Stretched out on top of the roof of my car, I gazed up at the bright, mystical stars that pulsed softly in the night sky, expanding over the entire globe. In every direction, tall, dark mountains reached high into the shimmering tapestry of the night. I sighed, at once filled with wonder and love for my home, yet also yearning to find something different, a new landscape from which to contemplate the tapestry of the sky.
I decided that I wanted to study abroad when I was 13 years old. I had always harbored a deep desire to travel. I was captivated, and decided that in high school I would go on exchange. Two years later I applied to the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, and shortly after, I learned that I would spend the next year living in Valencia,Spain, a city of one million people on the eastern coast. A metropolis with thousands of years of history, it is the opposite of Durango, my hometown of 17,000 people nestled in the mountains of Colorado.
Before I left for Spain, I felt bored with my life. Nothing seemed to change; year after year, I went through my same routine, dutifully fulfilling my role as a hard-working student. While I enjoyed learning, something essential was missing, my daily routine did not inspire passion in me, just complacence. I needed a thread of meaning to tie it all together. I longed to leave Durango because I felt only then I could find that thread. I felt like life was passing by me while I stayed at home, cradled but stifled by my mountains and my comfort.
My year abroad was the most difficult and amazing experience of my life. I lived everyday in a state of uncertainty, constantly making mistakes, an ocean away from everyone and everything I knew. I learned to find clarity and meaning in my life wherever I am, through whatever difficulties I face.
My host family had a house in a small coastal town called La Nucía. The last week I spent in this town was a low point in my exchange. It was late spring, and there were times I felt unhappy with my host family. My host parents were opinionated people who had a deeply-rooted perspective with which I often disagreed. I felt alone like an intruder in the family, and I felt suffocated, always keeping my thoughts to myself so I wouldn’t offend anyone. In Valencia, I could at least find some relief by going out into the city with friends. The frustration and anxiety slowly bubbled up inside me, until it culminated in an argument with my host parents about jihadism. I expressed myself, but it didn’t help; I just felt more frustrated. I left on a walk, feeling like I was once again imprisoned in a world too small for me.
La Nucía is a place where, eerily, there never seems to be anyone walking around. Made of maybe ten streets, there’s not much to do. However, as I walked on the edge of the road, gazing at the terraces of orange trees cascading down the hill, I found something unexpected: a hiking trail. I felt a surge of joy at the sight. In Valencia, the lovely, narrow streets sorely lack any connection to nature. As I followed the trail, the curve of the hillside gave way to a glowing vista of another town, Polop, perched in the shadow of a humble mountain. Between the two towns was a leafy ravine laced with silver streams. The sun steadily descended, its beams bending around the curves of the land and illuminated the hill I walked on in rosy, orange light. After having lived in Valencia for so long with an urban family that didn’t understand my love of nature, I felt like I had been given a gift, and saw the trees, flowers and the two colorful Spanish towns with fresh eyes. I was so grateful to be there. That day I spent hours walking down the trail and exploring the ravine; I suppressed my fear of heights and walked across the narrow ledge of an aqueduct high above the tops of the trees. I found a small waterfall: a wet, verdant oasis in the dry forest, and I witnessed the end of the day when the sun drowned in the salty sea. While I walked back, it rained, saturating the air with its wonderful, clean scent. I could breathe deeply for the first time in a year without fear of inhaling the toxic fumes of cars speeding by. This paragraph is beautiful and you’ve used imagery skillfully! Howeva’ if you still need to cut down on words, I’d trim some of the descriptions out of the second ½ of this paragraph.
That day was just one small example of how being in that environment taught me how I can make the best of every situation and find meaning and beauty in seemingly insignificant discoveries. My year was filled with so many amazing surprises, from having profound conversations with strangers in the street to experiencing the eye-opening friendship of other exchange students, to finding the little sister I never had, and reveling in the beauty of the Mediterranean. No matter the problems I had with my host family, homesickness, or cultural differences, I learned that I could always go out and find something new to appreciate. The joy that comes from that is what continues to create meaning in my life.
Now, I’m home. Everything seems to be the same as when I left, except for myself. I finally understand the concept that you can be happy or unhappy anywhere, it depends on what you choose. Now, I know what to work for and I know that I will always be able to find a sense of meaning wherever I am. That motivation will drive me to act and impact change that will help others also find meaning in their lives.
I decided that I wanted to study abroad when I was 13 years old. I had always harbored a deep desire to travel. I was captivated, and decided that in high school I would go on exchange. Two years later I applied to the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, and shortly after, I learned that I would spend the next year living in Valencia,Spain, a city of one million people on the eastern coast. A metropolis with thousands of years of history, it is the opposite of Durango, my hometown of 17,000 people nestled in the mountains of Colorado.
Before I left for Spain, I felt bored with my life. Nothing seemed to change; year after year, I went through my same routine, dutifully fulfilling my role as a hard-working student. While I enjoyed learning, something essential was missing, my daily routine did not inspire passion in me, just complacence. I needed a thread of meaning to tie it all together. I longed to leave Durango because I felt only then I could find that thread. I felt like life was passing by me while I stayed at home, cradled but stifled by my mountains and my comfort.
My year abroad was the most difficult and amazing experience of my life. I lived everyday in a state of uncertainty, constantly making mistakes, an ocean away from everyone and everything I knew. I learned to find clarity and meaning in my life wherever I am, through whatever difficulties I face.
My host family had a house in a small coastal town called La Nucía. The last week I spent in this town was a low point in my exchange. It was late spring, and there were times I felt unhappy with my host family. My host parents were opinionated people who had a deeply-rooted perspective with which I often disagreed. I felt alone like an intruder in the family, and I felt suffocated, always keeping my thoughts to myself so I wouldn’t offend anyone. In Valencia, I could at least find some relief by going out into the city with friends. The frustration and anxiety slowly bubbled up inside me, until it culminated in an argument with my host parents about jihadism. I expressed myself, but it didn’t help; I just felt more frustrated. I left on a walk, feeling like I was once again imprisoned in a world too small for me.
La Nucía is a place where, eerily, there never seems to be anyone walking around. Made of maybe ten streets, there’s not much to do. However, as I walked on the edge of the road, gazing at the terraces of orange trees cascading down the hill, I found something unexpected: a hiking trail. I felt a surge of joy at the sight. In Valencia, the lovely, narrow streets sorely lack any connection to nature. As I followed the trail, the curve of the hillside gave way to a glowing vista of another town, Polop, perched in the shadow of a humble mountain. Between the two towns was a leafy ravine laced with silver streams. The sun steadily descended, its beams bending around the curves of the land and illuminated the hill I walked on in rosy, orange light. After having lived in Valencia for so long with an urban family that didn’t understand my love of nature, I felt like I had been given a gift, and saw the trees, flowers and the two colorful Spanish towns with fresh eyes. I was so grateful to be there. That day I spent hours walking down the trail and exploring the ravine; I suppressed my fear of heights and walked across the narrow ledge of an aqueduct high above the tops of the trees. I found a small waterfall: a wet, verdant oasis in the dry forest, and I witnessed the end of the day when the sun drowned in the salty sea. While I walked back, it rained, saturating the air with its wonderful, clean scent. I could breathe deeply for the first time in a year without fear of inhaling the toxic fumes of cars speeding by. This paragraph is beautiful and you’ve used imagery skillfully! Howeva’ if you still need to cut down on words, I’d trim some of the descriptions out of the second ½ of this paragraph.
That day was just one small example of how being in that environment taught me how I can make the best of every situation and find meaning and beauty in seemingly insignificant discoveries. My year was filled with so many amazing surprises, from having profound conversations with strangers in the street to experiencing the eye-opening friendship of other exchange students, to finding the little sister I never had, and reveling in the beauty of the Mediterranean. No matter the problems I had with my host family, homesickness, or cultural differences, I learned that I could always go out and find something new to appreciate. The joy that comes from that is what continues to create meaning in my life.
Now, I’m home. Everything seems to be the same as when I left, except for myself. I finally understand the concept that you can be happy or unhappy anywhere, it depends on what you choose. Now, I know what to work for and I know that I will always be able to find a sense of meaning wherever I am. That motivation will drive me to act and impact change that will help others also find meaning in their lives.