Reframing Uncertainty as I Step Into My Second Global Health Experience
Payton Harvey
As of today, I am preparing to step into my second study abroad experience, an eight-week summer internship with the Red Cross Society on the Caribbean island of Grenada, this time around with a lot less apprehension and uncertainty—and instead, a lot more tenacity and openness. Preparing to study abroad, to be away from home, family, and friends, and everything that is certain, is as daunting as it is exciting, especially for your first time away. I reflect upon my first study abroad experience, an eight-week Health Studies program in Cape Town, South Africa, and how much of my anxieties stemmed from the potential uncertainty of the situation: Am I equipped to handle being away? Will I struggle with coursework as I juggle the actual ‘experience’ portion of studying abroad? How will I navigate new cultural practices and a new societal context I am unfamiliar with in a way that contributes to my experience positively while having respect and humility for the people and the place I am traveling to?
These felt like such big questions, with huge uncertain answers.
Flash forward to now, I often credit the summer I spent in South Africa as being the best summer I have experienced in my 23 years of living (super dramatic, but not at all exaggerated). During that summer, I was stretched, mentally and physically. I learned deeply, and I learned through experience—experience that I hold on to till this day and that shapes how I view the world, myself in the world, and how I can contribute to the world as a public health practitioner. Three central lessons I will take from my previous study abroad experience as it stands:
- Uncertainty ≠ Negative; the negative connotation to uncertainty used to lie in my ability (or lack thereof) to trust myself to handle any new situation
- Growth requires discomfort; any lesson or experience worth anything is not sunshine and rainbows 100 percent of the time
- Be real about your privilege; understanding your positionality as an American student within another country’s context requires a humility and an openness to understanding that will only enhance your study abroad experience, if you commit to it
With these lessons in mind, I am ready to take on the challenge of this new project working with the Red Cross Society in Grenada. Although it is uncertain and the experience is set to be challenging, I know I am equipped with the skills and resources to successfully accomplish the goals and objectives that this summer presents. So as of today, I am eager to step onto the island of Grenada. I am eager to learn, to collaborate, to experience, and to take one step closer to being an active and educated global citizen of the world.
