I’m the type of person who can be in a crowded room and stay quiet the entire time. There have been many moments where people tried talking to me and probably assumed I wasn’t interested, when in reality I was just too timid or unsure of what to say. 

Even though I tend to stay in my own bubble, I’ve always dreamed of traveling and seeing more of the world. Over the past two years, I was finally able to do that through Dream Academy and CIEE, two experiences that completely changed the way I see myself and the world around me.

It all started during my freshman year when I came across a poster for Dream Academy in the 700’s hall. The program described students participating in leadership activities, community service, college visits, and even fundraising for a trip to Japan. 

At the time, I didn’t know anyone in the program, but something about it stood out to me, so I decided to apply. Looking back, applying was one of the first times I pushed myself to do something outside of my comfort zone.

Dream Academy quickly became more than just a club to me. Every Saturday, we met to participate in team-building activities, hear from guest speakers, and learn leadership skills. 

One particular meeting stayed with me. A student from another school came to speak about her experience studying abroad in France through CIEE. 

She talked about living with a host family, navigating a new country, and stepping outside of her comfort zone. Hearing her story made me realize that studying abroad was something I wanted to experience too. 

For the first time, traveling didn’t feel impossible or too far away for someone like me. I decided to apply to CIEE, and later, I was accepted into a study abroad program in France.

Before France, however, Dream Academy gave me my first experience traveling internationally through our trip to Japan. 

When I first joined the program, I barely talked to anyone, so going on a trip with students I didn’t know was intimidating. But during the trip, I met my roommate, Valeria, who became one of my friends. (Fun fact: her birthday is only a day after mine.) One funny memory I’ll always remember is how we kept saying we would pull an all-nighter, but we always ended up falling asleep before midnight.

During our 12-day stay in Japan, we visited Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Every day was filled with excursions, free time to explore, and moments where we had to navigate unfamiliar places on our own. 

At first, being in unfamiliar cities felt overwhelming, but eventually I started feeling more comfortable. I learned how to read metro maps, follow directions, and communicate despite language differences. Even small things, like ordering food or asking workers for help, forced me to become more confident.

One of the biggest things I noticed in Japan was how mindful and respectful people were in public. People spoke quietly on trains, waited patiently for crosswalks even when the streets were empty, and showed consideration for others in small everyday actions. 

That mindset stayed with me. Japan taught me that life does not always have to be rushed and loud. Sometimes the simplest moments walking through quiet streets in Kyoto, eating ramen at a small restaurant, or watching people move through their day calmly can teach you the most. 

The trip helped me become more open-minded and made me realize how much time I spent focusing on negative thoughts instead of enjoying the moment in front of me.

My experience in France was different in many ways, but it challenged me even more. Unlike Japan, where I traveled with a bigger group, I spent four weeks in France living with a host family. 

At first, it felt scary being so far from home without familiar people around me. Every day, I attended French classes from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., where we practiced essential communication skills and learned phrases we would use daily. 

In the afternoons, the CIEE leaders organized cultural excursions where we visited museums, took dance classes, explored cities, and practiced speaking French with locals.

One of the most memorable moments happened when I missed the metro and had to figure out another way home on my own. I remember asking a woman for directions in French, but she couldn’t understand me, so she switched to English. 

I was embarrassed at the moment, but afterward I realized something important: I had still tried. Before these experiences, I would have been too scared to even ask for help. France taught me resilience and showed me that making mistakes is part of learning.

Trying new foods was another way these trips pushed me out of my comfort zone. In Japan, I tried foods I had never eaten before, like taiyaki cakes, actual sushi, akoyaki, and onigiri. In France, I experienced  fresh pastries from local bakeries like eclairs, tarts , crepes and galettes which are either savory or sweet as well as escargot which I was scared to try but ended up being decent. Even though those moments seemed small, they helped me become more open to unfamiliar experiences instead of avoiding them.

Overall, both Japan and France changed me in ways that are difficult to fully explain. Although many people may still see me as the same quiet person, I can feel the difference within myself.

I used to wait until I felt completely ready to try something new, which often meant I missed opportunities because of fear. Now, I focus more on taking action despite being nervous.  For example, joining the yearbook class despite having to talk to people.

Traveling taught me how to navigate unfamiliar places, communicate through language barriers, adapt to unexpected situations, and become independent. 

Most importantly, it showed me that growth happens when you step outside of what feels comfortable. The fear is still there sometimes, but it no longer controls me the way it once did.

Traveling is something that I always dreamed of doing and last summer I got my chance, through the Council on International Educational Exchange known as CIEE.

Originally, I heard about CIEE in a meeting in Dream Academy from a student in our area who shared her previous experience studying abroad in Italy with them. After hearing her story it intrigued me, so I decided to do more research on it. It seemed legit, so I decided to apply.

CIEE is a program that offers opportunities for college students and high school students to study abroad wherever they desire, being Asia, Europe or wherever worldwide. Not only do they offer these unique opportunities but also provide scholarships to make these trips possible.

For the application process it was fairly easy, but there were a lot of documents to fill out. For instance, you needed your passport, papers from the doctors and your parents signatures granting you access and being aware of you going alone abroad, and things like that. As for the scholarship, it was optional, but I decided to apply and ended up getting a 6k grant, although I had gotten the scholarship I still had to partially pay out of pocket not airfare. For the whole program it was about 10k, but thankfully for the 6k scholarship I only needed to pay about 4k for the program and 2k for the tickets.

For the scholarship there are two scholarships, the Academic Merit Award which only covers $500 while the Global Navigator Scholarship (GNS) can cover between $500- 100% of your tuition. For you to qualify for the scholarship you need to provide some additional information. Although to qualify for any of these scholarships you would have to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is currently a freshman, sophomore, or junior residing in the United States. As for the final scholarship opportunities often closed by late February, with some extended to April 1st and for Fall programs, and October 15 for Spring and January term programs.

Why should you apply? Well you not only get an unique and incredible experience but you’re also able to get college credit. This consists of participants completing courses and then receiving an official transcript from these institutions for 12–14 credits (per semester) or 6–7 credits (per summer block), which can be transferred to the U.S or your country of origin. I ended up getting my college credit by Tulane University, which emailed it to me, but in order for you to get the college credit you’ll have to pay about a $200 extra fee.

When it came to choosing where to travel I opted to go to France for 4 weeks. There were 3 cities to choose from Rennes, Toulouse, and Paris. I was in between Paris and Rennes, but couldn’t decide but then the idea of going to Paris, a major city alone, while not knowing a spec of French, made me nervous, so I opted for Rennes since it was a smaller city. As for the courses, they provided French 1, French 2, and French honors. Of course I decided to take French 1, since I’ve never spoken French in my life.

Once I got to France I was able to meet my host family. They were really nice and made my experience more enjoyable by welcoming me and making me feel comfortable. It was nice being able to experience the genuine life of a French household. 

Prior to getting to the airport I had already met my roommate. During my stay my roommate Selah was a really nice person, and also really helpful. Without her I wouldn’t even know how I would have managed my first days there.

As for my day to day routine, the program consisted of a morning French class from 8:30 to 12:00 pm where they showed us words/phrases that we would need on our daily basis. 

As for the  culture excursions, we would normally do them after class and we would usually try something new each day like going to a museum, attending a dancing class, or things like that. 

Something really fun we did was going to a circus where they taught us how to perform and do tricks. 

On weekends, they would usually plan a 2 or 1 day trip where they would take us to a new city. On one of the weekends, we went to this beach in Brittany, France where we stayed at a hostel and where me and my friends were able to get a room together. The most fun thing about it was the sound of the waves. Also the fact that we played a few games and just talked was unforgettable.

Something I found challenging white there was getting to learn the bus/metro system since I had never been in a metro before plus it being in French, made it a little more confusing. But as the days went by it got pretty easy and I was able to navigate the city alone.

Now that I think of it at the end of the trip I barely realized that I never really processed going to a whole different country alone. And something culturally different from American and French culture is that French people tend to be more direct and quiet in public compared to us. Something I in fact miss is getting my daily boba and ice cream with my friends. 

To this day me and my two friends are still in contact with each other and were actually planning to meet in San Francisco this July. I in fact really enjoyed meeting new people, especially Ellea and Alexa since they made me do things out of my comfort zone and as well encouraged me to  try out new things, which I ended up enjoying.

One of the reasons I decided to apply to this program was to get to know myself  and get out of my comfort zone. Prior to this trip, I was really shy and would never go anywhere. I wouldn’t like dressing in certain ways because I would overthink how I looked. But once I got there I fell  in love with how everyone looked put together trying to remember, I don’t think I ever saw a person in sweats or in piajaimas. This made me realize that how you bring yourself out is what makes you, so I started dressing how I liked no matter how I looked as long as I liked it. Although I didn’t become a whole new different person I did feel like I opened up way more than before and was able to learn a few new things about myself. Something I also took from being away in France for 4 weeks is that not everyone will treat you the same. I realized that I really relied on my parents a lot and that sometimes I have to figure out things alone.