Why Choosing To Live & Work Abroad After Graduating Was The Best Decision I Ever Made

This is me, almost exactly one year ago from today, just a few days prior to graduation. In the photo, I stand tall, proud, confident, ready to take on the world.

In reality, those feelings couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Was I proud of graduating? Absolutely. Was I excited to finally be finished with school? Yes.

However, like many fresh graduates, I was having doubts and concerns over the future. I had no clue what I wanted to do, despite completing numerous internships and feeling passionate about my majors, and I was terrified of “becoming a failure.” I felt under-qualified and unable to compete with all of the talented individuals around me in such a competitive job market.

As if to escape the pressure of beginning a 9-5 job immediately after shaking the Dean’s hand and walking off with my diploma, a few months before I had begun searching for international jobs as a way to travel, have fun, and buy myself time before committing to a career.

As luck would have it, I landed my dream job working for a student travel company in Florence, Italy.

As I packed up all of my belongings in California and said goodbye to friends and family for god-knows-how-long, I was hit with a huge pang of anxiety.

I should have just gotten a “normal” job. I should be starting my career. I should be apartment hunting with my best friends. But I silenced these fears and started preparing to move to Italy, sorting out my visa, weighing my suitcases, and staying up until 3AM reading blog posts about living in Florence.

As I watched my hometown near Chicago, Illinois fade away into the distance from my airplane window, I was filled with excitement and anticipation of the year to come.

People always say that traveling will change your life, but I had no idea how much this experience would change mine.

Fast-forward to today. This is me. I stand tall, proud, confident, ready to take on the world.

Only this time I actually am ready to take on the world, primarily because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past year.

Over this past year, a lot has happened. I moved to a different country. I started a new job. I worked really hard, and I got really good at it. I’ve visited 10 countries and over 20 cities in just 1 year. I created a blog. I actually kept up with my blog. I discovered a new passion (you guessed it, blogging). I know what field I want to work in. I have a plan.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t always easy, and it wasn’t always fun. In my year working abroad I’ve been challenged and grown in so many ways.

I’ve laughed so hard I’ve cried and I’ve cried so hard there was no choice but to laugh. I’ve had good days, and bad. I’ve had amazing travel experiences and travel disasters. I’ve made new friends and lost touch with others. I’ve fallen in love with new cities and people and places and things. I’ve been elated, sad, ecstatic, disappointed, and sometimes all of these at once.

I wasn’t looking, but somewhere in between all this I gained a confidence in my abilities that didn’t come with the passing of a diploma.

In my year abroad, I transitioned from learning out of books to learning in the real world. I’ve mastered practical tasks like budgeting, saving money, and paying bills. I’ve adjusting to working full time in a competitive work environment and learned to thrive. I’ve been surrounded by a different culture and forged my own place within it. I’ve discovered in myself an entrepreneurial spirit I never new existed. With each new experience, each moment of discomfort, each minor (or major) setback, I have grown exponentially.

Leaving everything and everyone I know and moving abroad hasn’t always been easy, but it was so incredibly worth it.

Through traveling, I have discovered who I am and what I want, and I now have the confidence to go for it.

So to all who aren’t sure who they are or what direction they are moving in, there is hope and you will find it. While traveling may not be the key for everyone, it certainly was for me. Take a leap of faith, try something outside of your comfort zone, discover your passion. Whatever it is, do it. Trust in yourself, work hard, and be passionate, the rest will follow. The world is big, go face it head on.

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What experiences in your life have caused you to grow? Has traveling had as big of an impact on your life?