Let it Linger: What Copenhagen Taught Me About Living on Purpose
Let it Linger: What Copenhagen Taught Me About Living on Purpose
by Katherine Ong
I went to Copenhagen not knowing what to expect! Honestly, I think I spent nearly a year in denial that I was about to travel outside the United States for the very first time, and for a whole semester at that. Leading up to my departure in August 2025, I told people I chose the city as a design student who wanted to immerse herself in a well-designed city. This is true! I was simply enthralled by a Scandinavian designer who spoke at a conference I attended once, and I had scrolled through one too many Copenhagen Fashion Week posts. I didn’t realize how much I would learn about how to learn, and how much of that would quietly change the way I move through my days.
My semester was vastly different than the grind of the quarter system I was used to at UC Davis. My classes met once a week, readings were loosely enforced, and there were no frantic weekly deliverables, no constant sense that I was behind. Instead, there were long stretches of time punctuated by big questions. In one class, we wrestled with the ethics of demanding that science give us every answer. Not in a neat, debate-team way, but slowly, circling the problem, letting it stay unresolved. In another, I studied the Danish approach to architecture and urban design, spending weeks observing playgrounds around Copenhagen for my final paper. (Yes, playgrounds! Copenhagen is fantastic for kids.) Drawing from my background in children’s media research, I noted how children tested risk, how they negotiated independence, how learning through play is radical.
I realized how rarely I give myself permission to think without rushing toward a conclusion. In Copenhagen, I learned to linger. Yes, like The Cranberries song! To trust that attention itself is productive, and that curiosity does not need to be justified by output to be valuable.
Learning Off Campus
Outside of class, I learned how to show up for myself in small, almost unremarkable ways. I got comfortable getting on the metro alone and getting off wherever felt right. Sometimes that meant a new neighborhood, sometimes just a park bench. I developed a habit of grabbing a pastry (cardamom buns are a must), sitting somewhere public, and watching people and fluffy pigeons coexist in their shared seriousness. I went to more museums than I could count (including revisiting the Louisiana Museum 3 times), and the world became as small as the playlist in my earbuds and the sketchbook in my bag. I went to a jazz bar every Sunday night, with or without friends, even when I was tired -because sometimes feeding yourself doesn’t involve spoons and forks, but snare drums and tenor saxophones.
There was a quiet confidence that came with realizing I did not need a plan, or company, or a reason beyond wanting to be somewhere. That might sound lonely to some, but that sense of agency is probably the greatest gift that my semester abroad gave me. It made the city feel less like a backdrop and more like a collaborator.
Traveling with Different Tempos
Traveling throughout Europe with my fellow UCEAP classmates reinforced this newfound perspective. I learned how to smile along with companions who approached itineraries, efficiency, and life itself differently than I do. Some people love structure, itineraries, and maximizing the number of must-sees and Instagrammable locations.
Meanwhile, I tended to prefer slower days - history, texture, and places that gave me room to think. None of these approaches are wrong! All those weekend trips made me more patient and more aware that our range in human experiences is not just something to celebrate in theory, but something to practice daily.
In addition to connecting with my travel buddies, I got to feel connected to my family’s history as well - when my mother was my age, she studied abroad in Stasbourg, and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a morning there in between train transfers along my journey from Copenhagen to Paris. Walking down the sunlit streets of the charming student city with my camera in hand spurred conversation with my mom about all her study abroad memories, a life-changing experience we now both share.
Lasting Changes That Came Home With Me
Copenhagen also changed how I think about ambition. Back home, I often measured myself against invisible yardsticks. Productivity, prestige, momentum. Always the next thing. In Denmark, those measures felt less urgent, and learning felt less transactional. Life moved at a human scale, as design centered children, elders, bikes, and everyday pleasure. (Shoutout to hygge - a defining value in Danish culture literally translating to coziness!) I didn’t lose my ambition, but it softened and became more intentional. I started asking what kinds of work and habits actually sustain me, rather than which ones look impressive from the outside.
The habits I formed abroad have followed me home to California. I still seek out small rituals and take myself on quiet outings. I still trust my curiosity, even when it doesn’t immediately lead anywhere obvious. I’m more comfortable with ambiguity, in my studies and in myself. I’m more willing to let questions stay open, and am more attentive to how our environments shape how we live and care for one another.
When people ask me how study abroad was, it feels incomplete to list places or trips, because what Copenhagen gave me was subtler than that. My semester abroad showed me how to move through the world with intention, how to listen to my inner tempo, and celebrate the simple act of paying attention.
I know these lessons will stick with me for a long time.
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