You could say last summer was productive.
I did what most kids at George Washington University feel obligated to do: intern. Like everyone else on campus, I struggled for those intense months between January to March applying to internships — at least 100.
I received interviews here and there, denials, some acceptances. Some offers I declined and some I muddled over until I settled on a paid internship with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I spent my summer in the Washington, D.C. heat, wearing business casual, interning in an office, gaining valuable life experience and racking up a portfolio worthy enough for my next internship at Department of State.
And though I am still so grateful for the opportunity, I ended last summer unsatisfied in a way, unsure why, but, nonetheless, grasping for something more for the summer to come.
It was not until I stumbled on my university’s chapter of Alternative Breaks, a student-led community service group that takes students throughout the nation and Latin America to volunteer their time, that I realized what I was missing: the opportunity to travel, to see the world through a different lens.
Immediately after attending an information session, I applied to spend my winter break in Nicaragua. I didn’t discuss it with my parents- — I didn’t even tell most of my friends. But, rather I waited patiently to hear back if I had been accepted into the competitive program.
When I was, I didn’t hesitate for a second to put down the $800 deposit. After helping to fundraise over $25,000 with my 15 member team, I spent 14 inspirational days doing service work in Nicaragua. I spent my time digging trenches to build a high school, sitting on the beach everyday at five to watch the cows run the shoreline, reading in hammocks, doing yoga in a tree house, but, mostly, challenging myself. I engaged in deep conversations with people I never would have come across from home, answering hard questions about who I am.
These experiences made me realize why I was left so dissatisfied from my past summer. It was a productive summer, but it was a conventional one. Productivity, although often scaled in such terms by peers and colleges, doesn’t have to be quantified by the type of internship you have or the hours spent in office. It can be spent doing what you love.
As an International Affairs major with a concentration in International Development, my time spent in Nicaragua taught me as much about the role of NGOs in development as my time at DHS did about our country’s immigration system.
After having been abroad in Nicaragua, I came back knowing that the only thing I wanted to do this summer was travel. I wanted to find out who I am within the context of different cultures. As a Muslim hijabi, the first question I got from the locals in Nicaragua is why I wear a hijab, approaching me without judgment but genuine curiosity. This dialogue opened up an interaction I had often overlooked: it taught me more about myself, — when forced to answer questions about my identity within a culture that has never approached, let alone seen, a hijabi before — than most of my life has.
This summer, I am studying abroad in Shanghai, China. I plan to study abroad in Istanbul in the fall. My year of travel started after having had a frustrating, yet productive summer. Yours can start now.
There are several options for going abroad: community service trips, teaching English, or simply traveling. The key to funding these trips is to make a plan and start early. Most scholarships are due in early January, or early July for fall trips. A good one is the Fund for Education Abroad scholarship.
Beyond anything else, stick to your guns and make a plan. Most people will encourage you, but some will discourage you and ask why you would consider doing such a thing.
Remember, your year of travel starts with you alone.
Sometimes, it is hard to go against the grain. Even now, I feel like I’m behind because I’m not interning this summer. But I remind myself its okay to step away from the office, get on a plane, and see the world.
It may not be conventional, but because of my year of travel, I started 2015 on the sandy beaches of Nicaragua and will be ending it in the hustle and bustle of Istanbul.
