The ISA JournalWhy Studying Abroad is Important in the World We Live in

Andie Parnell is a student at the Texas A&M University – College Station and an ISA Featured Blogger. She studied abroad with ISA in Stirling, Scotland.

Whew! Just like that month one of my two month Scotland journey is over. Throughout this month I have not only learned so much about myself, but also about the world we live in.

This was the view from half way up the hill.

One of my greatest takeaways so far is to not give into fear. On the Isle of Skye we took the steep trek up to Old Man of Storr in the freezing rain. Being a speckle of human at the bottom of the beast gazing up into the fog, I thought between my hiking skills and my normal desert surroundings in Texas that I wouldn’t make it off of the island. About to turn back to the safety of the tour van, my friend Olivia started enthusiastically ascending into the fog. All fear I had was swept away with the rain in that moment as I bursted out of my comfort zone to the top. Once at the top gazing over the ocean and green Scotland hills I knew I would never forget this moment and go home perceiving what can be scary as something I can conquer.

The entrance to the gallery that reads “EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT”

Along with kissing my fears goodbye, I studied Psychology of Art at the University of Stirling. In this course we were taught about perception and its role in the art world. Our professor lectured in a classroom full of couches with such charisma and spunk. Her positivity was radiating and her love for art contagious both of which stuck with me. Within this course we discussed art that depicted positive and negative things in the world but nonetheless portrayed reality. As part of our course the whole class traveled to Edinburgh and visited their modern art gallery. In this class and at the gallery tour I discovered that no matter what is going on in the world you can turn it into something that can bring people together.

This month in Scotland taught me that negativity and fear is nothing compared to human connection through artwork and adventure. All of which illuminated the importance of positivity in the world we live in.