Sound familiar?

1. My life is absolutely normal, and I am planning on stimulating it. -Student in CA

2. My sister traveled to Argentina through AFS a few years ago and said the experience she had gave her a feeling of completeness. That it helped her find who she was. I do not think I could ever be completed, because there is so much out there to know, but I hope that my experiences abroad will help give me a feeling of success. -Student in CA

3. I also want to be able to practice my language skills and see if I could understand and converse with people in another country. - Student in OK

4. I would LOVE to go abroad to learn and become fluent in Spanish first hand. Not just the stuff they teach you in school, but the real thing. Also, the people in South America seem like wonderful people with a wonderful culture. I would love to be apart of that for awhile. -Student in MD

5. I think that the general opinion towards Americans has become more unfavorable, and so I hope to positively represent my country and show that we can be nice and friendly too! - Student in PA

6. I'll never forget the first or second day of Spanish my Spanish teacher at the time told my class about her year long stay in Spain in college and how much she absolutely loved it. She also told us "If you ever get the chance to study abroad DO IT, because there's nothing else in the world like immersing yourself in another culture for a whole year." She also said, "The world has so much to offer you. Outside of the U.S. there is a totally different world." So, that's when I set my mind to studying abroad if I ever had the chance. Now that I do have a chance to go abroad I'm taking it and running with it as far as it will let me. - Student in OH

7. I want to study abroad because yeah, you could easily just go on a vacation there, but you really don't get the whole experience until you immerse yourself into a culture. You have to be in the culture not spectating it. You can only do this when you live and study in the culture. -Student in CA

8.The reason I want to join AFS is it's something new and it sounds like it'll be a fun challenge and I also want to prove to myself that I am able to accomplish something this big. -Student in CA

9. I am interested in this program because I would like to see the different cultures out there first hand. I'd like to be knees deep in unfamiliar surroundings. I love to travel, and I love to try new things and your program gives me an opportunity so immeasurable that I cannot let it slip away from between my fingers. - Student in OH

10. I’ve made it my hobby to meet and greet people from other countries. I am hoping that if accepted by AFS, to not only have a thrilling adventure and a greater understanding of Japan, but to become a role model for America so that the Japanese people may know that America has great people too.” -Student in CA

11. I want to study abroad because of the security. A program like AFS would mean I wouldn't have to worry about the messy details about finding a school. -Student in CA

12. Well. I plan on doing the Ghana Community service summer program. I’ve always wanted to help people less fortunate then myself. to put it simply, with AFS, I can. -Student in WA

13. For me personally, I have a strong interest in architecture and history, and to have the chance to study those areas in a country that has it ingrained in its history would be a once in a lifetime opportunity! -Student in AZ

14. I just want to have a new adventure! And it will look good for college! -Student in AZ

15. I want to see all the animals and nature that is completely different than in America. -Student in IL

16. Stepping into a culture and not knowing any one or even the language, all too well, is going to be scary but it will be such an amazing adventure that I will remember for ever! -Student in NM

17. My mother went to Ecuador with AFS in 1970. She told me she used to take the tiny bus up the mountain each day, with people packed against each other, holding live chickens above their head to take home. They never did anything but smile, she said. And truly, what could be a better experience? -Student in KS

18. I have never fully put myself outside of my comfort zone and that that is something everyone should experience in their lifetime, sooner rather than later. Mostly I just think I would come out on the other side of a time abroad as a better, fuller person. -Student in CAI was talking to our student from Germany and he was telling me how happy he was that he chose to come to America because he is having so much fun. That is why I want to study abroad. -Student in MI

19. I want to know what else is out there. I am sick of reading books about it and watching movies. I want to see it and experience life outside this "one-horse town”. That’s why I am getting involved with AFS. -Student in WI

20. When I get older I want to do something to help the world and make it a better place. If I can see how others live and experience their daily life, I think that would help me reach my goal. -Student in CO

21. I think that it is a great way for all of us to learn to accept and grow together with people from different cultures and around the world. -Student in OR

22. When you are visiting for a vacation you are not able to learn as much as you can while actually living there for a period of time. -Student in MT

23. There’s a big world out there and I want a piece of it. -Student in UT

24. I want to learn about different cultures, try something new, try new foods, learn a language and have fun doing all of that. -Student in CA

25. Over the years I have learned much about political geography and studied many nations in depth, which led to an even deeper desire to see my ancestral homeland. -Student in AK

26. Why would I want to go live in a new country after living a sheltered, single-culture life, speaking only one language? Actually, that's exactly why. -Student in WA

27. Until you are the minority who is pushed outside of their comfort zone, you never truly get to look at your surroundings with a new eye. Travel opens your eyes, and that's why I want to travel abroad. -Student in WA

28. I feel that there is so much in the world that I am missing out on. -Student in MT

29. To me, studying abroad is an example of going above and beyond in my education experience. Anyway, I could go on for days as to why I would want to study abroad. -Student in WA

30. The reason I would like to go is because I don't know what my plans ahead are. I want to take the chance before it's too late. -Student in AK

31. I think that studying abroad is important because it makes us go outside of our little box. We have a very limited view of what life is really like, and going abroad helps us explore other cultures, and grow as people. -Student in NH

32. Because we always here about these places in school about how great they are how much they've affected our lives and such but we never actually get to know any of the people or see these places ourselves. -Student in TX

33. I need a life changing experience, and when I heard about your program I knew I had found it. -Student in NY

34. I think that studying abroad for a semester would strengthen my education a lot, not just academically, but socially too. All together it just seems like something that is right for me. -Student in CA

35. People are molded when they are young so it is imperative that people study abroad especially as youth. -Student in NY

36. I've been fascinated by Japanese culture, and how in almost every book it said that you could drive just miles from a city ahead of its time and end up a thousand years in the past, and I want to experience this first hand! And that’s just a very brief description why! (If I went all out, I'm afraid I may bore you with a troublesome essay about why.) -Student in NY

37. What appeals to me about studying abroad is that I will be able to, among other things, see how I might have lived if my ancestors never left their countries; the exchange students that I have talked to have LOVED the experience to death. -Student in MN

38.The idea of studying abroad is so exciting. I can picture myself wandering down the streets of a new country, speaking their language and feeling like a true native. When this picture comes into my mind, I can't stop smiling. I went out of the United States for the first time this summer and now I can't get the idea out of my head. I feel so ignorant staying in the United States when there are hundreds of countries with separate cultures to see. -Student in DC

39. I believe a lack of cultural understanding and/or appreciation is one of the biggest causes for political and military hiccups in the world today. I personally have great interest in foreign language and culture and I try to BE the change that I want to see in the world. -Student in GA

40.I honestly think that its so interesting learning how to understand cultures and what students my age are doing and learning and how it’s different from what I am doing and learning in school and outside of school. -Student in KS

41.I see spending a semester in a Spanish-speaking country as the most awesome way of spontaneously immersing myself in the world outside my world, and at the same time making my own resume more impressive, becoming fluent in the Spanish language, and experiencing something I will use as a frame of reference to everything else in my life. All these things are in response to the question “Why?” and I think of in terms of “WHY NOT??” a question to which I can’t respond. -Student in PA

42. I love the thought of waking up somewhere new and being so content with knowing that its mine to get to know and explore. -Student in PA

43. Why I would LOVE to study abroad: New places equal adventure, knowledge and freedom. They are full of secrets and surprises waiting to be known. New places are both exciting and scary, a total thrill. A new place for me is a new look on life. -Student in TX

44. I know that I am not the only kid in the world with a set of dreams, wishes, hopes, and problems. I want to how every one can be different and yet the same. - Student in MO