College brings a whole realm of changes to a person’s life. We meet new people who, in turn, become new connections to so many different path ways that we can choose to take. This is the second summer that I have traveled over 2,000 miles to further my education and gain new experiences that I wouldn’t if I stayed back home. This experience is once in a lifetime, and I encourage everyone to jump out of there comfort zone and explore the millions of possibilities that life throws at you.

I am an engineering student, and in the engineering world it is difficult to find an internship that is engineering related before you finish your junior year. A lot of my friends are over achievers, finding amazing internships that deal with their engineering earlier in their college career. I am not that skilled, but I have managed to find a nice little job working for my uncle’s company.

Now I know what you’re thinking: She has an internship where her family member is the CEO. That must be the best. Well it’s not. Working with family can be more difficult than working with complete strangers, and the employees could treat you differently because you sit down for a meal every night with their boss. I am blessed to have a family that knows how to separate work from play, and I have enjoyed the experiences that I have gained from this opportunity.

Going away for an internship is like a work vacation. Whether you have family or friends in the area, or not, you are almost completely alone and must navigate the time you are away by yourself. I am lucky to have family in the area, so on the weekends I can seek refuge in their company, but they also have lives and commitments that they need to prioritize, leaving me to find something to occupy my time.

I am currently sitting in a little coffee shop, watching the salt water lick the beach that stretches in front of me, writing this article. Washington specifically has amazing nature life, and I have come to take advantage of the beautiful views. I have sought out little coffee shops and beaches, looking for little things to occupy my days. I find refuge in books, finding a nice place to sit and enjoy the company of some of the best characters. I have found an independence in myself that I would have never found staying at home in the comfort of my family, friends and boyfriend.

At work I am more focused, trying to obtain all the information possible so that this experience is worth every hour I put into it. I try to be 15 minutes early, and tend to stay after at least 15 minutes more. You receive as much as you put into something, and that is what I do because this experience is something that I can never get again. Yes, there are days where I have counted band aids and pens, taking inventory of the office supplies and first aid equipment. But when you look at the bigger picture, this is something that is so important and needs to be done.

A lot of the time, I am used to help organize and update protocols, questioning procedures so that everything is up to date and accurate. A company doesn’t have time to sit through the handbooks and continuously update them, and so it is great to know that what I am doing is going to help everyone in the long run. These tedious tasks make the testing and engineering part of my job more enjoyable. I love being able to question and push my bosses thinking, while learning things that I may have never learned because it would never apply to my life. I’m a biomedical engineer testing bathroom fans -- something that I know I would never choose to do -- but is an experience that I would never have if I did not take this internship. It has not only brightened my horizons, but pushed my thinking to a new place.

So take the leap. Experience a new place with nothing in it for you except for adventure and experience. Take in the beauty and uncomfortable feelings of a foreign environment, and find out who you really are because experiences like this don’t come very often. Take the leap, because in the end it could be the best thing you ever did for yourself.