Going to school in Barcelona

Name: Cassandra Chenoweth

Type of Project: Study abroad

 

  1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

 

I participated in the ISA (International Studies Abroad) Spanish Language, Liberal Arts and Business program in Barcelona, Spain during fall semester of 2018. I took three classes to complete my Spanish minor and one additional class toward my political science major. I also traveled for several weeks after my finals (which was why the end date listed for my project was not accurate).

 

  1. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

 

The main thing that changed over the course of the last four months was my concept of time and the anxiety I felt about achieving my career goals. At my age I think that most of us see our lives as a sort of race to an unclear objective. I have pushed myself to graduate a year early while working tons of internships and jobs that were supposed to lead me directly to the job that I thought I needed. For many years, I have wanted to work as a legal advocate for people experiencing gender violence, and focused an unhealthy amount of attention in this goal. While I still intend to one day have this job, studying abroad helped me realize that life is (typically) quite long and I don’t need to race toward any sort of end goal. Instead, I can explore a variety of jobs, places and movements.

 

  1. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

 

I believe that a variety of factors led me to this realization. Most importantly, my study abroad made me realize how valuable a few months can be and changed my conception of what that value was. In the three months that I was in Spain, I interacted with not a single person that I had known before leaving the United States. I lived an entirely new life, speaking a different language and exploring an unseen continent. I thought about how many small segments (like the three and a half months I was in Spain) that I have ahead of me in life, and I slowly realized that it’s pointless for me to plan on doing the same thing in the same place for all those segments.

 

While I was gone, I also did a lot of thinking about the negative effect that my eventual career could have on my mental health if I try to do it too soon. When I studied abroad, the people I became friends with and the interactions I had helped me pick apart some questions I had about my psychology, and I had to acknowledge that working as a legal advocate for people experiencing gender violence may exasperate my anxiety if I try to do it too soon in my life.

 

Additionally, I realized how much I would like to teach. I had one teacher in Barcelona that I respected like none other, and I want to serve the same purpose in someone else’s life that she did for mine. Thus, working as a teacher in another country has become one of my goals.

 

  1. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

 

Later this week, I will be applying to work as an English teacher in China and/or South Korea. If I had not studied abroad, I definitely would not be considering these jobs. I fully intend to find ways throughout my life to live in as many different places as possible, which was a goal that I didn’t think I would have. I expected that living in another country amongst strangers would be much scarier than it was. After realizing that I currently enjoy being abroad more than I enjoy being home, I researched ways to spend more time oversees. Teaching abroad appears to me to be one of the most feasible options, but I plan to explore many jobs abroad later in life. Again, studying abroad directly influenced this desire to continue to live in other countries.

One thought on “Going to school in Barcelona

  1. Cassandra, It sounds like you had an amazing and enlightening time in Spain! It’s great that you were able to come away from this with both a better understanding of yourself and your unique abilities as well as a broader picture of our wonderful world and life. I hope you continue to develop your passions and keep up the adventurious hard work on the future! Good luck with the teaching applications! Have you considered applying for the JET Programme, too?

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