STEP; My transformation abroad

My STEP money was put toward offsetting the cost of studying abroad in the Wet Tropics of North Queensland Australia. The course focused on how land-use affects water quality and the ecology of the surrounding areas.

 

Living in a jungle for a month without wifi, phone reception or access to many basic luxuries I took for granted is a position in which I never thought I would be. Though I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it, it certainly challenged me and pushed me to reflect deeply on myself and what I value. I no longer had my phone or laptop to hide behind and was forced to rely on only myself and the strangers who were stuck in the jungle around me for entertainment. I began asking myself deeper question and spending hours in the woods by myself reflecting. I slowly became more comfortable in who I was as a person. I became better at forming relationships and appreciating people from different backgrounds. When I embarked on this trip I expected that most of my personal growth would be placed in the academic category, however, I could not be more wrong. I grew more spiritually, emotionally, and socially on this experience than any other period of my life. Through this trip I began to love things about myself that I previously hated because they made me different from the people around and I began to appreciate the things that made others different too. This alteration in how I viewed myself, allowed me to love other deeper and change how I see the world.

 

If someone were to calculate the total amount of time I spend on my phone, laptop and television, I am sure the number would send both them and myself into a comatos state. However, while in Australia I had access to none of my distractions. I was forced to do one of the things I fear most; look up from my screen, and interact with what was happening around me. At first I missed my former vice. One could say I even craved it. But soon that faded and I was able to fully immerse myself in the jungle around me. I woke up every morning to cockatoos outside my window and would hike a mile in pitch black in the middle of the jungle at the end of every night guided every night by only moonlight, my headlamp and its reflection on the spider eyes aroung me. I was forced to constantly put myself out there and to interact with those who were once strangers at the beginning of the trip.

Each day I would come up with one reflection question to think over and then ask my classmates at communal dinner that night. Through this process I began to reflect deeper on myself and to form deep interpersonal relationships with the other students on my trip. These relationships grew quickly and deeply allowing myself to grow along with them. Without any distractions, we were able to focus on each other and ourselves. OI believe it is because of these daily reflections were why I was able to spiritually grow so much over the course of only a month. I have implemented this daily reflection in my life upon return also. This has led for the transformation this program provided to continue even in the busy city life of Columbus.

Though I sometimes resented how isolated being a 2km hike from the nearest paved road was, this isolation was what led me to grow the most. It allowed me to disconnect from vapid things that were once important to me such as social media and television and focus on forming a better relationship with the people around me and myself. I am extremely thankful fo the opportunity this program gave me and the contributions STEP made that allowed me to go on this trip.

 

I believe that my transformation can be separated into two broad categories of a deeper appreciation of myself and a deeper appreciation for others. Through my reflection and isolation from the outside world, I began to accept and appreciated qualities about myself that I once resented. I became more confident in who I was and my ability to adapt to new situations. Since returning I have noticed that this new found self-love has only continued and made me able to put myself out there. For example, I have started performing comedy which is something I never though I would have the confidence to do. The constant anxiety I used to have before going on the trip has also subsided. I believe this is because  I am more assure of my ability to adapt to new situations and now understand that I am much stronger than I evert gave myself credit for. This experience has truly opened so many doors for me that I once thought would be closed forever.

This trip also gave me a greater appreciation for others and what makes others different. During the month I was abroad, I formed deeper relationships than I ever have before. I learned how to better interact with others and how to be opened to fully experience all facets of other people. I became more social and broke out of my shell while abroad. Upon return, my friends even commented on how much more social I was. This will help in the future to develop deeper relationships. It will also allow me to be more social and more willing to put myself out there in social, professional and academic situations.