Spending time abroad is perhaps the most important thing you can do during your academic career. One of the saddest things I see is students who want to do it so badly, yet let financial constraints stop them. 

It's never the money, it's always the commitment. We're always committed to something. What matters is what we're committed to. I've seen students who were $5000 away, and who started with no idea of how they would raise the money, come up with the money because they were committed to finding a solution. I've also seen students who were literally less than $1000 away from coming up with what they need, give up, because they were committed to seeing the obstacles.

I've written this guide on how to afford travel as a student to help students to find ways to get themselves abroad before they graduate.

This blog was written by Sophia Okunsky, a Summer 2017 Semester in Development participant. It has been edited from its original version.

My traditional Eastern European parents have become immune to my constant desire to step outside my (and their) comfort zone and hop onto a plane to who knows where.