Resist FOMO, kiss UNC goodbye and go study abroad –

It is no secret that UNC is the greatest school on the planet. I bleed Carolina Blue and am proud to be a Tar Heel; my heart aches thinking about the fact that I only have two semesters left in this magical place.  

Still, leaving for a semester to go abroad was one of the best decisions I have ever made — almost as pivotal and monumental as my decision to go to Carolina. Now that I am back, I feel it is my duty to spread the word and encourage those in lower grades to take the same opportunity.

There will likely never be another time when you are able to live in a foreign place for four months. Yes, you might be able to travel when you are older; yes, you will probably have more money if you wait. There are a million excuses, a million “what if” scenarios and a million prominent fears that could deter you from going: one of the most common being the fear of missing out. Some worry about missing football season in the fall, basketball in the spring, living with friends, academic pursuits and more.

Even with this in mind, studying abroad is still more than worth it.

I left in January for Australia and did not set foot on UNC campus again until August. I was gone for eight months — but the second I stepped back on campus, it felt like I never left. I picked up exactly where I left off, but this time came back with more confidence, admiration and gratitude for UNC. FOMO is real, but I’d ask you to consider it from the other point of view: the one where you stay in Chapel Hill.

Ever thought about somewhere that would be cool to live, but you don’t have the logistics, are worried about meeting people and don’t have the time? Studying abroad for a semester, or even a summer, checks these boxes. Most programs make the transition with housing, classes and other amenities painless and easy. You are looked after because you are a student, and this does not change even if you are halfway across the world.

Furthermore, studying abroad in college provides an opportunity to meet people from all over the world — from other American college students to people in towns you have never heard of. I studied abroad in Sydney, Australia, and made friends with a 60-year-old teacher from India, climbed with a Chinese college student, went snorkeling with an Australian and roadtripped with a Swede, all while making lifelong friends who go to UNC. 

The only way we can learn and grow is by exposing ourselves to what we do not know and to people and cultures that are different from us, and this was affirmed for me every single day abroad. You’ll learn about yourself and take in important lessons that will come in handy for the rest of your life. 

By limiting yourself to one place, you could be passing up on an incredible and possibly life-changing opportunity. As much as I’m an advocate for study abroad now, there was a time when I was considering what my friends were doing and when they were going abroad — another type of FOMO that I briefly took into account when making my decision. Now that I’m home, I can’t believe that FOMO could have had the potential to infiltrate my decision had I not actively just done what I wanted to do.