"I feel most comfortable outside of my comfort zone" -Anonymous IAU student
I would like to edit the quote above and say: "I feel most comfortable outside." Outside is an extremely vague preposition, and in this case it is difficult to narrow down because it is dependent upon the person. For me, (since this is my blog) it means outside the pressures that shape my life at home, at school, anywhere familiar where there are people, other than myself, who make me who I am. Alan Roberts, director of the Marchutz school was correct in saying that studying abroad in Aix allows for you to have time to learn about yourself. I am not saying to forget about the people at home, I would be the first one to admit that I have felt mal du pays since arriving. What I am saying is it is easy to let their opinions go and focus only on yourself when you are away. Allow yourself to be and do what you want. I have discovered here that I am extremely shy at first, I put a lot of emphasis on how "cool" people appear, I do not need to have an agenda carved in stone and that I am not a party animal. I have always called myself independent but I do not believe that I was truly independent until now. Even my trip here was a constant battle against many people who would say "take Spanish no French," "study abroad next year," "you can't travel alone," "never cut your hair"! All of these people telling me what I can and cannot do, but here in Aix their voices are silenced and I can truly find myself. I know this all sounds cliche, I was skeptical at first as well, but this is an eye opening experience to the world and into myself. I have changed inside and out