It is a wonder that I have yet to sprout my first silver hair. Though I’m only 21 — please save the unc jokes for another time — the sheer levels of unnecessary stress I perpetually put myself through while in Los Angeles are, frankly, unhealthy. 

In the Fall 2024 semester, I was not only working three internships but also serving as arts and entertainment editor for the Daily Trojan and vice president of USC Esports — all while taking 18 units. Why did I put myself through this torturous routine? It was all in the name of career development. 

I’m not a self-proclaimed LinkedIn warrior like some — you know who you are — but I certainly know my way around the godforsaken social site. Creating my LinkedIn account in my freshman year opened the floodgates for a full-blown obsession with my professional development. The panoptic nature of LinkedIn brought on an entirely new angle of insecurity, sparking comparison to those already further along in their career journeys than I, even at the young age of 18. 

For the past few years of university, if you had asked me what my life goal was, I would probably have given an answer related to career success. There was nothing more important to me than achieving professional and financial success. Every semester, I spent all of my time feverishly overworking myself to the point of near-mental and -physical exhaustion. In my mind, if all my hard work could put me even a little further ahead, it would all be worth it. 

Prior to coming abroad in January, I took the initiative to quit all of my outside obligations to fully focus my time and energy on enjoying my study abroad experience. Though I let these responsibilities go for the moment, I had full intentions of reverting to my previous way of life upon my return to the United States in May. I viewed my study abroad experience as an extended sabbatical intended for rest and reflection, rather than personal growth.

Frankly, I was skeptical of the tired, hackneyed statement, “Study abroad will change your life!” Former study abroad students and international program representatives perpetually parroted this sentiment before my departure. I, naively, couldn’t comprehend exactly how spending four months on another continent could completely shift my worldview and rewrite my life’s goals. 

I didn’t travel much throughout my childhood. The furthest I went ahead of my arrival at USC was Vancouver, and even before studying abroad, I had only taken a solo trip to Italy in 2023. I knew I enjoyed traveling, seeing the world, but I didn’t fully grasp what was so special about it. 

Studying abroad has opened my eyes to the sheer enormity of what our planet has to offer. The moment I hopped on a two-hour train in Austria and hopped off in Hungary, where they spoke a completely different language and had an entirely different culture, was something I had never experienced before. The U.S. is certainly a melting pot of culture and experience, but the immediate similarities often outweigh the differences from state to state.

Over the past four months, I have visited 10 different countries, each offering distinctive and memorable experiences. 

I made a lifelong friend in my hostel in Prague, lived and bonded with an Italian family, traced the footsteps of Odysseus on Mount Etna, ate schnitzel in Vienna, caught a train through the Scottish highlands, strolled through the Dutch tulip fields, sailed down the river Danube in Budapest, partied all night in Barcelona and had a solo picnic at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. No amount of professional work I’ve done in L.A. will ever compare to these precious memories, which I would never have experienced if not for studying abroad.

I’m not trying to sound like the “white girl who realized there’s more to the world than the U.S. at age 21.” Please do not compare me to the insufferable woman from that horrendous film “Eat Pray Love” (2010). No, this semester simply brought about the revelation that I can strive for more in my life than just an accomplished career. 

Who’s going to care about any of the work I did or the money I made when I’m dead? I would much rather admire as much of this vivid, magnificent canvas that’s been painted for us as possible, forging relationships and making everlasting memories along the way. I know I sound corny, but just like yours, my time is limited. I feel as though studying abroad has freed me from the brainwashing of the painfully American way of life: sleep, work, eat, repeat and then, eventually, die.

If you are even somewhat considering studying abroad but are on the fence, I’m speaking to you: Do it. Pull the trigger on a period that will change your life for the better. Having an experience like this so early in your life is absolutely invaluable to shaping you as a person and guiding you in your goals. 

Returning from studying abroad in a few weeks, I feel like my life has only just begun. Living for future experiences, seeing as much as possible and doing as much as possible is the only way I can see myself moving forward. Though I will come back to L.A. just as driven and diligent as I was before I left, I’ll return with the knowledge that I’m working for more than just a fancy title to put in my LinkedIn header.

I can’t wait to see what the world has to offer me now.

Aubrie Cole is a junior writing about her experiences abroad in Europe. Her column, “Notes from Abroad,” runs every other Friday.