Terika Williams is a senior studying English and Spanish at Andrews University.
For this 2022-2023 school year, I have had the awesome privilege of studying abroad in Spain. When living in a different country, growth is inevitable. However, the lessons I have learned are simple reminders that are easy to forget. This experience abroad has been pleasurable, but in the most uncomfortable way.
There are three reminders that I would like to share with you all. Firstly, the world is large. Approximately 7.9 billion people are existing simultaneously with their own loved ones, goals and problems. There are cities with extensive metro systems, people hustling to and fro stressing about their various situations–just like us. Sometimes we are too accustomed to a worm's eye view. We’re so captured with our own issues we forget to take it easy and do this thing day by day. We become complacent with surrounding ourselves with the same worldviews and don’t take advantage of the fact that we share this earth with 7.9 billion people. The world is large and it's ours to learn from; let's not waste it.
Secondly, learning a new language is frustrating. I enjoy learning Spanish, but at times the multiple conjugations test my patience. It is difficult to apply these novelties, but it's not impossible. Hard tasks or goals are just that: hard, but not impossible. Every now and then I think, “Is fluency in Spanish attainable for me?” But then I remember that there are a plethora of people who have mastered Spanish. We are totally capable of reaching our intentions. Let’s learn to be patient during the process of achieving our endeavors.
Thirdly, human beings are very similar. Seeing how others live is a great way to bring to our awareness the superiority complex we all have. At times we focus more on our distinctions instead of our similarities.We may focus on how our methods differ and argue about which way is best. Our differences are important, of course–they make us unique–but our similarities form communities. Keeping this in mind will help us to build stable bridges instead of temporary alliances with others. I plan on incorporating these three reminders/lessons in my life, moment by moment. I hope they resonate with you as well, as you continue whatever journey you're on.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.