Kellie Donnelly makes an interesting point about traveling in her recent Thought Catalog article, and I wanted to share a paragraph that really stood out to me.
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But the sad part is once you’ve done your obligatory visits for being away for a year; you’re sitting in your childhood bedroom and realize nothing has changed. You’re glad everyone is happy and healthy and yes, people have gotten new jobs, boyfriends, engagements, etc., but part of you is screaming don’t you understand how much I have changed? And I don’t mean hair, weight, dress or anything else that has to do with appearance. I mean what’s going on inside of your head. The way your dreams have changed, they way you perceive people differently, the habits you’re happy you lost, the new things that are important to you. You want everyone to recognize this and you want to share and discuss it, but there’s no way to describe the way your spirit evolves when you leave everything you know behind and force yourself to use your brain in a real capacity, not on a written test in school. You know you’re thinking differently because you experience it every second of every day inside your head, but how do you communicate that to others?
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Can you relate? I never did study aboard in college (which I regret), but I bet if I did, this is how I would have felt when I returned home after a whole semester in a different country. My sister did an intensive study aboard for four weeks in New Zealand during her junior year of college, and I remember when she came home how she talked about having this totally different perspective on life. Her adventures, the people she met, the conversations she had. It really changed her. New York City is having that effect of me now, and I’m so grateful for this adventure.
Kel, this is such a nice article. Everyone should experience change,to grow. So glad you and Dan are chasing your dreams.