Being mentally prepared to study abroad

   So when you are planning to study abroad, there are a lot of things that needs to be taken to consideration of. These things are, for example, your college application, the tuition fees, about your life there, about the climate, about preparing for, for example, the different cuisine, or preparing for clothes and blah blah blah. However, there's also something that many people ignore but are actually a crucial thing that you need to prepare yourself if you're planning to study abroad, which is to prepare yourself mentally when studying abroad. So chances are, when you're still in high school, you're still in the protection and the guardianship of your parents, right? However, when you are studying abroad, you're traveling to a new space, typically in a different country. Therefore, the people there are going to be very unfamiliar, and they will be new to you; and of course, it is very likely that you will miss your parents and your relatives and your family and your pets and everyone back home. Additionally, being abroad when studying at university means that you will have to leave your country; therefore you will not be able to see that easily, for example, the food that you eat everyday, the places that you often go when you are at your house, or even go to a supermarket with your friends, as well as other things. Personally, I know a lot of cases when people are very miserable and depressed when they are going abroad because the world around them when they are going abroad is so different, and they are not able to adapt to it. Therefore, knowing how to be mentally prepared for studying abroad is a very crucial step if you want to be able to enjoy the years when you are at college, as well as the future if you are planning to work abroad.

   So first of all, the feeling of being homesick and the feeling of worry and misery can be felt by anyone who is planning to study abroad or has studied abroad already. Therefore, the first tip that I want to share with you is that if you know people who are studying abroad or who have studied abroad, try to ask them for their experience, because I believe that when you're able to hear the perspectives of people who have actually tried this thing, you will be able to understand the difficulty from getting away from home as well as how has these people managed to overcome these challenges. This way, you can learn from their mistakes and you can learn from their experiences so that you can apply them to yourself, so that in the future, when you are studying abroad, you will not be that overwhelmed thanks to the people who have done this before you. 

   Okay, so when you are feeling a bit scared or afraid or worried of studying abroad, try to figure out the challenges of studying abroad, of being abroad: what is making people scared and overwhelmed? For example, you miss your family, you may not be able to eat the food there, you may miss your parents and your friends and your relatives, or other things. Try to list out some of the possible challenges that can make the studying abroad experience a very horrible one, then - you actually are very lucky because when you are able to be aware of these challenges, of these difficulties that can make preparations - you can try to find ways to deal with them, before you actually try them. This way, when you have had a plan of what are you going to do in case you have this particular problem, going abroad honestly is going to be less of a challenge for you. Okay, so let's take some examples of how can we apply this - so I will list out some suggestions that I think will be very useful for a person who is planning to study abroad. For example, a very big problem that many students face is that when they are abroad, they are afraid of missing their family who has been with them for nearly 20 years. So why not do frequent video calls with them, why not try to text them everyday - try to plan to do so so that you won’t miss your family. Next example is that when you are studying abroad, you may not be able to eat the food there or that the food there doesn't taste that good for you. In this case, beforehand, bring some food that may remind you of your family, bring food that may remind you of your home, or try to search online for places around your college that offer food the same as your country's cuisine. Additionally, if you are missing the country as a whole, research the community in that college that shares the same ethnicities as you. For example I am Asian, so when I am going to college I will probably go online and search for Asian communities in my school, so that I can reach out to them and we can all empathize with one another.