In early 2013 I made the decision that I wanted more out of my life than to just work a dull office job, constantly looking at the clock, hoping that the work day would be over sooner rather than later. Time is ultimately our most valuable non-renewable resource; you can always make more money, but you can’t make more time. I decided that never again would I be wishing my time away, trading hours of my life for a wage.

Instead I made a plan.

I’d come to the realisation that higher education was the path that would suit my aspirations best. Not only could I undertake structured learning, but I could also combine this with my goal to see and experience as much of the world as possible.

So I enrolled in the Flinders Foundation Studies Program, set my sights on the Bachelor of Medical Science degree, read up on the Learning Without Borders program, and told as many people that would listen about my plans in order to hold myself accountable.

Three years later and I have completed the Foundations Studies Program, I’m two semesters deep in my second year of the Medical Science degree, and I am currently typing this blog post from my student accommodation at Manipal University in India.

Before I left a six year career in the finance industry to pursue this goal, I spent a lot of time thinking about my expectations of studying abroad. In the end, I did away with most of them and instead made a decision to remain as open and present as possible to the experiences that I would surely encounter.

Now that I’m living my goals, I’m excited to immerse myself in a culture that is very different from that which I’ve been raised, and also to see where the similarities may be. I’m excited to experience an alternative method of teaching to that which I’ve been taught. And perhaps most importantly (and most clichéd) I’m also excited to embrace the uncomfortable and continue to grow and develop intellectually and emotionally, furthering my studies while continuing to learn more about what I want from my time here on Earth.

Cameron Olliffe, a Bachelor of Medical Science student, Semester 2 2016 exchange at Manipal University, India