The World Needs Dreamers

As far as I remember, I have always loved traveling. When I was a kid, I traveled with my family mostly to southern European Countries, and in 2016, I made one decision that really changed my life. I went to Atlanta, GA, USA, and was an intern in a law office for three months. I had my first roommates, I lived for the first time in Downtown, I made friends with people who were not my age, who had different origins, and I lived in the gay neighborhood! In simpler words, I had so many first times.

That’s where I started to be more confident about myself, about my English, about my ability to adapt to a new environment, and especially about my art skills. I had already exhibited my paintings during festivals or organizations in France, but right there, it was totally different. I dared to ask, and when I got accepted for an Art Show, it took courage to stand in front of people who just wanted to wander around and be distracted by the atmosphere.

The opportunities on the art scene and the thrill of each new experience influenced my decision to go abroad by myself and I was accepted as an exchange student at East Tennessee State University for 2017/2018.

My personal project is to become an English teacher and keep grinding as an artist wherever life will take me. I love teaching and sharing with people who are eager to learn. I just want to be a better person everyday and to be surrounded by motivated and well-intended people.

With all the states and incredible places the US has to offer, when I jumped out of the plane, I found myself in Tennessee. Very rural, pretty redneck, far from everything, difficult to move from place to place, fast foods everywhere... But still. I met international students and

spent time with them, it was not like “oh you’re from Japan, how is it there?”, it would have been too simple. Getting to know people and their country is not only about small chats. It is by spending time with foreigners, by talking (or not talking; people from Japan, for example, are pretty shy and discreet), but mostly by listening that you will grow, that you will learn about the world and about yourself.

The decision to go there by myself could have been a no-no for so many people I know, but when you’re right

there, the only option is to act and go. Just go. I faced difficult moments when I found myself well surrounded but quite lonely, since some people think that if you’re leaving in a few months, it won’t be worth it to share time with you.

I met so many people during these ten months. Maybe I won’t see them again, but I had so many magical moments with people who had projects, who were passionate, who had ambitions, and who sincerely cared about me, so it’s okay if we can’t cross paths again. Just because it was short doesn’t mean it did not mean anything.

Even though France and the United States are similar since they are both modern countries, the culture, the way of life, the way of thinking are very different. I won’t tell you why. I just want to show you that I made it and how proud I was.

I crossed states with a Greyhound bus (awful!), with a rented car with a flat tire, with an amazing jeep we also rented, and I slept in the middle of California, even on a plane (comfort is amazing sometimes)!

When traveling by yourself, there is no pattern, you make your own rules, just make sure you’re safe. Your whole life will be made up of going to work by car, stuck in traffic, paying for your bills, and paying to eat. So maybe you should add good memories in your mind that will never leave and create this special pattern in your inner self, this hunger for discoveries, for the unknown.

If you have already traveled by yourself or lived abroad, you’ll notice that when you come back to school, work, or “normal life”, you are impatient and systemically in search of this thrill, this special sensation, feeling of addiction.

There are so many good articles about how not to spend too much on traveling or where to eat and what to do in a particular city, but what I want people to imagine and live is this feeling of liberty. The possibilities of souvenirs and experience are huge. You can be a volunteer teacher in Peru, you can be an exchange student in the USA, you can be an intern in Italy, you can get a working holiday visa in Australia...

The world is yours. The world wants to meet you. People will smile at you. Take your dreams and projects and leave your mark on earth. Give something to someone you’ll never meet again. Take pictures, eat local food, laugh with strangers...

The world needs dreamers like you, and so do you.