in touch with myself. Another cause is complacency. I am happy at school--happy with my major, my relationship, my friendships. I am good where I am, so there are no true hardships and overwhelming challenges causing me to reevaluate myself.
But, this summer I will be brave and do just that. The seven weeks I am spending in India are expected to be fun, new, bright, wonderful, and difficult. I am choosing to immerse myself in another new culture, and take a challenging course on global problems. I am facing my complacency head on and forcing my own paradigm shift.
If is fortunate that time in India fits in with my studies. This Spring I took a wonderful course on the past centuries' connections between the United States and India. We looked at the mutual influence of the Civil Rights movement and caste struggles, cultural ties formed by immigrants, and technology partnerships. Like in many of my Global Studies courses, the topic that fascinated me most is globalization. India and the United States have a unique connection as the two largest democracies in the world. We both have unique roles to play in the fields of politics, technology, and environmental problems. And it is in India that I can learn most about the role of both that country, but also my own, and if possible my own individual position in the world.
So with this background, I am finally able to answer the question "why am I going?" I am spending the summer in Pune because it will allow me to grow and stretch my limits, learn about a fascinating and relevant country, as well as form a better idea of what I may want to do in my future. After all, graduation is less than two years away, and as a Carnegie Mellon Tartan I know exactly how high the expectations are.
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