Lindsey Graham | Opinion Co-Editor

Throughout our college years, many of us go back home during breaks to work or complete an internship. During this time in our lives, it is important to learn about ourselves, grow our skills, and find what we really want from our lives and careers. By pursuing a job or internship that is not back home, we open the doors to greater opportunities to further understand who we are.

First off, there can be opportunities that are much different than openings in our hometowns. Have you ever read about an opportunity on a Buena Vista University Facebook group from alumni, or saw a post on LinkedIn that sounded like a great job that intrigued you? Did you continue scrolling down your feed after you saw it was a location farther from home? Stop it! Now is the best and easiest time of your life to uproot yourself and go on an adventure!

By going out of your comfort zone and pursuing a job far from home while you’re still in college, there are multiple resources at your fingertips to aid the process. Did you know that Buena Vista University has funds for housing while completing an internship? Oops, yeah, I missed out on that one. They go fast, so if traveling for a job is in your mind at all it is best to jump on it quick! If it is not on your mind, get it in there!

Besides helping pay for extra expenses (since we are broke college students, right?), there other non-monetary ways that Buena Vista University makes working far from home not as scary as it seems. With our expansive alumni network, enlighten faculty of your dreams of securing a job or internship in a new city and they will know just who to connect you with. These networks can also be leveraged to help you in your new city, from finding a place to stay or to grab a bite to eat.

Using resources on campus and networks will make you have a solid base to complete the endeavor. You can go through the process of securing the job and learning the process to apply for and rent an apartment while having many supportive people at your back. It is a big risk to take to move to another city, but risk-taking is such an important skill to have once you graduate. And hey, it’s only a temporary placement. You will be back home or on campus in just a month or a few. You are taking some amazing risks without the long-term commitment.

On a more personal level, living on your own in new surroundings will teach you many things about yourself. You can discover what type of job makes you tick. Most of us students are from small town Iowa. Maybe an internship in New York City will open your eyes to realize you are actually a city person at heart.

The school system tells us to follow the rules, so we rarely are allowed or given chances to take risks. After moving out on your own, you could discover you love the freedom of taking risks and going on adventures. You might uncover new passions, hobbies, or ideas while you chase after new opportunities in your free time.

Overall, living on your own in a new, scary city will teach you how to be an adult. You will be fending for yourself without mommy or Sodexo feeding you. Maybe you’ll learn how to be a rockstar chef, interior decorator, or dishwasher. Most important, you will learn how to budget your income, even if it means surviving off of peanut butter and jelly or Ramen noodles. It is crucial to learn how to take care of yourself on this temporary basis instead of being forced to take care of yourself for the rest of your life after graduation.

So before it is the month you graduate and are scared of being dropped down in the big, scary, real world, make sure you have worked far from home at least once. Then once you are out there, it will be a piece of cake!

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons