We're Going to Spain

Hi! My name is Ebbie and I graduated from college in May. I majored in communication studies, and before last January, planned on starting a career in digital marketing or social media management. Like many other college students, I had the idea of graduating and then immediately getting a 9-5 job. I had the right internships, talked to professionals, researched companies, and sent e-mails inquiring about informational interviews. But when I was asked, "What do you want to do?" I struggled to find the right answer. Something creative. Something flexible. Something that keeps me interested. That's all pretty vague, and I now realize that I was applying for jobs that fit my background without considering what the future version of myself would enjoy.

If I hadn't remembered that an old friend of mine taught English and stayed abroad in South Korea, or if I hadn't Googled "teach English abroad" and found CIEE's link on Google, and if Covid hadn't halted my plan to study abroad in my previous college years, I probably would've been able to make up more words and form a generic but well-tailored response to the question of what I want to do. But the truth is, I don't know what I want to do. When talking to a family friend, she told me something along the lines of, "That job that you'll have when you're 30 will always be there. No matter what you decide to do right now, if you want that job in 10 years, it's not going anywhere. You'll get there." And I saw that she was right- a decision I make when I'm 22 to live abroad is not going to alter my entire future. My life in eight years will be exactly what I want it to be based off of the decisions I make, even if I take a different path than I initially planned on. Even now, as my arrival date in Spain nears, I know I'm excited to live abroad, I know I can't wait to have a thousand new firsts in a new country, and there's no words for how grateful I am to have this opportunity- but teaching English is never something I thought I'd say "I want to do." But I'm saying it now, and maybe the process of figuring out what I want is just trying a hundred different things until I no longer have to think twice about my answer.

So, I accepted the positon, convinced a friend to accompany me, and started making a Pinterest board with outfits and Spanish scenery to help envision what the next year of my life would look like. I tearfully graduated, moved back home, and have been working and saving up as much money as possible for the past month and a half. And I'm not even going to lie, when someone asks me what my future plans are (as they always do, even though most people don't actually care), I like saying the words "I'm moving to Spain for a year." It's cool, it's unexpected, it's lucky. But, I don't think I've come to terms with the fact that one day (soon) it will no longer just be a plan or just an answer to a question- I'll actually be moving to Spain for a year. Like, on the plane, bags packed, on my way. 4,000 miles and a 7-hour time difference away. So yes, I'm nervous, I admit it. But, I was also nervous to go to summer camp in fifth grade, and I was nervous to start high school, and nervous to go to college, but at their end, all those then-new things ended up to be the experienes that taught me big lessons and helped me chip away at figuring out what I want in life. That's exactly what I expect Spain to be- a year of fun, growing up, and figuring out what I want to do. 

So... We're going to Spain!!!