Essay on Study Abroad in Costa Rica

Twenty years of life is a large amount of time to summarize and explain in an essay. However, if I were to explain my life story the main two points I would discuss are my academics and my honors. My academics in high school and college have distinct differences. My high school was a recapitulation of knowledge learned in elementary school and junior high. This recap sets the standards of most universities. Compared to college my classes were not challenging. The only courses that persuaded me towards the career I’m interested in was my International Relations course and my Spanish classes. These provided me with a different view of the world outside of my high school, my state and my country.  These classes sparked curiosity that I’m willing to explore. Also in high school, my priorities included clubs, organizations, and extra-curricular activities. 

In college, these activities are available to you; however, the main focus is on your degree and taking courses that lead you towards your potential career. My first two years at Hampton University was an expansion of information I already learned in high school. Sophomore year was an extremely difficult year for me academically and personally. It contributes to the fact that my grades and GPA dropped. Academically, I was finishing my general education course and taking more intense course specifically for my major. I was taking Research Methods of Political Science. That was my most challenging course because I felt like nothing I learned up to that point prepared me for the material covered in the course.  Outside of my academics I joined Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Sorority which took up time first semester. I am normally good at time management but this semester I had more work to accomplish and less time. Also during this semester I had two deaths in my family. First was my great grandmother who was 102 years old three weeks later my cousin passed at a young age. This death hit home because a few months prior I was on a cruise with him so he was gone too soon. I was not able to return home to attend either funeral. This put my mind in a different frame of mind because I was too worried about my family than my school work. Despite these unfortunate events, I was able to stay in good standing with the university and continue my matriculation at Hampton. 

Along with my acceptance into Hampton University, I have also achieved a few honors along the way. In elementary school I was selected to be a part of a youth Senate program where a state senator from Saint Louis met with young students one Saturday a month and showed us what the job was as a Senator. We toured the state Capital and toured other federal buildings. Through this program I was introduced into politics and government early on in life. In high school I received the honor of being nominated by a teacher to attend the National Young Leader Conference in Washington D.C. This was week-long conference where we completed various simulations of Presidency and model congress. In addition to this we viewed various monuments around the nation’s capital. One of the other things about this program was the various people we met. Notable people in government and politics were introduced to give us student’s insight on how to become leaders of the world. This was a experience I was honored to participate in. One of my greatest achievements also occurred during my sophomore year. I was selected out of the entire state as one of two hundred members of the Missouri Ambassadors of Music. This was a music group that traveled to seven countries in Europe and performed five concerts. My mother was so excited that she went along for the trip as well. This is the high point of my high school career and travel experiences. Costa Rica will hopefully be at the top of my list as well. Since I have been in college one of my great honors was my induction into Alpha Mu Gamma Foreign Language Society. This organization has given me confidence to keep working with the Spanish language. Which leads to my reasons as to why I would like to study abroad.

 Study abroad has many benefits for me, one reason why I want to study abroad is to gain the opportunity to travel before I leave this earth I want to say I accomplished something such as traveling to all seven continents. Also, I would like to develop my fluency in the Spanish language. I do not have many spanish speaking people around me on a everyday basis and lets face it, classroom atmosphere does not give you the entire view of hispanic culture. I want to go to Costa Rica where I will be forced to speak Spanish and know the language. I want to be able to come back to the states and hold a intelligent conversation with someon in Spanish. One of the other major reasons why I would like to study abroad is to enhance my degree and expand my job opportunities. Studying abroad will give my resume an unique aspect that might be different from others. My degree will mean more than just sitting in class and taking test. It will show that I can apply what I am learning and achieve in other parts of the world. This study abroad experience will be the key that opens doors all around the globe.

- The Natural Travelista