Reflection of My Singapore Study Abroad Experience Amidst of COVID-19
Navigating through the midst of these uncertain times is something I have had the time to reflect on these past few weeks. Although my study abroad and internship plans have come to an end, I have found a new sense of gratitude and motivation to push forward.
I hope there are others who can relate or be encouraged by my personal reflection. If you’ve found other ways to find hope and positivity during this situation, feel free to comment below. As a community and network, let’s start a dialogue filled with encouragement and motivation for growth.
I started the beginning of this year leaving the island of Oahu for my study abroad program in the thriving city-state of Singapore at the National University of Singapore (NUS). I was excited, optimistic, and was looking forward to the many opportunities, possibilities, and challenges that were to come. I was ready to take on this next chapter in my academic career and was prepared to take it head-on. There were many obstacles I had faced at NUS, one of them being the drastic transition of academic environments. I expected the that Singapore education system would be significantly different but the reality was beyond my expectations. Singapore’s academic expectations for its students challenged me not to only work hard in my academic studies but to even look towards my future career opportunities for the summer and as I graduate in the near future. Being completely surrounded by academic and career-driven individuals made me more proactive in investing in my future career. I had a great opportunity to network and connect with alumni from the University of Hawaii — Shidler College of Business and Travel Industry Management. From that networking event, I fostered relationships with a few of the alumni who not only shared their wisdom and experiences with me but one of them even offered an opportunity to intern at one of Asia’s largest brokerage firms.
Everything was great; I was in Singapore, I made great friends, had amazing travel experiences, was challenged by my academic peers, and even had an internship that would help me figure out what I wanted to do in the future. But that all changed when the COVID-19 virus completely changed our world. As news raised about potential borders and international flights being closed and cut down, I weighed out my options and decided to make the move back home. My plans to travel, the time I had left with my new friends, and my internship all vanished in a matter of a few days. If somebody asked me how I was feeling I would say I was upset, frustrated, and discouraged.
When I arrived back safely on Oahu I had to do a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine. In the first half of the quarantine, I started to become lazy and unproductive. I was bitter about everything that had happened to my study abroad and internship. But then, I realized how much time I had and it gave me the opportunity to reflect on everything. Despite the pandemic, I had an amazing chance to go abroad and experience a completely new world. I made friends from around the world. I gained invaluable experiences that I would never have experienced if I hadn’t gone abroad. Granted, I lost valuable time with friends and an exciting internship offer, but I gained a new sense of gratitude. This small inconvenience for me is nothing compared to what others are experiencing. Individuals are risking their lives serving on the front line, people are losing their livelihood, and many are losing their loved ones to the virus.
My biggest take away that I hope to share with my family, friends, and network, is gratitude. Although your plans may have changed due to the virus, be thankful for all the experiences and everything you’ve had so far. I've learned that in an instant everything you hold dear can be taken away. For those of us who are home with family or friends, I hope you can use this time to grow and nurture those relationships. For us who have lost their jobs or career opportunities, I hope you can use this time to invest in yourselves. For those of us who are fortunate enough to be away from the frontlines, let's use this time to give back and show gratitude toward our heroes and communities. Recently I have been focused on investing in myself and I encourage you to join me as we make the most of our situation. If there is anything we can take away from this pandemic, it’s that we cannot change our situation, but we can change our attitude.
I hope there are others who can relate or be encouraged by my personal reflection. If you’ve found other ways to find hope and positivity during this situation, feel free to comment below. As a community and network, let’s start a dialogue filled with encouragement and motivation for growth.
I started the beginning of this year leaving the island of Oahu for my study abroad program in the thriving city-state of Singapore at the National University of Singapore (NUS). I was excited, optimistic, and was looking forward to the many opportunities, possibilities, and challenges that were to come. I was ready to take on this next chapter in my academic career and was prepared to take it head-on. There were many obstacles I had faced at NUS, one of them being the drastic transition of academic environments. I expected the that Singapore education system would be significantly different but the reality was beyond my expectations. Singapore’s academic expectations for its students challenged me not to only work hard in my academic studies but to even look towards my future career opportunities for the summer and as I graduate in the near future. Being completely surrounded by academic and career-driven individuals made me more proactive in investing in my future career. I had a great opportunity to network and connect with alumni from the University of Hawaii — Shidler College of Business and Travel Industry Management. From that networking event, I fostered relationships with a few of the alumni who not only shared their wisdom and experiences with me but one of them even offered an opportunity to intern at one of Asia’s largest brokerage firms.
Everything was great; I was in Singapore, I made great friends, had amazing travel experiences, was challenged by my academic peers, and even had an internship that would help me figure out what I wanted to do in the future. But that all changed when the COVID-19 virus completely changed our world. As news raised about potential borders and international flights being closed and cut down, I weighed out my options and decided to make the move back home. My plans to travel, the time I had left with my new friends, and my internship all vanished in a matter of a few days. If somebody asked me how I was feeling I would say I was upset, frustrated, and discouraged.
When I arrived back safely on Oahu I had to do a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine. In the first half of the quarantine, I started to become lazy and unproductive. I was bitter about everything that had happened to my study abroad and internship. But then, I realized how much time I had and it gave me the opportunity to reflect on everything. Despite the pandemic, I had an amazing chance to go abroad and experience a completely new world. I made friends from around the world. I gained invaluable experiences that I would never have experienced if I hadn’t gone abroad. Granted, I lost valuable time with friends and an exciting internship offer, but I gained a new sense of gratitude. This small inconvenience for me is nothing compared to what others are experiencing. Individuals are risking their lives serving on the front line, people are losing their livelihood, and many are losing their loved ones to the virus.
My biggest take away that I hope to share with my family, friends, and network, is gratitude. Although your plans may have changed due to the virus, be thankful for all the experiences and everything you’ve had so far. I've learned that in an instant everything you hold dear can be taken away. For those of us who are home with family or friends, I hope you can use this time to grow and nurture those relationships. For us who have lost their jobs or career opportunities, I hope you can use this time to invest in yourselves. For those of us who are fortunate enough to be away from the frontlines, let's use this time to give back and show gratitude toward our heroes and communities. Recently I have been focused on investing in myself and I encourage you to join me as we make the most of our situation. If there is anything we can take away from this pandemic, it’s that we cannot change our situation, but we can change our attitude.