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Teaching abroad is more than just an opportunity to explore a new country—it’s a journey of personal growth and self-discovery. In this blog, Lilah shares her heartfelt experience of stepping outside her comfort zone and embracing the challenges of teaching English in Japan. From overcoming self-doubt to developing newfound independence, Lilah’s story is a powerful testament to how taking the leap into the unknown can lead to profound personal and professional development. Whether you’re considering teaching abroad or simply curious about the impact it can have, this blog offers an inspiring glimpse into the life-changing potential of this unique adventure.
Hello! My name is Lilah and today I wanted to touch on how making the decision to teach abroad, even only part way into my current contract, has allowed me to grow greatly as both a teacher and as a person. I have mentioned before in my previous blog about how teaching has never really been an ultimate goal of mine, but I want to be just as vocal about how happy I am that I did take the leap and decide to do so.
The Power of Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
I’ve always believed that above everything else, pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and being your own largest encourager to try new things is one of the most powerful traits a person can adopt for themselves. I would love to detail my experience for you and I hope that motivates you to make a similar decision in your life that could lead to the level of growth that I have been so lucky to experience.
For me, making the decision to teach required overcoming a lot of personal biases I held about myself. I believed that I didn’t enjoy being around children, that I wasn’t patient enough to adopt the role of teacher, and I was even unsure that I would be able to spend a full year away from my friends and family in another country, even though this trip to Japan is the third time that I’ve moved abroad on my own. It took me several weeks to consider all of these factors and to rationalize my ultimate decision to move to Japan to teach English for a 12-month duration. I wanted to make sure that I was making the right decision, both personally and professionally, and it took me some time to determine that I was. Truthfully, I don’t think there is any way you can ever know for sure without taking that step and finding out, and doing so myself has made that fact even clearer to me.
Facing Uncertainty with Confidence
Recently, someone asked me how I knew that moving to Japan wouldn’t be a mistake, and I told them that I didn’t. In order to move your entire life across the world, you have to have some faith in yourself that even if things don’t go according to plan and you end up not liking the situation that you find yourself in, you can always make another decision to change your circumstances. As someone who is a serial planner and likes to make sure that things are settled and taken care of before I carry them out, this was a difficult pill for me to swallow. However, this is an important lesson to learn, and I think that allowing myself to be just a bit more spontaneous in my life decisions has greatly benefited me in a variety of ways.
Building Adaptability and Independence
Moving abroad on your own also strengthens your adaptability and your independence. While these seem like more obvious benefits to an international move, I think it’s important to highlight because a lot of people are not as independent as they think they are. Moving to a new country by yourself and trying to navigate all of the steps it takes to get yourself settled there is a new level of isolation and personal independence, and I don’t believe anyone is truly forced to experience it until it is their only choice. By taking a step like this, that is the case for you – you will simultaneously be provided with the perfect opportunity for yourself to improve and grow in this area. Overall, choosing to teach abroad has given me countless opportunities to continuously improve myself and has made me a better teacher, coworker, and individual.
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