Lead with your Gut

The best decision I ever made was to study abroad. I lived in Milan, Italy, and I traveled around Europe, met new friends and “studied” at a top school in Europe. It was the best 5 months of my life.

But getting there wasn’t easy, I didn’t have a lot of support, encouragement and street smarts when I was 21. I grew up in a small town in Indiana to a very middle class family. We didn’t travel and go on vacations. Our “summer trip” meant driving to New York in the Suburban with my four siblings to visit extended family. On top of never traveling, I didn’t financially have the resources. My college was funded by student loans and waitressing at local restaurants.

Despite the lack of practical resources, studying abroad is what I wanted to do more than anything. I was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen. I researched and applied for a new program my school was offering called an Exchange that was more affordable. I moved off campus to a place that offered 6 month leases to remove paying 2 rents and picked up more shifts waitressing.

After months of preparation, it was time to leave and fly to Milan. Since I had only flown 1 other time, I had no idea what I was doing. I walked around with my Nike duffel bag like a deer in headlights. When I got to my seat on the plane, I watched every moment of the safety guidelines with so intently the man in the seat next to me asked if it was my first flight.

When I finally made it to my dorm in Milan it was all worth it. I learned different cultures and visited amazing cities like Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam. I went to a rave in Belgium to dance the night away with all my new friends. Finally I wrapped the trip with a solo trip to Florence and Rome really testing my new travel ability.

The only way I was able to experience studying abroad was by listening to my intuition. Everyone close to me thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care. I persisted and found a way to study abroad and am so happy I did.