I'll be the first to admit it. I can be very selfish. We all can; it's in our nature. To so many of us, our world revolves around our own everyday activities, and there isn't much concern for people or places that aren't involved in it.
Coming to Auburn my freshman year, this was my mindset. I loved my new school, my friends and in my mind, this was all that mattered to me.
It wasn't until summer of my sophomore year that I learned the world does not revolve around the daily events of Auburn.
My roommate told me she was planning on studying abroad in Spain for the summer and asked if I was interested in doing the same.
Although I knew little Spanish at the time and even less about European culture, I decided to try something different and agreed to sign up for the program.
I could never have imagined the experiences I was going to encounter that summer and the lessons that would be imprinted in my mind for the rest of my life.
We spent the majority of our trip studying in Salamanca, a small rural city about two hours from Madrid.
We attended classes every day and were strongly encouraged to avoid speaking English with the locals and with one another.
It was so challenging, yet at the same time so rewarding to emerge ourselves into a completely different language and lifestyle.
During the trip, we also traveled to Paris and Rome, and in each European city we were surrounded by humble people who put their families before themselves and even their careers. They all seemed to truly value every meal as time to enjoy each other's company and reflect on the simplicity of life.
They revered their family time so much there was even a set time of day called siesta, which temporarily stopped most businesses for a few hours in the middle of the day so the workers could go home and spend time with their loved ones.
It was so mind-opening to see how much emphasis Europeans placed on their families and loved ones.
As we noticed how different our two cultures were, it was just as interesting to see all the ways that we were so alike.
We both highly revered sports--with our No. 1 sport being football and most of Europe's being soccer.
The younger European generation loved pop music and actors like Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp just as much as we did.
We were just as fascinated in their culture as they were in ours. We both had so much to learn from and teach to each other.
What was disappointing, though, was discovering that they were so much more aware of our government and culture than we were about theirs.
We could have spent all day discussing American news and the leaders of our government with them, but when it came time to talk about European current events, there was little input from most of us Americans.
I highly recommend to anyone who has the chance to study abroad to do so.
It adds a new perspective to your life, and it definitely made me re-evaluate my own life.
In a world filled with so many conflicting beliefs, it is important to be aware of and open to different ways of life.
Ignorance is not bliss.
It is selfish and is doing exactly what it says: ignoring the truth.
Though oceans may separate us, we are all humans.
And at the end of the day, we all want to make a living and surround ourselves with people who love us.
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