My Vienna Study Abroad Application Essay:
Ever since my first birthday I have been a world traveler. I celebrated my first birthday in Kerry, Ireland. I pretended I was a giant in the famous Bourton-On-The-Water Model Village in Cotswolds, England, when I was two years old. I chased sheep down a dirt road in Scotland when I was three. At the time, I did not know very much about the places I was in they were just my playground away from home.
Most of what I remember from these trips is
from stories told by my family, pictures and home videos. My dad had told me
many stories about the times he himself had spent in Ireland as well. From
these stories, my heart yearned to truly experience it with memories I could
hold onto longer. In the fourth grade I had finally begged my parents enough to
bring me back to Ireland where it all started.
From fourth grade on the travel bug had
finally sunk his teeth in enough so that there would never be an antidote for
its effect. Ireland ceased to be this mythical world as soon as we landed. It
was real. The people there were real with authentic accents and palpable charm.
The dogs that ran around barked and the cows that stood in the fields were much
quieter than I imagined. The food was delicious and comforting. The walls of
the stone castles were rough and strong. I found there were things I had
expected and those I had not even thought of.
I traveled to Italy during my sophomore year
of high school. I saw Rome, Florence and Venice during my stay there and to
this day I still cannot say which was my favorite. Rome was grand and had the
fast-paced city feel that disappeared when you sat down in the café. Florence
was plastered with beautiful art and architecture wherever you looked but felt
like it could have been your own hometown. Venice on the other hand felt like
another world altogether with its waterways and that incredible beauty when you
see city lights dancing on the water.
Each place had its own charm, its own quirks
and its own personality. That is what I loved about Italy and that is what I
love about traveling. You cannot condense all that you have seen in your
travels with words. Traveling is about the feeling you get when you stare out
the window and watch those passing below you. Traveling to me is that pigeon
that landed outside your window and you know it has seen parts of this world
you have not. I envy that pigeon. Saint Augustine of Hippo said, “The world is
a book and those who do not travel read only a page.” My goal is to heed Saint
Augustine’s advice and take hold of every opportunity I can find to travel. I
am eager to see what there is in Vienna and what I can find there. I have never
been content to see through only a tourist’s eye even though I understand that
is what I have been. By studying abroad in Vienna, I hope to take on a new view
of traveling as a student and from taking away all the knowledge I can from the
culture there.
