STEP Reflection

Name: Sydney Ballish

Type of Project: Study Abroad

1.    Description of my project

My STEP signature project was a May semester study abroad trip to London and Liverpool, called The British Invasion. For this program, we spent two weeks on campus in Columbus, learning all about the music of The British Invasion in the 1960’s.  We focused on artists such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, The Who, and many more.  After two weeks in Columbus, we traveled to London and Liverpool to see and experience everything we learned about in class, and we visited all of the important locations of this period.  Of course, we also took a lot of time to sight see and explore England!

2.    How did my views of myself, my assumptions, and the world change due to my project?

My STEP experience really transformed my view of myself as an individual, as well as how I think of the world.  I am usually a pretty reserved and quiet person, and traveling oversees with a group of people that I didn’t know very well really help me to overcome my anxieties that I have had about being in a new place, far away from my family, with a group of people I had just met.  It helped me to realize that I am capable of many things, and helped me view myself as an independent adult, which can sometimes be hard in college, since I often feel like I am in limbo between being a kid and an adult.

I also got to experience the culture of another country, and all of the different cultures that can come together is such a large and diverse city as London.  I hadn’t realized before how diverse of a city London is, and I was quickly able to become used to the fact that everyone around, whether in the tube, walking down the street, or sitting in the theater might come from a different country, speak a different language, and hold different beliefs than me.  Often when I am in America, I find myself assuming everyone is American as well, which is not always the case.  Going to a different country, where I was not the native, and I was surrounded by people from all over the world, helped me to expand my view points and keep my assumption in check when I returned back to the States.

3.    What events from my experience led my to change my views from question #2?

This experience helped me grow and transform as a person for many different reasons, and a few certain events really helped to transform my views of myself and the world.

I only knew one other person in my study abroad group, and I didn’t even know her very well.  So I quickly had to form relationships with these people and trust them enough to study abroad with them.  This was a growing experience for me, as I am usually one who takes awhile to really get to know someone and place my trust in them.  But when you go oversees with a group of people, you form these bonds much more quickly, and I was surprised how willing I was to place my trust in my group members.  We always had each others back, even if we weren’t necessarily friends, which was a really great experience.  It helped me to adjust and find ways to build relationships with people more quickly than I had ever before.

When we actually arrived in London, I was shocked how many people didn’t actually seem to be from England.  I expected to be surrounded by British accents everywhere, but as we took our first walk through London after arriving at our hotel, I found myself surrounded by people speaking many languages other than English.  The first bakery we walked into, the staff member were speaking French, which caught me off guard, as I was expecting British accents.  This experience quickly made me check my assumptions about the world around me.  Not everyone is going to be like me or speak the same language as me, even in an English speaking country.  This experience helped me to become more open minded about those around me, and never jump to conclusions or make assumptions about others.

4.    Why is this change significant to me?

Overall, traveling abroad, even if it is to another English speaking country, helped me to realize the diversity and beauty that can be found in so many different cultures.  I think I will be much more likely to recognize these cultures and people in America than I was before this experience.  As I said before, not everyone you come across is automatically American, or like you, and it is so important to realize this.  After my study abroad trip to England, I definitely feel like I am a much more open-minded, independent person, and I think those are two very important qualities to have in life.