The year abroad glow-up is real

When every year abroad student tells you that their time abroad changed their life, as annoying as we might sound we’re not just playing into a cliché. There is something fundamentally paradigm-shifting about sticking yourself in an entirely new country, culture, and community and then building a life for yourself, often alone. So what is it about the year abroad that means students can never shut up about it and that we wholeheartedly mean it when we say we are now entirely different people to who we were at the start?

I think the biggest takeaway is proving to yourself that you can survive uprooting and rebuilding your entire life; if that doesn’t instill you with even a shred of self-assurance, I don’t know what will. Whether a year abroad takes someone to the other side of the planet or just a short Eurostar ride away, what makes you come back as somebody so new is being put in a completely unfamiliar environment and figuring everything out from scratch. I’m sure everyone would say that they grew and changed so much over the course of their first year of university, having to adjust to an entirely new mode of living, making a whole new set of friends and building a routine far from home. Well, on the year abroad you do the exact same thing, but with even more barriers.

Any international student at Warwick can probably also attest that when you’re studying abroad you deal with all of the challenges and changes that being a fresher throws at you but coupled with crazy levels of bureaucracy and just navigating daily life in a foreign place until it stops feeling foreign. It’s the little things like knowing which grocery stores to go to and where to source different things, how public transport works and what types of tickets you need in different situations, or even something as simple as learning the new emergency numbers. I didn’t realise how much I took all of that for granted until I no longer had it, but I also proved to myself that I can work it all out alone, even if it just takes a little time.

Yet, there’s also something so freeing about being surrounded by people, languages and places you don’t know at all

A special mention has to be made to being surrounded by what might be your second, third, or even fourth language and employing it in everyday life. While I got lucky that most of my friendships and classes were based in English, there is a certain level of resilience you inevitably build when you’re reading visa documents and housing contracts in French when all you want is a glass of wine.

Yet, there’s also something so freeing about being surrounded by people, languages, and places you don’t know at all. Seeing as you’re an outsider anyway, and especially knowing that you’re leaving at the end of year, you truly have no inhibitions in trying new things because there are just zero expectations on you. This newfound confidence to shoot well outside of your comfort zone can almost only be found when you already don’t have a zone of comfort in a foreign country anyway, and that is something that stays with you even once you return because you realise how much you limit yourself in your home environment and how much you could benefit by learning to undo those barriers.

With all of your academic pressure, societies and work responsibilities stripped from you, you finally get the chance to reflect on what you really want to spend your time doing

Ultimately, taking a year out in the middle of your degree is invaluable to shaping your perspectives and allowing you to figure out what you want from life, which sounds really profound but I just mean you get a sense of what is and isn’t important to you in a way you don’t really have the time or headspace to in the chaos of everyday university life. Sometimes it felt like you put time on pause for a year and just let yourself enjoy life (with the very occasional sprinkle of studying). With all of your academic pressure, societies, and work responsibilities stripped from you, you finally get the chance to reflect on what you really want to spend your time doing.

A huge lesson I learned was how much I enjoy having time for and access to culture whether that’s museums, plays, or concerts. While that sounds kind of obvious, being caught up in the Warwick bubble (especially as a PPE student) meant I used to never really actively value work-life balance – it was more just a ‘nice to have’. But now, having spent a year pretty much just enjoying life, the life part of work-life balance means infinitely more to me, and that now heavily informs both where I’m looking to live after university (considering their work culture etc.) and the kinds of jobs I’m now interested in. So most importantly, I’ve been able to reframe and figure out what I actually prioritise, instead of just letting myself get caught up in university stress and career pressure. Essentially, you get the chance to truly relax and find out what that means for you as an adult in a way you probably might never otherwise because when else can you just take a year off in your early adulthood.

I’m not saying all of your pre-existing problems will instantly get solved or you will magically find yourself, but it honestly is a great step to getting there

Basically if you are considering doing a year abroad or even a gap year before or after university to just experience being in a new place, do it. I’m not saying all of your pre-existing problems will instantly get solved or you will magically find yourself, but it honestly is a great step to getting there. Your perspectives, plans and priorities will inevitably continue to shift throughout your life, but giving yourself the chance to press pause and consider what matters the most to you in the most freeing and beautifully challenging environment does more wonders for you than words could ever describe. If you can, go abroad.