How I changed abroad

Before going on exchange, I only had a few friends, I basically trusted nobody, and I had low self-esteem. But as soon as I arrived in the United States of America I thought to myself "I have got a fresh start, now I need to play my part and succeed".

By succeed, I meant that I had to do everything I have always wanted to do but never got the opportunity before. Or maybe I felt scared to do it because I was worrying too much about what people might think of me, but now it was the time to introduce myself as I wanted people to see me.

My Achievements:

I wanted to make friends, so I had to introduce myself to everyone who seemed nice and interested in knowing a foreign student. I did not want to have lunch on my own. I tried to introduce myself to anyone and in many ways. For example, my first day of school I had a map of the whole building so I did not have any problem finding the library but I still asked a girl where it was so that she could show me and that we could talk and eventually become friends. Did it work? Yes, it actually did. She was very nice and eventually invited me to do a few things during my time studying abroad. I’m not saying that it works for everyone, some people actually forgot I even existed, but at least I got to know them and I am aware of who they are.

(Me ready for Prom)

I also wanted to succeed in school. Back home I was an average student, stressed by tests and questioning. I was threatened by teachers and I did not like going to school. But in the USA I wanted this to change. I started taking classes I actually enjoyed. Yes, I did have to take English and Math but since I was a Senior and I was able to get blocks off, I actually took more classes than I was supposed to. I did not want to stay home and bore myself, so I took Ceramics, Drawing and Painting, Guitar and I was even in a small play. If I look back now I am proud of everything I did and of my grades.

(Me and my new passion: taking pictures)

I wanted to become more extrovert too, which for me was quite difficult to do back home, but by going abroad I basically forced myself to change. I’m not a PR not and probably never be, I am still awkward sometimes but I feel changed a lot. I’m more confident and I actually enjoy talking to people if I see they are the kind of people I like. I was lucky because my host family turned out to be amazing and we share a strong connection. I did not want to fail and have a poor relationship with them. After all, I was going to spend 11 months at their house. But it was not hard at all to love them since day one, they were really welcoming and fantastic in everything they did.

I guess I also learned how to enjoy myself more when I was on exchange. Meaning that I would laugh over something I did instead of worrying too much about the result of it or what people might think. The same thing applies for my look. I am Italian and I was in the States. Everyone was wearing sports clothes and I was wearing jeans and t-shirt at school. It was different but I couldn't care less. As time passed by people got used to me "dressing up" for school and I also started wearing more comfy clothes. I do not do many sports but I started to dress just like Americans do, lol. I realized that as long as I love myself for who I am people will respect me and as a result, I really felt welcomed in the States.

(And this is me riding... a pig! )

Although all these beautiful things happened to me there are also some which I enjoyed less but could not avoid anyways:

• Jokes about my accent (which eventually faded away as my English improved a lot);
• My host brother introducing me to his friends like "This is MY exchange student" made me feel more like a puppy than a person.
• Lack of things to do. Even though I knew a lot of people, from time to time I would feel bored because no one was available to do something, how can I blame them? They all had their lives and friends before I showed up.

Everything else that I wished for before going abroad did not actually mattered once I was there. Yes of course there are some things that I did not mention in this post that mattered, like becoming fluent in English, but apart from that everything was worthless. Once abroad I realized what the important things were. I am happy with what I have become and with what my exchange was like. If I could go back I would not change even a second of it; I would not change host city (yes I would choose that farm and smelly city) because if I have not gone there I would have never met my family and friends.

(Greeley, my host city. Or, as I call it now: my second home)

- Cristian (Former Rotary Exchange Student from Italy D2041/2 to Colorado USA D5440 - 2014/2015)