Why You Should Study Abroad with a Mission In Mind

By: Victoria Han

I planned to study in Amsterdam 13 months in advanced all for one thing – Martin Garrix’s Amsterdam Dance Event show at RAI. It might sound crazy to move your studies across seas solely for a 3-hour rave, but there is so much more to the story. From a very young age I was obsessed and addicted to EDM – electronic dance music, DJs, and rave culture. Turns out, the vast majority of famous DJ’s are Dutch, so I came to Amsterdam to find out what’s really going on. I knew with four months to totally immerse myself in Dutch culture, I would learn more than I could ever dream about,  if I didn’t come move to Amsterdam.

I mostly came for ADE – Amsterdam Dance Event. A famous music festival/conference held annually in October held for dance music professionals and enthusiasts. DJs, producers, agents, managers, scouters, photographers, songwriters, publicists, journalist, etc travel to Amsterdam for ADE. ADE lasts around five days and has around 450,000 attendees with 2500 of the world greatest DJs. Of course, I wasn’t going to miss it. During the daytime I attended talks, conferences, workshops, and networking events. At night, from dusk till dawn, I was raving and experience TRUE Dutch rave culture, for the first time. I learned and made more progress than I ever could have imagined, and met people I didn’t know was possible. I met my all-time favorite DJ and inspiration for everything, Dutch superstar, Hardwell. Not only did I meet him, but I was also invited to his record label to meet the people that work there and chat about music.

Just by existing in Amsterdam and being fully immersed in Dutch rave culture, I learned more than I have in four months, than I ever would have in my entire life, if I hadn’t taken this leap of faith. Amsterdam rave culture is a different kind of jungle with a different breed of party animals. By going on many solo adventures to clubs, raves, and festivals every weekend, I learned so much about the entire scene, holistically. One crazy thing happened after one another, and it snow-balled. I came here with many goals and crushed them. I learned so much more than I ever thought was possible and achieved more than I ever dreamed about! I meticulously planned my time abroad and my activities months in advanced, which set me up for massive success. 

I highly advise doing extensive research on your city abroad and going into it with detailed goals in mind. You won’t regret it, and you will be shocked at how fast you will growth and achieve. Don’t be afraid to take that leap of faith, anything is possible!