"Studying Abroad Is So Important," Says Girl Who Will Live in Her Hometown Her Entire Life
Each semester, students from all over the United States pack their bags to study abroad. It’s a special time for students to experience different cultures, pretend to learn a new language and make countless back-to-back posts on Instagram. These days, not taking a semester abroad is the new living at home until the age of 40. Everyone knows that spending a few weeks on a grown-up field trip earns a student the right to spend the rest of their life talking about how transformative the experience was - even if the same person who still captions her pics “wanderlust” will move back to their hometown after college and never leave.
“Everyone knows that it only goes downhill after college, so why not make the most of it? That’s why studying abroad is so important,” said sophomore Claire Harris as she stuffed her one suitcase with only underwear and a pair of knock-off Gucci sunglasses. “It gives you a chance to see the whole world and get more...cultural. I don’t understand when people say that they don’t want to study abroad. Like, do you hate being cultured? Do you never want to take a photo that looks like you’re holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa with your ass? You’ll never make it onto the explore page that way. Based on the rushed Powerpoint presentation I saw at orientation, I’m assuming these are my opportunities to learn more about ancient white people and, like, some buildings. This will be an experience I’m going to look back on while living two blocks down from my childhood home for the rest of my life!”
“You get to save a lot of money by using Bright Futures, which is good for the people who actually received it I guess,” said Harris, who hopes to one day run a Christian mommy blog (@GooGoo-GodGod on Wix) after completing her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. When asked about how studying abroad would help her studies in any way - if at all - she responded: “I saw Ratatouille in school when we had a substitute teacher, so even though they don’t have my major, it makes sense for me, you know? I relate to Linguini on a personal level.”
Harris will soon leave town for France before settling back down in Tallahassee, a.k.a Florida’s Confederate Washington D.C. These few weeks of her life that she will spend taking photos and clubbing to Europop hits Twitter gays have been listening to for years will be the most exciting thing she’s ever done and will ever do. While she’s still unsure of exactly what classes to take while abroad, Claire says that she’s most excited to see the “Arch of Triumph or whatever it’s called,” and is “nervous that all they have to eat is snails.” While she does not speak the language, she says the best way to learn is probably to just immerse yourself in her classmate’s French synth-pop and download Google Translate. Bon Voyage!