Why am I here?

Here I am, twenty-two years old, a recent college graduate and I find myself sitting in the living room of my apartment in Spain overlooking the city of Seville. I am sitting here reflecting and trying to put into words, not only for those of you at home but also for myself, why I am here. The obvious is to start tomorrow as a “Language and Culture Assistant” at a high school in a suburb of Seville, called Dos Hermanas. The less obvious is confusing and almost seems to be something I was destined to do from a young age. I have been fortunate enough to grow up in a family where my parents believe traveling is one of the best teaching tools. We have spent summer vacations in anywhere from the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon, the desserts of Africa to the coliseum in Rome. Overtime, the exposure to different cultures, languages and people has opened my eyes to many things and most importantly taught me a valuable lesson. That lesson being to have a greater appreciation for my daily, privileged life in the United States yet at the same time understanding how this privilege sometimes hinders our insight of the bigger picture of life. Let me elaborate.

We as Americans, as well as most of the world, are aware of the opportunities in our country. Unfortunately, many of these opportunities are taken for granted. One of my biggest frustrations as an American and changes in my life came after I returned from a semester studying abroad in Granada, Spain the fall of 2010. During my four months, I engaged daily in the Spanish lifestyle which I came to love and appreciate. It was the small things like taking time to walk down the street, taking time to eat sitting down, taking time to meet a friend and talk in person, taking time for family and taking time for you. Every weekday in Spain there is “siesta” from 2 to 5ish in the afternoon where most small shops close down so families can be together for lunch, the biggest meal of the day, and take a short nap. Yes, you heard me right! The siesta is a real thing. But it is such a lifestyle not focused on earning money, being in a million places at once and being involved in a thousand activities, that makes it so refreshing to experience. After living like this for a semester you can only imagine the transition back to college student mode. Not fun, but most certainly a valuable culture shock. When I started school back up in the spring I was always frustrated and struggled to be happy. I had not realized until this point how much I had truly experienced and changed. And not to mention the new viewpoint I had on American lifestyle and culture.

I believe often times we are blinded by the social pressure to have a career and not just any career but a successful one. This idea is formulated from a young age and continues up to the university level. The problem is that the first 22 years of our lives are mostly painted in a pretty picture for us, following the education route. But once college graduation day comes, there’s an uncomfortable feeling of having so many doors open for you, that you have no idea which one to enter. Some of these doors appear to be something out of a haunted house. A door that many of us would never dare enter out of fear of failure and/or the procrastination of a career. However, some people take the more inviting, comforting door. This door may lead to graduate school where there is a sense of security that one is doing the ‘right’ thing and will be more likely to have a successful career filled with never ending happiness and money. At this point in my life, I didn’t want to choose that door. I believe my life will be enriched from taking this time to explore the world and myself before I have any full commitments of a career or family. I am confident if I take the next 9 challenging months to teach, travel and live in Spain, I will be ready to pursue a lifelong career and be more willing to “settle down” back at home in the United States. That is why I am here.