It’s all too easy to get caught up in the monotony of everyday life; it seems each day melts into another, leaving you in a haze of drudgery. It can feel like the focus of life is mindless production without regard to conscious experience. Every day is filled with longing for the future, for the day that “insert big life event” will occur. The present is suddenly not a gift but is rather plagued with longing. Routine and wanting can rob you of your perception of the world around you, and the best way to challenge these viral illnesses is to break free from them in a completely drastic way. Studying abroad gave me this opportunity.
As important as academic learning is, it is meaningless without real-world application. Whilst studying abroad, I found myself challenged each day to cultivate and refine my understanding of the physical world around me aside from a strictly academic context. It almost seems ridiculous to write, but it can be all too easy to forget to apply what you have learned in the classroom to people and situations around you. Studying in Oxford undoubtedly challenged me in the classroom, but the city of Oxford challenged me in ways that Abilene never has. Oxford gave me the opportunity to interact with and learn an entirely new perspective of nuances, social conduct, and even the immensity of the commonalities of life. The biggest lesson I learned while abroad was to appreciate the little things, the universal ones that transcend a specific destination or location, the things that I can find no matter where life takes me. Life is about the beauty that surrounds you at every moment and is found in every crack, every nook on the planet; it is the beauty that lives in smile lines and canyons alike. Life can be daunting. There is so much of the world to experience in so many ways, but those things exist in the smallest of towns and the smallest of people. Grandiose is alluring, but only to those who forget about the richness of their daily bread. Oxford taught me to unashamedly fall in love with the world around me and to embrace the feeling of leaving your heart in every place that captures it. Oxford taught me the value of aspiration but showed me the beauty of contentedness. Oxford taught me to explore, to feel in a way that transcends the outward surface of the world and the people in it.
This semester, I was blessed with the opportunity to grow within and without, to determine what personal constancy remained despite a changing environment, and to discover unknown facets that were allowed to flourish in a new environment. Studying abroad opened my eyes to the majesty of the world around me, but also allowed me to embrace the enigma that is humanity (and the enigma that is myself). In true Oxford fashion, I say “Cheers!” to the mistakes and imperfections that will inevitably present themselves as I continue to explore. Primarily, however, I say “Cheers!” to the exploration, to consciously refuting monotony.
