Category Stories: Racial and Ethnic Identity
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How My Family Ties Convinced Me To Go To University College Cork
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My Family Is the Reason I Studied Abroad In Ireland I am and always have been a very nervous person when starting something new. After starting college three years ago and it seemed to take forever to settle in, I figured that studying abroad would never really be an option – because by the time…
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Keeping Current From Thousands of Miles Away
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Writing for IFSA ‘s student blog as a First Generation Scholar has made my study abroad experience so unique and special. It has also made it a bit daunting. There are endless topics I could write about, well past 1000 words. There are also students out there just like me, first generation college kids with…
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Strengthening My Queer Identities in London
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It can be quite hard to study abroad if you identify as a queer person, because not all countries are open towards queer and trans people. However, London is an amazing city where different kinds of gender expressions and sexual orientations are accepted by the majority of Londoners. As a result, my queer identities have…
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Going Home to China
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Imagine yourself growing up in a world where only half of you is represented. Imagine yourself not being accepted into either racial/social/ethnic categories that you represent. Imagine being able to visibly tell the difference between yourself and everyone else around you with a quick glance around the room. This, along with many other feelings, are…
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Living with Social Anxiety Abroad
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I always knew that I was an introverted person, but I did not know that I have social anxiety until the second year of college. I realized that had felt stressed and anxious in almost all social settings: from a theater rehearsal room, a Friday night party, or the cafeteria resounded with American small talks,…
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Embracing Discomfort: Studying the Arts in London as an East Asian
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“There will never be a place where I can fully belong.”This is what I wrote down on Facebook, right before the plane took off to London, the city where I would stay for the next six months. All kinds of anxieties started to upsurge into my body, and one of them is the fear of…
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Dear First-Generation College Student, You’re Gonna Be Okay
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Studying Abroad as a First Generation College Student Being a first generation college student, studying abroad seemed out of reach at first and a bit terrifying. My decision to study abroad in Buenos Aires is one that I am deeply happy with and wouldn’t change it for anything. One of the hardest decisions before studying…
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Being Black and Muslim in London
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Studying in a foreign environment, as exciting as it is, can be a little daunting. For students who identify as members of marginalized groups, transitioning can be even more difficult. As I was preparing to study abroad, I remember hearing that only 5% of Black students travelled abroad, and I found this statistic to be…
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Engaging in Uncomfortable Discussions about Race
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In London, I’ve experienced similar challenges with micro-aggressions (aka “casual racism”) as I have in the U.S. Like the United States, the UK has its own set of racial tensions that inhabit college campuses and the greater London community. In the conversations that I have had with other students of color, similar sentiments about the…
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Coming Out: The Abroad Edition
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I have always felt uncomfortable about the phrase “coming out” because of the inherent implication about there being a “normal” or “standard” sexuality, while others are regarded as “other” or “strange.” This past summer, I had to wrestle with this concept. I spent a lot of time thinking about my own sexuality. After many conversations…
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