It's the first week of classes. I call it syllabus week — all we really have to do during the first few days is sit back, relax and listen to our professors tell us what we will be doing for the rest of the semester. So why does everyone seem so stressed out? I can literally taste the tension in the air.
Oh, that's right, we only have 17 days left to decide if we want to study abroad for a semester next year.
For any of those who were wondering, I have made my decision. But before I let you in on my plans for next year, let me explain my thought process behind the whole ordeal.
One of the main reasons I decided to come to DePauw was the incredible study abroad opportunities it offers. I had always planned to study abroad. The only question was where to go.
So last semester I did my research, talked to upperclassmen and met with my adviser. The more people I talked to, the more nervous I got. I wasn't sure I wanted to study abroad anymore, but I had programs selected and planned on applying anyway.
Throughout the course of first semester, I decided what I wanted to major in. Initially I was going to major in political science, which meant studying abroad would be relatively easy to fit into my schedule. However, I changed my mind and decided to do something that would be better suited for getting me into a good law school — communications with minors in political and computer science.
That became a big factor in determining if I would study abroad. I realized that it would be very hard to have a major and two minors and be able to go abroad for a semester. A lot of the programs only give you three credits and many of the programs do not count towards majors or minors. It would not be impossible to study abroad, but doing so would make it harder for me to be able to stay on the track I planned and still graduate on time.
As a result, I became incredibly uncertain about going abroad so I decided to use my winter term trip to Paris and Berlin as a trial run.
I absolutely loved the trip — it was so much fun and I met a lot of great people. I feel like I truly got a sense of what it would be like to study abroad. However, two weeks was definitely long enough for the trip. By the end, I was getting really homesick. All I could think about was how much I missed DePauw and my friends. In fact, throughout the entire winter term trip I roomed with my best friend, yet I was still homesick. I realized that going away for an entire semester would give me serious FOMO (fear of missing out).
So I made my decision. Studying abroad just isn't for me. I am too much of a homebody to be gone for that long. But on the bright side, I have two more winter terms to take trips and travel the world without having to miss out on a whole semester! Oh DePauw, if only I didn't love you so much…
— Dobias is a sophomore from Fishers, Ind., majoring in communications and minoring in political science and computer science.