Study Abroad Storytellers: Seeking discomfort while abroad

Bettina Villegas, who is majoring in neuroscience and behavior, is a rising senior at the University of Notre Dame. In the fall of 2021, she studied abroad in Galway, Ireland and participated in the SA Storytellers program. She writes about her perspective on choosing a study abroad program and why it’s important to seek discomfort.

Being in the complete opposite environment of the hustle and bustle of the city, I learned to seek discomfort. I learned to seek out new opportunities and experiences that I wouldn’t normally have, like joining the archery team at my school or taking an Irish history class or hiking! It’s experiences like these in which I find myself growing, and now, I absolutely love hiking and the views that come with it. So if I have any advice for prospective study abroad students, it would be to go somewhere out of your comfort zone, somewhere that will push you to grow and learn, and somewhere to seek discomfort.

One of my favorite channels on YouTube is called Yes Theory, and they live by this idea of “seeking discomfort.” Although I have been an avid fan of their content for almost three years now, I never fully understood what it meant to seek discomfort until I studied abroad.

Of course going to some foreign country with a different way of life would be uncomfortable for anyone, but being completely immersed in a setting that is so far out of my comfort zone was a new challenge I didn’t expect to handle. When I was applying for study abroad, I was mainly looking for programs that would allow me to take classes for my major or programs that weren’t too big; I wasn’t too concerned with the city or the country. So when I got accepted into the Galway program I had no idea what was in store for me.

As people began their study abroad experiences and instagram and snapchat stories rolled in, I realized that I was going to a place that I had never really been before. I wasn’t talking about Galway, or even Ireland, I was talking about the mountains and being removed from the city. Before this semester, I had never spent any time in nature, up in the mountains, or in the rural parts of a foreign country. I have always been a city girl and I feel like I thrive best in cities. It never dawned on me that I would be spending this semester in a place that was completely opposite of the environment I enjoy best. As my departure date neared I started to get anxious about uncertainties like “What if I don’t like Galway” or “What if I can’t find anything enjoyable to do in this small town?” It didn’t help either that when I got to Galway, almost everyone in my program seemed to be avid hikers and nature lovers. I felt really out of place. It also didn’t take long for my fear of hiking to become a reality.

A couple weekends into the semester, we went to Kylemore Abbey in Connemara and of course, we went on a hike called Diamond Hill. This hike was optional and our program director was giving an “out” to anyone who didn’t want to do it. Being the competitive person that I am and wanting to show myself that I could do it, I stayed silent when she asked “Who doesn’t want to go?” As soon as we took that first step and I felt a little bit of incline, I questioned my decision. However, I sought this discomfort and I was going to make sure that I got something out of it. When I started the climb I was thinking of all the things I’d rather be doing. I thought about my friends in other programs that were in big cities and didn’t have to hike up huge mountains. Then I hit a point; a point where I really thought I couldn’t hike anymore. I wanted to stop and let everyone else finish, but instead I embraced the discomfort. With every increasingly difficult step, I thought about how much I was growing from this discomfort. I thought about how I could’ve been in a city, not hiking up the West of Ireland, but also, how much I really wouldn’t be growing from that, and isn’t that what studying abroad is all about? As I neared the top, I could feel the steps getting steeper and steeper, but even though I was being tormented physically, I found contentment with my situation mentally.

The hike I did up Diamond Hill was a metaphor for the entire semester. Getting to Galway, I realized that it wasn’t the first place I probably would’ve put myself in if I had to redo the study abroad admissions process, but I’m so glad that I ended up here. Being in the complete opposite environment of the hustle and bustle of the city, I learned to seek discomfort. I learned to seek out new opportunities and experiences that I wouldn’t normally have, like joining the archery team at my school or taking an Irish history class or hiking! It’s experiences like these in which I find myself growing, and now, I absolutely love hiking and the views that come with it. So if I have any advice for prospective study abroad students, it would be to go somewhere out of your comfort zone, somewhere that will push you to grow and learn, somewhere where you can seek discomfort.

Learn more about the SA Storyteller program.