Studying Abroad When You're Under 18

Studying abroad is scary as it is, but imagine studying abroad as a minor?

Not a lot of people study abroad when they're underage, but there are a few of us that exist. If you really think about it, international kids are studying abroad when they come to the US for college.

Traveling can be an amazing, eye-opening experience, but it can also be challenging, especially when you're underage.

Study Aboad

There are different scenarios as to why one is traveling at such a young age. Maybe it's because of their parents job, or maybe it's because their parents want their children to go to boarding school.... the list goes on. The truth is, no matter what the reason is, most kids who study abroad are privileged in some way shape or form- and they may not even know it. When you are young, you don't recognize how rare it is for people to travel, and the older you get you realize that you're lucky... or maybe i'm just speaking from personal experience.

I sat down with one of my talented friends Erame Okojie, aka Kidd Waff, and we unpacked this topic. A little about Erame: he is 19, has senior standing at LMU and he's a rapper. On top of all that, he is from Nigeria and he just happened to study abroad there for a semester during his sophomore year.

In our interview (which you can watch on my channel: https://youtu.be/5RiHUkCibTk), we exchanged stories. It's crazy what traveling does to you- as Ibn Battuta said, “Travel- it leaves you speechless & turns you into a storyteller". Although both Erame and I studied abroad as minors, we went at different times and for different reasons.

Erame went to Nigeria his junior year of high school & he went to a British boarding school, whereas I went to school in Tanzania for 10 years & it was mainly because of my mothers job. Going to a boarding school is different from a day school. Erame mentions that he wasn't able to go home on weekends & that he only went home for two holidays. Other than that, he was on the campus for 6 to 7 months straight. In that sense, it was hard for him, especially since he was there for a short amount of time.

I went to a day school called Braeburn, which was a British International school in Tanzania. Since I was there for 9 years, I acclimated to the school and the way of life pretty quickly. I was able to learn Swahili, and even pick up French in my last couple of years living there. When I moved back to New York, I was nervous for many reasons. When you leave a country for 10 years and come back- things change, especially when you're too young to remember most of it. I knew moving back would be difficult because I'd been gone for so long, but I'm only now realizing the benefits of studying abroad.

I asked Erame how he performed both academically & socially when he came back from Nigeria. He explained he had no issues transitioning back since he was only gone for a semester and his childhood friends were expecting him. Academics slowly became easier because the British system was harder, and the same thing happened for me academically. However, my social life became a little more tricky. People were ignorant and would make stupid jokes about things that they didn't know about. Although Erame didn't experience any issues transitioning back, I did. We went abroad at different times, to different places therefor our experiences are drastically different, yet relatable in some aspects.

Traveling is something everyone should experience. It's important to experience different cultures because that's how you learn and grow. Looking back on my experiences, it's safe to say that the people who made ignorant comments only made them because they couldn't help it. They had a different life than I did, and no one can judge or comment on their experiences- and same goes for both Erame & I.