Monday, June 10, 2013

Letter to Future Students

To the future student looking to study abroad,

I chose to go to Paris, much like others, to get outside of my comfort zone. I’ve spent my whole life in Wisconsin, and have only been out of the country with my family. Choosing to stay so close by to friends and family that I grew up with has had extreme benefits at times and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But, I found myself becoming too consumed with the needs of others this past year and felt a little out of touch with myself, and with my work. Paris was so attractive to me because the distance would be forcing me to take time out for myself and my schooling; something that I hadn’t necessarily allowed myself to fully do in a long time. I also felt that this summer would be one of the last, if not the last, where I could fully excuse myself from the real world with very little consequence. The amount of pressure that I’m already feeling to figure out what I’m doing after I graduate in the spring has already started to build up, and I thought that if I removed myself from my typical environment and threw myself into a completely new one that it would become more clear to me what it is that I want to focus on.

While I came to Paris expecting personal clarity, I also expected to be able to experience most of the city in one trip. I quickly learned, that even with the fast-paced program that was set up for us, that it was absolutely unobtainable. As soon as I realized this after the first couple of days, I was better able to digest the places we were seeing. I was so overwhelmed from the culture-shock that I experienced from the second we got off the plane that it was difficult at times to take it all in. From the language barrier, as well as the extreme beauty within all of the buildings in Paris that you are constantly surrounded by, it’s easy to get lost and swept up by all of the change. But the biggest thing that I had to keep in mind was that at the end of the day, Chris and Eric really have your best interest at heart-the schedule that they have carefully planned is laid out for a reason. The integration and exposure to museums, archives, and historical landmarks kept me interested. I found myself pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of places we went to visit and felt that the ground covered on this trip was suitable for any major. I realized on this trip the importance of looking at work outside of your usual interest and/or focus. For the first time on this trip I found myself completely moved by the architecture at the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation, which I had no idea was possible. I found myself extremely interested in the psychology of painting and the symbolism of color and movement within the Early Abstraction movement. While I know that I’ve studied some of that in my Art History classes before, there was a complete disconnect for me between seeing it in a textbook, and physically experiencing a piece that Paris filled.

 I realized after coming home that I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin after this trip. Part of that I believe, is due to the fact that you’re thrown into a completely different culture and you may be extremely uncomfortable and/or uneasy. I found that I got a lot of the personal clarity I needed by being more in tune with my thoughts and emotions because I was removed from my comfort zone. I truthfully believe that this trip has impacted the way that I look at artwork, as well as the way that I create. I not only look at work more analytically than I did before because of the curriculum, but the work the things that inspired me while I was in Paris were different than what I have been attracted to back in Milwaukee. The exposure to a new culture and a new way of living and experiencing the world opened up a whole new side of my photography that I didn’t know was there. This epiphany of some sorts came at a really significant time-it answered a lot of doubts that I had about myself as a photography student, and solidified some ground to help me feel more confident going into my senior year.

To anyone thinking about studying abroad—do it. Don’t overthink it. Yes, it is daunting. Yes, you will go through a wide variety of emotions. You will be exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically after seeing and experiencing this completely different world. You may or may not click with the city the program is running in, but you will learn so much more about yourself once you remove yourself from your comfort zone. And please, once the program is finished, take some time to yourself before returning back home. Go visit another city or two-stay a few days longer if you can. The down time that I had in London before I went back home helped me process through Paris a lot better. All in all, there is not one person that wouldn’t benefit from studying abroad. Do it now while you’re in school and you have the time – it really will shape the way that you look at the rest of the world once you come back.


-Teresa Gagliano

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