Traveling has always fascinated me. As a little girl, I loved to read stories of other lands and places, and as soon as I was old enough to understand what an exchange student was, I wanted to be one. It was as simple as that: I never fully considered the implications of studying abroad for a year; I just always knew that I wanted to be an exchange student.
But as my date of departure loomed closer and closer, I started to wonder if moving halfway across the world would be worth missing so much. High school had finished in December, and after a wonderful, carefree summer with my closest friends, I started to question if it would be worth a year away from everything I called home. My family. My friends. My house. Not to mention that if I chose to go, my friends would be starting University without me. Suddenly, being an exchange student seemed to be an awfully high price to pay for so much. And suddenly, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to go anymore. But I knew I'd regret staying at home. I only had one chance at making a success of my year, and finally I decided to go. My friends reassured me with "Don't worry, if you hate it, we're only a phone call away" and my mother tearfully told me "If you want to come home, there's nothing stopping you." So I boarded the plane, wondering if I was doing the right thing in leaving, and wondering if I'd regret my decision.
A year later, I now know the answer to that question. With three weeks left until I leave for home, I'm beginning to realize what an amazing experience the past twelve months have been. No, it wasn't a bed of roses, and quite frankly, there have been times that I've questioned my own sanity, but now, faced with having to say goodbye to my "family" in the USA and fare welling my new friends, I have the chance to determine for myself whether or not my year was a success. If I had never left Australia I would never have met my host family, and I honestly can't imagine what life would have been like had I not become their "Australian daughter". I would never have gone on a tour of the Western USA for over two weeks, with 150 other exchange students, and I wouldn't have close friends from Finland, Sweden, Japan, Russia, Argentina and Belgium, many of whom are planning to visit me in the near future. I would never know the feeling of being hugged by the teachers from my school who told me how much they'd miss me. I would never have learnt so much about my own strengths and weaknesses. I would never have attended an American "Prom", or known the rules of basketball. I would not have grown and changed so drastically by staying at home, and there's nothing quite like the feeling of knowing that by becoming an exchange student, you've become a part of other people's lives, and in turn, you have changed them.
By becoming an exchange student, I also became not only a part of my host family's life, but also a part of the lives of my friend's families. It's quite an experience to be told by the siblings of your friends that they consider you to be their sister after only a year of knowing them. How could I have known the exhilaration of being told, "Meeting you has changed the way I think." Now I, too, want to study abroad." had I stayed at home?
At a recent meeting for Inbound and Outbound students, the one question asked by outbound students stuck in my mind. "Was it worth it?" To me, being an exchange student means homesickness, challenge and compromise. But it also speaks of something more: self-growth, experience, strength, and above all else, knowing that you have contributed in the change not only of yourself, but of other people. To me, this is what being an exchange student is all about.
So was it worth it, you ask? Yes. Yes, it was worth it.