For my STEP signature Project, I lived in Athens, Greece and studied at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for 6 weeks as part of the THYESPA program. I lived with other students in the same program from Ohio State in the heart of Athens and took classes focused on Greek Language and Culture. For my STEP signature Project, I lived in Athens, Greece and studied at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for 6 weeks as part of the THYESPA program. I lived with other students in the same program from Ohio State in the heart of Athens and took classes focused on Greek Language and Culture.

My assumptions of both myself and the world at large were not necessarily turned on their heads, but expanded into a greater understanding. All my life I’ve thought of myself as a character with depth, someone who can cut through the superficial and have real connections with people. The greater understanding I have gained by interacting with both the Greek people as well as the students from all over the world that also took part in the program is that the depth I thought I was previously achieving was only really gained through superficial means. I didn’t strive for that depth because I cared about those connections, I strove for that depth to seem deep. There’s this overarching level of superficiality prevalent in American culture that we use as this shield to stop anyone from being able to get too personal. We all play these characters and have this vision of ourselves we are so desperate to maintain that we can’t be genuine with strangers or even our friends because we’re afraid of our image being diminished. That phenomenon was not nearly as prevalent in my experiences abroad. Going into this trip I had assumed everyone around the world, thanks to the global influence of American media especially through the internet, was just different versions of the same; I was wrong. While, yes, in the broad strokes we are all very similar, I feel now that we are similar in the same ways bats and birds are similar. While both are small with wings, they developed those traits through very different means and for different reasons much in the same way many of the similar character traits we see in people from around the world were cultivated by different cultural influences.

The nearly two months I was abroad, I attempted to spend as much of that time outside of my comfort zone as possible. That decision helped shape my new perception of the world and never would have happened without my participation in this program. First of all the THYESPA program, while housed in Greece, is for students from all over the world to learn the Greek language and culture. That fact gave me access to thoughts and ideas from people at least my age from all over the world, discussing those ideas in varying levels of both Greek and English (because everyone speaks English for some reason) was truly an eye-opening experience. Being able to sit on the beach and discuss international politics with some guys from France or talk about what the ideal life is like with some Bulgarian girls at a cafe, along with the seemingly never-ending list of minor, yet memorable, encounters would be enough to make this trip worth it, barring all my other adventures. Other such adventures included climbing the mountains of Meteora, cliff-diving in Zakynthos, meeting my cousins for the first time in the village my Grandfather grew up in, exploring caves in Milos and underground tunnels in Kalamata, the list keeps going. The underlying theme to all my many adventures abroad is that with every additional step outside of my comfort zone I was able to take a more and more clear look at myself. With every subsequent step, I found them becoming progressively easier as I was becoming the man I always thought I was.

The changes I underwent in such a short two-month span are extremely beneficial to my life. Most tangibly, my comprehension and ability to speak the Greek language, while still not phenomenal, are drastically better and that is extremely meaningful for my relationships with my Greek-speaking family members as well as a member of the Greek-Orthodox community. On a slightly more philosophical note, the differences in my character will also impact my life in an extremely positive manner. Essentially, spending so long outside of my comfort zone and still thriving has me extremely comfortable when I’m back to doing what I’m used to. I am more genuine in my dealings with people, shedding that layer of superficiality does leave me more open to being vulnerable but I have also shed it like a weight from my life. Additionally, I lived in a big city where I didn’t really speak the language too well at first, from necessity I became very adept at thinking on my feet. I am more decisive and focused on the goals I set for myself and I am very excited to carry these attributes into the academic realm of my life. I really do think that after this trip I am more capable to handle the challenges thrown at me by my studies and my life as a whole and it is why I am so very fortunate to have been able to have this experience.