10- It opens your mind to how big the world actually is.
Especially as a North American, it can be easy to think that you’re living in the centre of the world. The slight (reassuring) shock that the vast majority of the world doesn’t actually care about North America makes you realize how isolating it is to live in a continent that is so self absorbed. Moving to the UK has made me realize the vastness of world politics beyond Trump and Trudeau, and has made me reconcile the international image of North America with the one that exists in my mind. It also makes you thankful-as much as a mess as North America is right now, the basis we live with is not a given for everyone. Gratitude for what you have and what you haven’t had to live through strikes you as you hear about experiences and histories during your time abroad.
9- You get an idea of a different culture’s sense of humour.
Ever tried to play cards against humanity with a group so diverse that everyone is from a different continent? The realization quickly strikes you that the sense of humourt is vastly different depending on where you grow up. I’ve come to embrace the witty, less vulgar sense of humour that is popular here in the UK, but I’ve also learned that, no matter what country you live in, slapstick comedy is universal.
8- It makes you want to travel more, and opens a whole new realm of ‘local travel’.
In North America, a weekend away rarely means leaving your province or state, so to come to Europe, where an afternoon trip takes you to the other side of the country for a night out, or a weekend away can include some of the most popular travel destinations in the world, you might find yourself envying the locals. A round trip flight to London from Glasgow for 30 pounds is a common occurance, and the ease of use of the trains opens you up to the world of ‘local travel’ on a friendly, unintimidating way.
7- You learn a hell of a lot about yourself.
When meeting dozens of new people, dealing with culture shock, and trying to situate yourself while feeling like a fish out of water, you end up doing a lot of reflection on who you are, the things that make you happy, and who you want to be. You have to be comfortable with your strengths, your weaknesses, and honestly-you have to stop lying to yourself. You’re the only one around to hold you accountable. Bad habits, laziness, and and identifying your own weaknesses become incredibly easy to see, but as does good habits, strengths, and an oppertunity to improve yourself.
6- You get to try foods and traditions you’d never know existed.
There is no way on earth I would have tried irn bru, haggis, or any scottish ‘traditions'(which are mostly drinking games) at home-and the oppertunity, no matter how strange, is something I will always say yes to.
5- You make friends from every corner of the world.
Perhaps this is more to do with being in school, but the array of people I’ve met this semester is nearly unfathomable-from every nook and cranny of the world, I’ve met someone. I’ve gotten an idea of the variance of religions, beliefs, foods, habits, and values from a wide array of people and places, and for that, I am so grateful. While living in Toronto exposes you to a level of diversity, it is an entirely different experience being to person thats not from the the local country.
4- You’re forced out of your comfort bubble.
Sometimes, you just need a push-and moving to a different continent is a hell of a shove. Meeting new people, discovering new habits and cultures, and situating yourself in an entirely new context without the fall backs and comforts of home isn’t easy, but it makes it less scary to leave your bubble in the future.
3- You get to be whoever you want to be.
At home, your past will always follow you-whether it means to or not. Old nicknames, old friends, and old habits will continue to be a part of your life, melding and changing with time. However, when you move somewhere entirely new, you get the closest thing to a fresh start or self reinvention as possible in the modern world. YOu get to decide what parts of you you want to keep, what parts to leave behind, and you get to curate the kind of person you want to be-without any pressures from shared histories or expectations from people around you.
2- You learn how to roll with the punches.
Moving is unpredictable and hectic. Moving abroad? That’s a whole new level of unpredictable and hectic. You have to learn not to panic at every road block, how to manage bad situations, how to get yourself out of trouble, and generally how to be a little more go with the flow. As someone who loves planning, loves being prepared, and DOESN’T love unpredicted problems, especially with figures of authority (pasport control, I’m looking at you), moving abroad has made me calm. the. f*ck. down. At the end of the day, the panic you feel is just that-a feeling, and it’s entirely unproductive to the overall situation. All you can do is take a breath and start brainstorming a better solution. This isn’t to say it’s easy-I’ve had a few too many public panics, but at the end of the day a) its not the weirdest thing people have seen at passport control and b) YOu will figure it out, no matter how end-of-the-world it feels initally. So, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take a couple deep breaths, and think of a solution. There’s nobody around to bail you out or solve the problem for you when you’re travelling solo.
1- You become more comfortable with discomfort.
Tying back to my last point, and my point about leaving the comfort zone; you don’t have the option of avoiding discomfort while abroad. Embracing the social, situational, self, and cultural discomfort is the only possible way to get through it, and by doing so, the universe gets a little less scary. Sometimes you make an ass of yourself. Sometimes you end up in a conversation you really don’t want to be in. Sometimes, travelling just sucks. But, by embracing the uncertainty, the discomfort, the constant feeling of internal screaming makes you realize that, for god’s sake, if you can do this, you can do anything-and that makes the rest of the world a hell of a lot less scary.
enjoyed this post? Check out my opinion piece Solo Travel and the Art of Being Alone for more!
That was a great read! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Another fabulous post!