Studying abroad is important to me because directly prepares me for the types of careers I want to pursue. After graduation I want to further broaden my horizons by working with an international organization or by volunteering and traveling the world as an individual. I may end up working in a foreign country building housing solutions with an organization like Habitat for Humanity or I could design and implement disaster relief housing with an organization like the American Red Cross. The more travel and immersion experiences I have, the easier it will be to adopt this international lifestyle. Being comfortable in foreign cultures and understanding how other nations approach housing crises from a cultural perspective will be critical to volunteering and working abroad. My study abroad goals all work towards these larger, life-long goals of international work.

            One of my more specific study abroad goals is to get better at adapting to foreign environments, something I already consider myself fairly good at. Over the years I’ve developed the ability to take my sense of home with me wherever I go, bringing comfort and resilience with me to school in Indiana, home in New Jersey, or work in upstate New York. I want to learn how to adapt my sense of home to foreign environments in addition to the domestic ones I’m already comfortable in. One difficulty I expect to face is combatting the feeling of vast physical distance between myself and the people in my other homes in the United States. This may be difficult because I’ve never started a new home an ocean away, but I want to challenge myself. I think modern technology and a determination to meet new people will help me overcome this feeling.  

            I also want to balance my time appropriately while in New Zealand between academics and country exploration. Classes may appear to be more difficult abroad because of different teaching customs than those used in the United States. I think there will be a learning curve, meaning I’ll have to put a little more time into understanding how classes operate at the beginning of the semester before I can focus elsewhere. Once I can make time, however, I want to spend time with New Zealand’s culture in Christchurch and the country’s natural wonders at the national parks. One potential way to achieve this is to join an outing club or other outdoor adventure club at the University of Canterbury. This type of organization, designed for students with active course loads, will allow me to go off campus and experience the New Zealand countryside on a regular basis while integrating me with the local student community.

            I love challenging myself and looking back at my accomplishments to realize how much I’ve grown. Successfully adapting to a different culture on the other side of the world and experiencing all the country has to offer will prepare me for my later goals of volunteering and working with international organizations.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.