How to Learn to Live Overseas...in College

I'm a great global nomad. I excel at it, partly from so much experience. And then everything I knew about the world collapsed into Americana and because I have white skin, blue eyes and was born in the States, the expectations to conform into a "real American" were enormous. So I walked around my white American university disoriented and confused before deciding to take what I learned Stateside and apply it back to my overseas life. Actually, maybe I just applied my overseas life to the States. It's hard to tell. After all, living overseas is my greatest asset and what I know best.

Be Flexible: It's important to be a flexible human being. It's always super difficult, though I want to say it's more difficult when there are papers at stake. No matter where you are, or when you're there, you have to know when to go with the flow, and not take everything completely seriously. You can even take yourself completely serious all the time because you are a work in progress and every day is a learning experience.

Be Friendly: I learned in uni that people can be super unfriendly. In fact, it shocked me. I learned about in-groups and out-groups and cool-groups and strange groups. I went from core to periphery and back again before creating my own social group. I never went to high school, but this might have been the next best thing. I learned that, like overseas living, being friendly and honest is the best asset as a global nomad. In my nomadic experience (which is rather extensive, sorry), each global nomad has an absolutely amazing story that you don't want to miss. If you wind up totally lonely and miserable, it's your fault, which is ridiculous and unproductive.

Be a good writer: My dad says if you can write, you can eat. (He's older then me so I think he's right.) I studied applied sociology. I wrote. I wrote every single day. I wrote short papers and long papers and boring papers and had no time to write blog entries on subjects which I honestly enjoy. I wrote some pieces I'm proud of and some research projects I honestly enjoyed. And into the future, global nomads do a lot of writing. I shall use my improved writing...at least I think it improved.