Many of us have heard the claim that studying abroad will make your college experience; it’s an opportunity that will shape the rest of your college career and the rest of your life. But for some students, studying abroad isn’t an option, and that can be due to any number of reasons. Some students are transfer students and may be unable to fit studying abroad into their schedule, or maybe their destination of choice doesn’t have the courses they need for that specific semester, or maybe they just don’t want to – the list goes on. Students facing these types of problems may feel left out, or that all the time and work they put into their academic career might not mean as much because they were unable to check the “study abroad” box that many put on their college to-do lists.

As a transfer student, I have experienced many of the above-mentioned barriers that would prevent me from studying abroad if that were a path I wanted to take. To cope with missing out on the possible character building and cultural education that will be applicable to my career, I chose to make traveling within the United States a goal of mine, and I would recommend this to those in a similar situation. Many people may put the United States into a tiny box, thinking that as a country we have our values and norms and characteristics that are specific to us as Americans when compared to those from other countries. And while those things are true, different parts of the United States are unique as well, with their own set of ideals, norms and culture. Exploring the United States, and in my situation specifically, visiting as many National Parks as possible, has exposed me to the diversity the United States has to offer. But that is not the only way – experiencing the diversity of the United States can be done in a many ways, including Continue reading →