A Unique Path: A journey across cultures
The essence of a university campus is that it is imbued with its own unique ethos, culture and community. This was something I had not fully appreciated until I had left Warwick. There is always talk that university will be some of the most transformative years of your life. I have a strong belief in this. Taking your life and dramatically expanding it by seeking to live in another country for a year. That is another thing entirely however.
‘Home’ is a construct we build for ourselves.
Coming to study in the United States last August I had some rather definitive perceptions about what the country was like and how it operated. These were quickly proved wrong. I was forced to accept the space between an idealised perception of America I had cultivated through media exposure and reinforcement of stereotypes of an American college experience, compared with the reality in which I now found myself.
The most fundamental lesson I have learned from my time in the country though is that ‘home’ is a construct we build for ourselves. It is not a place, so much as it is an idea. Being born in New York I had always felt some sense of connection to the US. This was furthered by my status as a dual citizen, keeping nationhood long after I had returned to the UK and begun a happy childhood in the country.
University has brought on a world of maturation from the time I began.
It was not until I had returned to live in the country for the first time since age two though, that I understood that citizenship can be fluid. Though the American culture, one of sports fanaticism, culture clashes, powerful marketing, big dreams and small pockets of quiet initially seemed a world away from the more gentile British society, eventually you learn that there are parallels. Walking in Brooklyn on a Friday night brings about an air of possibility. This is the freshness of the realisation that life is just beginning. At the same time it feels as though university has brought on a world of maturation from the time I began, two and a half years ago. I realised that I am not the same person as I was back then. My values and mindset have undergone a shift.
Working with societies at Warwick and socialising with a huge network people with unique tastes and backgrounds taught me that the world is much bigger than myself. This was something that became readily apparent when I came to UConn. Mapping out and traversing states by rail, in the same way that I had done in England, allowed me to see parts of the country that I had never been able to access before, in turn enabling my growth as a person. Travel is itself one of the biggest teachers there is in life, I have found. Being able to see cultures and environments outside of the ones we have become accustomed to allows us to both recognise how far we have come and understand what it is that we want for the future. This is a journey that I would encourage anyone to undertake in order to find your limits and keep growing.
The chance for my views to be developed, challenged and rewritten.
The mantra of the University of Connecticut is somewhat synonymous with the broader American ideal. Those on the exchange programme come from a plethora of countries and lifestyles but leave ‘Huskies’. In the same way those who come to America seeking to improve and further their lives become incorporated as Americans. The bringing together of beautiful minds of every creed and nationality in a space of learning is something that is not often talked about at universities. However, this is one of the single most important attributes they offer. The chance for my views to be developed, challenged and rewritten by experiencing the lives of others and investing in new relationships; travelling to areas that are unfamiliar and soaking in the dynamism of ‘home’ being the people you meet on your journey rather than the place where you were born is the most freeing feeling there is.
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