You know it’s time to leave when you established a comfort zone.
After waiting for 2 years or so I’m finally heading to Spain for my senior year study abroad program. Instead of going with the group from Chicago, I’m heading there on my own from Taiwan. It’s going to take roughly about 17 hours, which is not that bad. Although this is my first time going to Spain, I’m not going to write about those before-flight-emotions since I’m familiar with studying abroad. So instead this article focuses on some reflections from the past and expectations for the following year. I’ve recently learned about the term ‘Third Culture Kids’ and began to study about it this summer. Third Culture kids meaning children who were raised in a culture outside of their parents' culture for a significant part of their development years. What surprised me was that although I’m not a typical TCK, a lot of my thoughts and behaviors are actually similar to theirs. After drifting around the world I’ve finally found a sense of belonging, a community I can somehow fit into. I am eager to experience Europe with a more developed personality compare to 7 years ago when I first moved to Honduras. Being a TCK can be quite brutal sometimes. I’ve trained myself not to attach to friendship too deeply just so it wouldn’t hurt that much when saying good-bye. Yes, that is messed up I know. However, this doesn’t mean I don’t make friends, I just choose them wisely. So, why study abroad again? Studying abroad is addictive. Every time I move to a new country, I develop a new way of thinking. It’s like leveling up or getting an upgrade in video game. It’s all about getting out of your comfort zone. You’ve probably seen a lot of inspiring quotes on Instagram or read some articles on Facebook about comfort zone, and yes, most of them are correct. That is why I am forcing myself to leave Champaign because I’ve established a comfort zone there already. My brain needs an upgrade. I’ve seen a lot of blogs talking about what they learned after the studying abroad experience, but not many talk about their goals and expectations before the trip. I think it’s important to list out several objectives beforehand just to keep myself in perspective while traveling. Here are couple things I would like to improve during this year: 1. Pushing my limit on multitasking: Life is simple in Champaign, it’s just studio and gym, but now I got a whole Europe to explore. Am I still able to produce those real hot projects? 2. Get better at writing: You can tell I possess no writing skill just from reading this blog. 3. Improve project thesis and concepts: This is the most important thing about a project, yet I just start to get the hang of it. Let’s see if I achieve these by the time I graduate. But still, you know it’s time to leave when you established a comfort zone.
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AboutThis blog was launched in August, 2015 during my 8th year of studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I decided to start this blog and record some of my thoughts and moments. This blog is also dedicate to Richard Fu, a good friend of mine who is now guarding me from above. He inspired me to get out of the comfort zone and be curious about the world. Amig@'s blogs
Check out my brother Will's blog (in Mandarin) to see what he's up to these days (Design, fashion, food, technology, music, film...etc) Check out Kris' website for some high quality photos around the world Archives
September 2023
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