Djembe - Concordia College

Stephanie Brolsma
Biology-2013
14
Some Things cannot be
Taught, Only Experienced
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your
shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on
your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll
decide where to go.” – Dr. Seuss
Once I graduated high school, I think this quote became
the foundation of who I wanted to be as I pursued the next journey
in my life. At this point, I knew that traveling the world was not only
something I dreamed of doing, but also something I believed in. I
felt that exposing myself to new experiences and immersing myself
into other cultures would make me a more responsible individual
and someone who recognized the endless possibilities the world can
offer a person. I would gain new perspectives that would shape and
change my values and I would learn to appreciate others for their
differences, strengthening my respect for the world’s diversity.
In the spring of my freshman year of college, I began to inquire about studying abroad
options through Concordia’s Office of Global Education. The program offered in Australia was
immediately of interest to me and I took the initial steps to determine if taking a semester in
Australia would be a possibility. However, the path I had chosen to take, in terms of my education
at Concordia, prevented me from taking any action beyond those initial steps. With a major in
biology and double minors in chemistry and neuroscience, the available classes offered at the
university would not satisfy the classes I needed to take as a sophomore the following year. The
school I was looking into was better suited for business students rather than students pursuing
careers in science, and as I was required to take a full year of organic chemistry the next year, I
regretfully realized I would not be able to go to Australia. After making this decision, I became
afraid that the educational path I had chosen to follow was going to prevent me from taking
advantage of Concordia’s study abroad programs. However, that following autumn, I nervously
decided to try again. This time, I chose to look into a different program, one that would better fit
my particular educational situation. After considerable investigation, the National University of
Ireland-Galway (NUIG) caught my eye. The university had its own medical school, which meant
it had an extensive array of science classes that I would hopefully be able to take. Furthermore,
classes were taught in English—a very important factor for me, as I wasn’t sure I was capable of
taking physics in Spanish.
Despite this initial, positive outlook, my final decision was not an easy one to make. In
fact, I spent almost the entire school year debating if I should, and could, go to Ireland or not. The
decision making experience was a rollercoaster of emotions. It felt like I faced disappointment and
excitement every other week. The logistics for me were not easy and this meant that I had what
seemed like endless factors to look into before making my final decision. With my chosen majors
and minors and plans for medical school after Concordia, there were multiple technical pieces I