It's not a Year in your Life, it's a Life in a Year

Exchange is not a trip or vacation.

When you say you're going away on an exchange for a semester or even a year people usually say stuff like "that's a long vacation" or "so you will be traveling for a year?". Is it really so hard to understand that it is not a vacation AT ALL? We live a second live. It's like you turn off your life at home and go away to live a second and different one. Exchange is not a trip or a vacation. I'm not saying you won't travel, of course you will. You will visit many different places but thats just a consequence of everything else and not the main thing. You'll be able to experience something that's totally the opposite of what you're used to. The memories you make are way bigger than you ever did in your home country. You'll have a new family, new friends, new school or even a new job. Everything is new. Everything is different. And that's what's so cool about doing an exchange. You sleep for a year in your home country and it feels like you're dreaming this whole time. When you "wake up" everything will be just the same at home and the difference will be on you. In an exchange you will be able to know the real you, you will be able to figure out things about you that you would never be able to if you were home. You will grow up a lot and way faster than you ever did, you will get out of your box and see the world not just from a window but outside of it. Exchange is a second life, not a trip or vacation. It's not a year in your life but a life in a year. You will learn so much, you will see people how they truly are and you will be able to accept that fact and not just complain about it. Exchange is not a trip or vacation, at all.