The question of whether or not to study abroad quickly boils down to a discussion of what we want to gain from our four years at the College. From Orientation to Commencement — a clever name emblematic of our first introductions to the Real World, meant, I think, to inspire a sense of wondrous awe at the dawning of our adult lives, but an event I expect will be more one of trepidation and anxiety sort of the like the first time you drive on your own — there is a disquieting sense of time slipping away. We’re cognizant of the allotted time we have and some part of us is never content with what we have accomplished.

I have a particularly bad case of this. I’m continually sizing up what percent is left till the end, a sort of mental loading bar. So when a milestone like — gasp! — my Very First Semester hurtles by at high speed, I take a quick moment to quietly take stock of my accomplishments before they fade in the distance.

While gathering my few, my precious achievements around me like a fortress to repel the demons of self-doubt, the provincial nature of my experiences up to this point struck me as somewhat disappointing and I quickly marked it down in my journal to think on. For those of you who have largely lived in one place your entire lives — and I go so far as to say that means the plurality of Amherst students (God don’t let me be the only one) — we have two homes that we know. We know our home-home extremely well since we’ve lived there practically our entire conscious lives, and now we’re well acquainted with our Amherst-home.

Some of us know Amherst better than others. For freshman, Amherst is still, well, fresh. Waking to golden rays reflected by the snow-covered rooftops radiating through your huge porthole-of-a-window on the top floor of Chuck Pratt (read: ski chalet) hasn’t gotten old quite yet. Sophomores, too, experience days when Amherst captures their imagination as the idyllic New England ivy tower. But the newness inevitably wears off. What was once crisp and exciting becomes bland when seen with older eyes.

How, oh how, you are surely asking this writer, does one avoid this lamentable state of affairs? How do I keep my eyes young and innocent and my mind sharp and undamped by familiarity with the everyday beauty of our Fairest College?

And to this I answer: Get out of here! Get out of Amherst and Belchertown and Northampton and the whole damn Pioneer Valley and run far away to a place you don’t know and have never known. Learn Spanish or polish your crappy British accent with help from actual Brits. Whatever you do, get out of here, because the absolute worst thing you can do is get used to this place and take it for granted. Being deprived of all things Amherstian for a semester will reawaken you to the opportunities available. You’ll walk on campus with a freshman’s awe but none of the sweaty anxiety. Your remaining semesters will be lived with an intensity and desire to make the most of your time that could not exist without your study abroad semester.

All this I promise and riches beyond your wildest dreams. In all seriousness, only through deprivation can you truly appreciate something. The comparison between Amherst and non-Amherst will serve to highlight the comforts of our College, excepting, of course, the food, which will be immensely better wherever you study abroad.

If you hit the sophomore slump, or just need a breathe of fresh air uncontaminated by 1,600 people you don’t know intimately, don’t cry or pull out old admissions letters to dwell on all the colleges you turned down for this place. It’s easy!

Skip jauntily down to the Study Abroad Library, research your options, and submit your Declaration of Intent to Study Abroad. Then, uh, apply to programs. Wait for acceptance. Submit more paperwork. Double check to make sure it’s filled out properly because otherwise you will be billed for next semester’s tuition and so on. But don’t let that deter you. It’s easier than it sounds, really. And it may just save you from wasting your Amherst years.