I decided to look into the stats a bit more to see where the views were coming from.

The Culprit

I figured the views would have probably come from either my Why Money Shouldn’t Stop You from Doing an International Exchange or Why I Still Procrastinate with Planning Trips stories. After all, these were the only 2 stories that I shared on my social media.

Surprise! Turns out the views were coming from the only story I didn’t promote on social media: The Nonexistence of “Challenge Seeker”.

This is honestly baffling because this story was written as an assignment for one of my classes. I definitely was not proud of that story, so I didn’t even want to promote it on social media. I wasn’t expecting anyone to read that story (besides my professor).

The purpose was to use some of the keywords that we have identified in a previous assignment, and “challenge seeker” was one of those keywords. So I ended up writing a completely random story on it. I wouldn’t recommend you guys reading it because it’s slightly (and by that, I mean really) embarrassing, but maybe you should read it for context…

Google Results

When looking at the stats for that specific story, I realized that 94% of the views were coming from external referrals — especially from Google.

It took me a moment to realize that google.com literally meant google.com.

Since I have probably searched up my own work several times on Google because of this class, I decided to open an incognito window and typed in “challenge seeker.”

Sure enough, my story was the top result on Google.

No wonder I was getting views. But this made me wonder if it was possible that many people out there thought challenge seeker was an actual term… The other top searches didn’t appear when I first wrote the story, so I guess that means this term is more commonly used now, or something?

Class Tactics Actually Work

It turns out that you can definitely get more views on the things you post given that you use the right keywords! I’m realizing now that that’s probably the key takeaway from my digital marketing technologies class.

By using a keyword that was not being used by many others, I was able to appear in more Google searches. I would have never thought that it would reach the top results on Google, but that just goes to show that certain ideas take time to grow.

Although this is nothing viral, it’s still pretty interesting (and a personal accomplishment). Since the personal goal of the assignment was to get our website at the top of Google searches, does that mean I deserve an A+ now?? It’s been more than 7 months since that class, but do you think I can still get a grade bump…?

You would think that I would learn and start to plan earlier, but I’m still procrastinating as always. So, why haven’t I?

What I currently do works for me. However, I will admit that if I started to plan a bit earlier, then maybe my trips could have been a bit better (AKA I could have saved money and spend on other parts of the trips or for future trips).

Do I Regret It?

Sometimes, but not enough to learn from it.

Being a student, it can sometimes be hard to plan trips far in advance due to exams and assignments. The earliest you could plan would be after each semester’s exam period when you know there won’t be anymore classes. But travelling during winter break is expensive so you’ll need to plan for the end of the academic school year.

Planning for the summer is great since you’ll know the dates for summer vacation won’t change (at least, it better not), but what if you end up finding a full-time summer job? Things like this are one of the reasons why I can’t plan for trips that far in advance.

In addition to this, I’m literally in school all year-round because of co-op – if I’m not taking courses, I’m working full-time. If I’m not working full-time, I’m taking courses and working part-time. There’s almost no escape once you commit to this program and still want to travel for a while or at a reasonable price.

Here’s a Scenario

I had been planning to take a trip to Asia after finals for the past 4 months, and from the time I started to search up flights until now, the price of flights have increased by $400. So why didn’t I buy it earlier? I’ve been putting it off, waiting for the exam schedule and other personal reasons.

So yesterday, I finally bought my plane ticket (yay!!). And the trip is 3 weeks from now.

Why didn’t I start planning earlier? Because there’s too much uncertainty with the events that may occur in the future.

You might be thinking: if you’re so uncertain with possible events popping up in the future, why don’t you just buy the flex ticket that allows you to change the dates? That’s because at the end of the day, this option will end up costing more than economy class, and as a student, can we really afford spending more money than necessary? I don’t think so.

Even when I was online picking seats for my flights, I noticed that more than half the seats were still available — meaning there are so many people out there that book even later than 3 weeks before their trip. I also know for a fact that flights to Asia are very packed. There’s never a seat that’s empty.

Does it Change the Experience Though?

For me personally, not at all. Regardless when I book my flights and the places I’ll be staying at, the experience won’t have changed at all. If you wanted to see certain attractions, planning 3 months ahead or 3 weeks ahead wouldn’t change the fact that you would still end up seeing that attraction. The only thing that would change is possibly the price. And to me, money shouldn’t be as huge of a factor compared to the experience you get.

I’m not saying that money doesn’t matter (because it does. I’m broke, help!), but the difference in price is not enough for me to hate myself for not planning earlier.

I had planned to book my ticket on Tuesday when prices are supposedly cheaper, but compared to Monday’s prices, there was no difference (I even searched incognito too). My mom told me that she would follow up with an agency she usually books her trips through as they often offer cheaper prices. On Wednesday, they gave me an offer that was only $20 cheaper, so I decided to just book tickets online. But after searching the flights once more, the tickets were actually $200 cheaper than Monday’s and Tuesday’s flights!

As a result, I only ended spending $200 more than I would have should I have booked way in advance. And for $200, it’s worth it if I can travel confidently knowing that I won’t have to worry about possible changes to plans that may happen months from now.

When Should You Actually Plan in Advance?

If you were to travel during peak season, then yes, maybe you should actually plan ahead so that you can take advantages of more affordable deals. Also, everyone is travelling during peak season, so chances are flights and hotels will be booked much sooner than if you were to travel during off peak season.

But if you were to travel during off peak season like April and May (bless 4 month summers as an undergraduate student), then prices will be much cheaper regardless when you buy them compared to peak season trips.

So, are you going to continue to plan ahead or procrastinate with planning? Or will you change? I don’t know about you, but for now, I probably won’t be planning trips that far in advance.

If you want to take follow my 2-week trip to Hong Kong and Japan in late April and early May, be sure to follow me on Snapchat and Instagram!

Why isn’t it a term though?

I’ve always thought that it was a widely used term, so curiosity kicked in and I decided to do a bit of research by clicking on the top search results, specifically the links that had people asking about a word to describe someone who loves to be challenged or to take on his/her own challenges.

My Understanding

Before we dive into the research I’ve done, you’re probably wondering what I perceive “challenge seeker” to mean. When I had searched up this term, I was expecting to find results for a person who willingly looks for the opportunity to take on challenges and goes after them as much as possible.

In this case, a challenge seeker would be someone who goes after challenges that will positively enhance their lives. Although the situation itself may sometimes be negative, it is about the process of overcoming the obstacle for a positive outcome.

If the situation or challenge that they’re going after is potentially dangerous, then that’s called a thrill seeker because you feel a rush of adrenaline from completing said challenge. I’m a thrill seeker myself, so I think it’s safe to say that a thrill seeker and challenge seeker are different.

What I Found

While I was doing my “intense” research, I stumbled across a comment that caught my attention. The comment was saying how there is no such word to describe this kind of a person, but rather a personality type. Based on learning about the Type A and Type B Personality Theory in psychology class, I could see where this person was coming from as people with Type A personalities are more competitive, ambitious, and outgoing. I would say that while this is all true, there had to be a word out there.

But is there really no term used to describe such a person?

I also found some responses using adjectives to describe a person who loves to be challenged, such as adventurous and industrious, and although adjectives are great for describing things, I was looking for a noun to label this kind of a person.

So, I found a noun that showed up in the search results quite a bit and it was champion. If you search up the definition of champion, you’ll get “a person who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition, especially in sports” and “a person who fights or argues for a cause or on behalf of someone else.”

However, there isn’t always a rival when it comes to taking on challenges. You could compete against others, but sometimes your only rival is yourself. So champion doesn’t cut it for me when it comes to describing a person who loves to take on challenges…

Perhaps it’s just me, but I don’t necessarily think a person who loves to take on challenges must always be a winner. People who take on challenges would hope to be successful, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, we fail and at the end of the day, it becomes a lesson learned for future challenges.

Should “Challenge Seeker” Exist?

In life, we take on challenges in order to overcome obstacles that prevent us from taking a straight path to the outcome. Whether it be for work, school, relationships, or personal struggles, we’re not always competing against others. Sometimes, your only rival is yourself.

I couldn’t seem to find anything to describe such a person as many responses have an aspect that doesn’t quite suit what I’m looking for… Perhaps this term genuinely does not exist, but it should, shouldn’t it? Let me know what your think!

Guess it’s time to really adopt this term for my website and rank number one in the Google search results! Perhaps it’ll become a widely used term sooner or later. Just keep your eyes on the lookout.

Curious as to this website I’m talking about? Click here to head there now!

But despite being broke, money shouldn’t be a setback from doing an international exchange, especially if the opportunity is available and you want to go. As long as you’re willing to plan out a way to fund it, you’re bound to find a way to make studying abroad possible.

“But I’m seriously broke.”

I totally get it, I really do. My parents instilled tuition as being my responsibility and I don’t think I could be mad at them for it. Paying for my own tuition has made me more conscious of my spending habits and it pays off. Whenever I look at my student debt, I’m reminded of how broke I’ll really be when I graduate if I don’t start saving now, but that wasn’t something I was worried about until recently as I’ll be graduating soon.

Planning Ahead

Depending where you go for exchange, some countries will have you spending more than other. How much do you want to travel? Are you going to make your own meals? Does the school offer affordable housing? Will you often go out for drinks or shop? All these questions are things to consider when picking the place for your exchange.

I did my exchange in Hong Kong and to put it in perspective, I worked full-time for 4 months* and spent all of that (plus a little more) on my entire exchange. Tuition was not included as I would have to pay for that regardless (unfortunately), however, it does include my rent, meals, travel, personal spending, and transportation.

*Disclaimer: My summer earnings went towards saving for exchange only and not towards other expenses. If you have rent, groceries, and additional costs to pay for while working, you may have to start saving earlier.

Costs to Consider

Watch Out for Rent

In case you didn’t know, housing prices in Hong Kong are insane, so rent is really expensive. The price of a 2-bedroom apartment there could get you a 4-bedroom single home in Ottawa… That’s like 3–4 times the property for the same price. The cheapest place I could find off-campus was a room that fit only a twin bed with a foot-wide space for walking for $600 CAD/month.

Many schools will offer on-campus housing that’s very affordable. Regardless where you end up doing your exchange, be sure to look for reasonable housing prices. Chances are that you won’t even be in the country much due to your travels, so paying insane rent and barely living there is a cost that could easily be reduced; thus, spending less on exchange or using it towards other things.

Food Food Food

I can’t say much for other countries, but food in Hong Kong is on average relatively more affordable compared to Canada. Of course, it all depends on where and what you eat, but you likely won’t spend that much more.

It’s slightly embarrassing, but I never cooked a single meal while I was on exchange… Once, my mom came to visit me and asked me how to turn on the gas stove (I had no clue). I’ve also heard people who studied abroad in Europe mention that sometimes their airfare cost less than their meals — then again, flights within Europe is crazy affordable…

Should I have cooked some of my meals, I’m sure I could have spent less on exchange. Try to cook some meals yourself and both your body and bank account will thank you, but if you’re terrible at cooking, please spare everyone and don’t burn down your building!

Travel Perks

Once you’re on the other side of the world, travelling from there to nearby countries becomes much more affordable. I didn’t travel as much as I would have wanted and would have spent more on my exchange if I did, but only by a bit since travelling within Asia is pretty affordable.

However, aside from taking advantage of the low travel costs to nearby countries, be sure to explore your exchange country too! I spent a lot of time in Hong Kong exploring the city and hiking, which still allowed me to go on many adventures.

Still Not Convinced?

Sure, you could always travel on your own, but the experience is different and you miss out on the opportunity to make lifetime friends. You literally go through everything together, from having meals and hanging out after class to traveling the world and sharing memories. And you’ll always have a couch to crash whenever you go visit them.

You could also study internationally for a few years, but courses won’t be pass/fail and the freedom to travel the world while studying is limited. Additionally, tuition will likely be more since you’re paying to study as an international student instead of your home school’s tuition — that’s a huge price difference.

At the end of the day, money can’t buy you the experience gained from doing an international exchange. Worse comes to worse, go on exchange and spend what you need to spend, so that when you come back, it’ll just push you to work harder and earn it back.

So, what are you waiting for? Go check out your institution’s international exchange program and start saving up for an experience that will change your undergraduate experience! Those studying at the Telfer School of Management can click here to learn more. Also, be sure to take advantage of scholarships because who wouldn’t want free money?