It’s almost summer, that time of year that gives us college students a taste of classroom-free life — a small sample before taking the year-round plunge into the real world.
Many of us will go onto internships in companies that will offer promise for the future. Some will pursue the coveted summer paycheck doing anything from lifeguarding to waitressing. Some will simply spend the summer visiting friends.
But a courageous few will push the limits of what it means to be a college student. Some will form their own paths and create a summer that will change their lives.
While organized travel programs offer safety and scheduling for one low price, there is an inherent freedom in leaving behind the structure that dictates our lives. Weinberg Sophomore Nikki Brown plans to go to Argentina at the end of the summer. Just to go.
An unplanned trip somewhere — anywhere — is a refreshing change from the demands of universities such as Northwestern. The experience isn’t in the credits received or the money made, but in being open to something that will change our understanding of the world.
Too often at NU we forget the agency awarded to us by finally reaching adulthood. “You get on this path, starting with applying to college,” Communication sophomore Crystal Black told me. “You get to college and you think, ‘I need to take these classes, do these internships, climb the ladder so I can get where I need to be.’ You forget that people still do great things without following the prescribed path.”
The most life-changing experiences during our early twenties occur when we step out of our normal roles. Study abroad programs expose students to worlds they’ve never known. While they offer an amazing breadth and depth of the world and are increasingly accessible to students of all backgrounds, there is nothing like experiencing the world on your own.
If you’ve never lived by yourself, go somewhere and live cheaply for two weeks. Experience life in another country without the safety net afforded to you in America.
If you stopped taking a language in high school, go somewhere and immerse yourself for a few weeks — see how much you can learn. For instance, I didn’t get a chance to take an urban studies class at NU, so last year I went to Rio de Janiero and explored the class and race dynamic in one of the world’s poorest cities.
STA Travel offers great fares all over the world. Web sites like airtech.com offer cheap standby flights to Europe. With a little searching anyone can get anywhere on a reasonable budget. And once you get there, remember your classroom is all around you. Learn as much as you possibly can. And give back, too. Countries need our help as much as we need the experience.
There are still roads not traveled, we just have to go out and find them.
Rina Martin is a Communication sophomore. She can be reached at [email protected].
