For us juniors who are on campus right now, small talk often converges to the question, “Are you going abroad next semester?” Answering with the default, “Yeah! I’m going to _____!” will invariably elicit a more excited response. Alternatively, defending one’s voluntary decision — neither contractual nor obligatory, to account for the Junior Advisors and the particularly staunch athletes among us — to remain in Williamstown all four years will likely lead to a subtler, more curious conversation. Subtle, because going abroad tends not to warrant further justification, and curious, because going to Egypt, Spain, or Nepal sounds unequivocally great.
No, this piece is not my convoluted expression of regret and I don’t consider myself to suffer from self-blinding fear of missing out. Neither should any of us (myself included) who are currently here on our increasingly dark and cold campus, facing the unending winter of the spring semester in a few months’ time. This piece is an attempt to expound why staying put all four years is not just a sound choice (we can all accept that), but a misconstrued, undervalued, and important choice. I hope to challenge our underlying rationale for studying abroad by emphasizing intentionality.
Indeed, at Williams, going abroad is the default choice. Not just in our case, proportionally, (“over 50 percent of the junior class studies away both domestically and internationally,” according to our Office of Global Education and Study Away), but also because, with greater consequence, it’s the more revered choice. If nothing else, may this piece serve as a reminder that one’s default choice is not compulsory.
What about the usual positive reasons for studying abroad? It’s a well-structured chance to live somewhere new and travel; the perfect time to learn or improve another language or pursue a specialty field; and a prime opportunity to take a break from Williams due to academic, social, geographic, or other dissatisfaction — like an antidote to psychological stasis or languishing.
Rather than dispute any of these perfectly valid arguments for going abroad in order to serve my goal — giving more credit to staying on campus — I’m going to turn to themes related to intention and mindset by answering the following questions: Why are we at this fancy school? What is our role as students? What are our most important goals? How far have we come in achieving them?
Presumably, we are here for a top-notch education, the cultivation of wonderful relationships, and the chance to interact with and take advantage of a robust, diverse set of local resources. A school such as Williams guarantees each of these goals. It is impossible to “max out” all of those priorities. Our right as people is freedom to pursue optimally balanced lives, but at the same time, we are obliged as students to honor our goals.
The word “student” itself derives from the Latin studium, meaning zeal and eagerness, but also devotion and exertion. While I’m neither advocating for four years of an endless grind nor dismissing the existence of burnout, when we find ourselves to be quite busy at the College, we’re fulfilling our role, and progress is happening. This kind of discomfort should be embraced, and if it’s truly overbearing, may we give ourselves the permission to adjust accordingly, rather than leave the country altogether. For many of us, these four years of tremendous opportunities are our last ones as enrolled students. If indeed we are sincere about our goals as students, is studying abroad necessary for achieving them?
By deciding to attend Williams, we’ve consented not only to being students, but an especially committed kind of student. Is that agreement something we intend to relinquish by studying abroad? Part of being a student necessitates forfeiting certain elements of control and autonomy. Studying abroad in order to fully regain that power presents a contradiction; for as long as we are enrolled students anywhere, fulfilling obligations beyond our complete control is guaranteed.
The deliberate, exploratory, and courageous mindset that inspires one to study abroad must be a lifelong pursuit and one that is best applied locally. Applying that mindset to the place we’re most apt to call home will best serve our communities, nourish our individual practice of commitment, and inform the precision and sincerity with which we pose questions and engage in criticism. That place may not be Williams, but Williams (or whatever college or university in which one dwells) is more likely to be that place than wherever will be the destinations of those of us studying abroad.
Let’s not allow the decision to study abroad to be a temporarily inhabited mindset or one reserved for a single youthful chapter in one’s life. If a top-notch education, wonderful relationships, and seriously impressive local resources are outweighed by your hopeful reasons for studying abroad, might those reasons actually be more profound than we realize? Rather than reserving just a handful of months to realize a version of ourselves we may not be directing enough attention to (one that may, in fact, foster a greater sense of well-being), we should instead devote a solid chunk of our lifetime to nurturing that version. In other words, how tethered is the action of studying abroad to the idea that inspires us to study abroad? I am not implying you should drop out and move to, say, India, but perhaps we, here, have greater reason to feel more excited, grateful, and hopeful than we realize.
I do not expect this piece to have much bearing on people’s decision to study abroad or not. That is not actually my intention. Likewise, I don’t intend to dissuade any individual from studying abroad who embraces their role as a student or whose personal reasons for studying abroad are quite strong. If, for instance, any of the reasons I have or have not listed in favor of going abroad truly resonate with you, then safe travels and godspeed. Instead, I’ve argued in favor of intentionality and acting earnestly with our decisions — especially ones that will impact others in your orbit, that will likely have major implications on the expansion of your orbit and the potential to shape who you want to be.
Artie Carpenter ’25 is an environmental studies major from Brooklyn, N.Y.
