Studying abroad is something every student majoring in a language has to do. It doesn’t matter when you do it, but you have to go somewhere for at least a semester.

A common misconception is that you have to be majoring in a language in order to study abroad. This is most definitely not true. Any student, at anytime in their college career, can study abroad almost anywhere.

This is something that I have been thinking a lot about recently. My second major is Spanish and I know that at some point in the next four years, I’m going to have to spend at least a semester of it in a foreign country.

That scares the hell out of me.

I know a bunch of people who would jump at the chance to study abroad and probably think I’m crazy for being so afraid, but I don’t care who you are. Being alone is scary for everyone.

I’ve decided that going sooner rather than later is probably better.

I am someone who is afraid of pretty much everything, but I am also someone who doesn’t let fear control my life. Every time I find something I am scared of I make a point to do that thing as soon as possible, because I don’t want to live my life in constant fear.

That is why I know that as nervous as I am going to be, and as many bad days as I will probably have, this is going to be a life changing experience. I’m not about to pass that up just because of a little fear.

More and more I am starting to realize that so many students are studying abroad, and I think that is amazing.

Traveling is on almost everyone’s bucket list. If you have the opportunity to do that while you’re young, and can get college credits for it, why not just do it? Not to mention you can pick some place tropical and get away from this freezing Vermont weather.

Every time I tell someone how nervous I am to study abroad, they always say that it is going to be a great experience, that I will come back fluent in Spanish and that I will regret it if I don’t go.

As much as I knew they were right, I had to make the decision by myself, and I knew that the only way I was going to get over my fear was if I knew that it was my decision to go.

Recently I’ve realized that it is important to take things at your own pace. It’s great to get tips and suggestions from other people, but the final decision in anything involving your life has to come from you.

If I went abroad just because everyone was telling me to, and I knew that it was the right thing to do I probably wouldn’t take as much from it. But because I know that it is my decision to go, I can make the most of my time there and just enjoy it because I know that it is for me.

This means that if my application gets accepted, I’ll be on the first flight out to Malaga, Spain this fall, and I couldn’t be more excited.

-Carly Trombley