Why Gratefulness in 2021 Matters

A new year and new semester is now underway, but it is never too late to reflect on what last year left us with, and to ask ourselves: was everything we went through even worth it? How could we really take something positive out of such an intense year? 

The entire world breathed a collective sigh of relief when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve and the calendar read 2021.

However, if you are still feeling exhausted, drained and stuck under the weight of 2020, our team wants to let you know that you are not alone and we felt important to reflect on this sentiment and to keep it all in perspective.

Grateful for Challenges

Although we’d all like to pretend the past year didn’t happen, or that it is already in the past, it’s important that we pay very close attention to all those challenges that made it such an intense year and to learn from them.

To many of us, 2020 meant a significant and major change on our routines, plans, goals and on our personal structures too. 

And for you, if you’re a high school or college student, it meant a significant change in terms of your learning process, but also your way of socializing. You adapted to new ways of studying, communicating and connecting not only with your classmates and teachers but with your friends and family too, and you worked to overcome those difficult challenges. 

The challenges that you’ve faced as an individual within a bigger society have left us with major lessons about solidarity, justice, and adaptability that we all need to implement in our current, respective lives. Collectively, we’ll take these lessons to build a new one that goes beyond society itself and structure a new sense of community: a much more conscious, compassionate and responsible one. 

Just as for us, as a company and as a group of individuals from around the world: many of our plans had to change when the pandemic hit, and we were suddenly stuck in a dense uncertainty cloud with no clear path in front of us. However, it was right in the middle of the crisis that our team found a way to rise above the challenge of the pandemic together, as we’ve always been, and luckily with the same team we had at the start of 2020. 

Grateful for Innovation

For our team, we created two passport-free programs to provide students the ability to connect with an international experience, even if it was virtual. Our Virtual Study Abroad program in partnership with the most prestigious university in Peru, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Additionally, our team created an unbelievable Medical Spanish & Latinx Patient Program integrated Medical Spanish language classes.

Each program had workshops focused on latin culture backgrounds too that are both online and affordable options for students in need of, even under hard circumstances, continue learning and exploring into global perspectives.

Grateful for Growth

So, how could each and everyone one of us feel grateful for 2020? During last year, have you reflected on the fact that challenges, such as economic and political crises and health systems collapsing, have always been a common thing in the world?

They didn’t start in 2020, but somehow no year has ever brought out in such a uniform way, how necessary it is to start thinking even more collectively and to take responsibility for ourselves and others, and how little we really need to live happily.

Challenges will always be a common denominator that we all need to adapt too. So, going from there, why don’t we start approaching life from a grateful, wider perspective and focus on everything we have instead of everything we lack? 

Let’s appreciate what last year taught us. 

Let’s not forget all of those things that let us shine our truest and most vulnerable essence. 

Let’s grow into kindness, respect and care for and to one another. 

Let’s see life from a grateful approach.

Take a minute to think about this and reflect: what are you grateful for today? 

Our team is hopeful the world will become a better and safer place for all of us. We are grateful for being alive, healthy and for the incredible opportunity to keep doing what we love most, despite what’s happening in the world. 

As our organization looks ahead, we are very excited to welcome a new year with you and thrilled to tell you about all of what we have planned for you both online and through future in-person programs.

This 2021 is filled with travel opportunities we need to know how to take advantage of in the most careful and responsible possible way. 

Want to keep connected with us and learn more about our programs ahead? Don’t forget to follow us on all of our social media below! Let’s get it started!

Turning Youth Travel into Study Abroad: Sarah's Story

My name is Sarah Shorter and I’m really excited to be a content writer and curator intern with EdOdyssey this summer! During my first three years at the College of the Holy Cross, my double major in Anthropology and Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean studies has increased my appreciation of global cultures. This interest led me to study abroad with EdOdyssey in Lima, Peru, where I matured academically, socially, and personally.  

Me competing in Austria!

Photo Credit: Synchrophoto.eu

PASSION FOR TRAVEL GROWING UP

Since my youth, I have had the privilege to travel throughout the U.S. and to numerous parts of the world. A large portion of my travel, particularly internationally, was to competitions with my synchronized ice skating team. The main focus of these trips was always the competition, yet my team would often have a few opportunities to explore the city we were visiting before the competition began. 

For five years, I was incredibly fortunate to compete on behalf of Team USA in 7 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America, expanding my global perspective. Visiting and competing in other countries not only enabled me to view different cultures and societal differences, but it also was a unique opportunity to connect with people around the world who share the same passion as me. At competitor parties and banquets, the love of synchronized skating connected people from very different backgrounds.

Having extensively traveled for skating and taken some family trips to Europe and other regions of the U.S., I was ready to channel my inner anthropologist and plant myself during my junior year of college in a completely new country, not as a tourist, but as a global citizen. 

My goal was to not only SEE the differences and similarities that Peru has with my home of Lexington, Massachusetts, but to actually LIVE and UNDERSTAND them. I wanted to truly become a part of the community. 

Visiting Machu Picchu with EdOdyssey!

STUDYING IN PERU

Having learned a lot about other cultures and various aspects of Latin America through my two majors, I was drawn to the idea of studying abroad in Peru. The well organized and supportive program which EdOdyssey has in Peru made my decision to study abroad in Lima much easier. It also helped me convince my parents that I should spend a year

I distinctly remember my pre-departure phone call with the EdOdyssey team in Lima. I hadn’t spoken Spanish in about 6 months and I was sweating from nerves as I got on the call. Yet when the call ended and my Dad asked me how it went, I was enthusiastic, excited, and confident that I would be totally fine when I got to Lima the next month.

The Lima team: Patty, Luis, and Narda, are the absolute BEST! 

Celebrating my host parents’ 50th anniversary

THE PERUVIAN EXPERIENCE

Once I got over some fears and embraced all the unknowns and unfamiliarities that defined my new home of Lima, Peru, becoming a global citizen is exactly what I did! During my 7 months in Peru (before COVID unfortunately frantically had me packing to come back to the states), I learned to dance salsa, to use Peruvian slang, and to embrace “Peruvian time”. 

I became friends with Peruvian classmates, and bonded with my host family. Having had this incredible experience, in large thanks to the EdOdyssey team, I am immensely grateful to be able to continue to work with EdOdyssey. Traveling and engaging with different cultures, peoples, and places is an invaluable privilege and opportunity. 

Enjoying the Sand Dunes during EdOdyssey’s Ica excursion!

One of the greatest things I learned in Peru was that being courageous, taking chances, and following your passions will lead to some of the most rewarding experiences. As I look ahead to my future after college, I hope to get the chance to live abroad again. I am still discerning what my future plans will be, yet I have no doubt that the lessons I learned in Peru will be an integral part of anything I pursue. 

Do you want to learn a bit more about the special EdOdyssey team members who made my experience in Lima a brilliant one?

Be sure to check out the blog Q&A: Meet EdOdyssey’s Local Team in Lima, Peru to learn more about the amazing team that supported, guided, and challenged me throughout my time abroad!