From Doubt to Departure: My Decision to Go Abroad

Being abroad right now does not feel real. If you told me a year ago that in a year, I would be studying abroad, truly, I wouldn’t believe you. Coming to this decision was far from easy. It wasn’t just about picking a place to study abroad, or it didn’t start that way, at least. For me, it started by trying to conceptualize studying abroad as something that I could do. 

I grew up in a low-income household where stability was always the goal. And even stability was a privilege. Studying abroad? That was a luxury. An opportunity for someone else for sure, but definitely not for me. I spent hours planning, applying to scholarships, and worrying: Will my credits transfer? Can I afford this? Is it selfish to want this? And the biggest: Can I do this? Macalester College, IES Abroad, and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship helped me to answer this question by providing the financial support that helped me to see studying abroad as a real possibility. IES Abroad took it one step further by also providing numerous support systems within IES Abroad Cape Town to really carry me through navigating this experience. 

At some point, I realized my hesitation wasn’t about not wanting to go. Honestly, I was scared. Scared of the uncertainty that comes with this new experience. Scared that this was too much for me to handle and that I would make a mistake, or several. But, as Albert Einstein once said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." 

I grew up in a mostly white suburb of Michigan as a Nigerian-American. In my upbringing, my identity has always been hyper-visible. My skin color painted everything I did as different. Simply getting my hair done was stressful. The nearest Black hair salon was a 30-minute drive away and expensive, with busy parents and a sparse budget, this simple task became difficult. Eventually, I taught myself to braid my own hair. I was forced to learn how to take care of myself in a place that didn’t hold space for me.  

So when I started thinking about studying abroad, I had one non-negotiable: I needed to be somewhere I could easily get my hair braided. This signified that I wanted to be somewhere where I didn’t have to go out of my way to be taken care of the way that every human being is entitled to. 

This begins list of reasons that I chose to study abroad at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with IES Abroad Cape Town. To add, South Africa’s complex history, culture, natural landscape, and the opportunity to study at a world-renowned university doing work around civic care, environmental justice, and inclusion, among more, did a lot of convincing for me. The additional financial, academic, and personal support provided by IES Abroad Cape Town was icing on the cake. And I have only covered the first layer. 

This experience served as encouragement for me to get into the habit of stepping into spaces that I once thought were closed off. Further, being comfortable embracing the discomfort in trying new things. Additionally, through this experience, I hope to embrace learning beyond the textbook, supporting my textbook education with firsthand accounts, learning from people and places.  Second layer of this cake, and I could keep going. 

So, if you're reading this and wondering, “Can I study abroad?” The answer is a million times, “Yes.” Even more so if you are first-generation, a student of color, or someone who’s habitually played it safe. Give yourself permission to want and require this experience. You can and should study abroad.