A Major Life Change

I am not able to count the amount of times I have imagined this moment. I have been waiting for it for so long, and I am thrilled to finally share it with you. Today I am going to share some huge news! However, I would like to start by saying that dreams come true, when you do not give up and continue to make new attempts to achieve your goal again and again no matter what. Many things do not go according to the plan (sometimes all of them), but that is not critically important, if you remember what matters to you and why, and then use this knowledge to fuel yourself and to keep going in the chosen direction.
So…I am going to attend a Master`s program in Journalism at a Swedish University — Södertörn University! BOOM! I arrived to Stockholm yesterday in order to move in, take care of my new place, buy all the essentials and attend the upcoming events that are a part of an orientation week for international students. My studies will commence next Monday. It is so bizarre to type these words, but they truly are my reality right now. Wo-o-oah!
Would you like to know some background? I was ten years old when I went abroad (England) to study for the first time ever. The objective was to study English. At first I was terrified and uncomfortable, but at some point I experienced something that turned these trips into the source of the most important and the most important impressions of mine. I lived from plane to plane, even if I went on a trip just once a year, and the constant dream of mine was to go abroad again, to travel, to experience the world and meet diverse people. I started dreaming of getting a higher education abroad a few years later. I have recently turned twenty three years old, so I can say that I have dreamt of what is taking place right now for ten years. Unbelievable, right? As a teenager I started picturing myself packing a suitcase and going to another country. Everyone has a particular destination point that distinguishes everything, and this has been mine. When I graduated from high school at fifteen, it became clear that I had no idea what I had to do in order to be accepted to a foreign university. As a result, I moved to Kiev to study at the university there. I was disappointed and extremely upset then, because I had to postpone my dream. Moreover, I was filled with fear that it would never come true either because I would not be able to do what I had to or due to some outer circumstances.

My final year at university signified a new part of my life. I will write a separate text to tell you about the options I had and why. Sweden was among them. After visitting Sweden for the first time right before my fourth year at university, I realized that I would love to come back. I have been fond of Scandinavia and impressed by Swedes a long time ago. Being in that particular environment pushed me to think and to realize that I could actually study here. Did I consider such an option at thirteen or fifteen? No, I definitely did not. This is exactly why everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you are just not ready for something crucially important, even though you already want it so badly.
I failed when I applied for a Master`s program for the first time. BAM! I uploaded scanned copies instead of scanned originals, so my applications were not even considered. This is a great example of an irresponsible inattentiveness, that should not happen when something this big and this important is involved. I graduated from university and went to Paris to attend courses at a language school that is a part of Sorbonne. I will tell write about it soon too, because I started this blog at the end of my stay in Paris and somehow managed to completely ignore this topic, even though it is interesting and useful. I went back to Kiev and started working with ksenia schnaider. That was a year and a half ago.
I applied again that winter, got accepted to three choices of mine out of four and even got a dorm room at my top choice university. I was ready to go, I imagined myself doing so, but then I did not get the visa. Finding this out was extremely shocking and painful. I have just had my first ever visa rejection for a trip to Paris fashion week in March, and then this. I was upset and furious. It seemed like everything was wrong and the world was against me. It is such a silly and useless attitude, but it was what it was. I feared that my doubts were correct and that my dream might never come true. However, I also knew that life did not stop and I had to find a way to enjoy it. I worked more and I wrote more. These challenges and failures proved once again that you have to find a way to enjoy yourself and your life no matter what. You have to learn to feel joy, gratitude, happiness, even if you are also devastated for some reason. I kept on writing good things lists.
I applied for Master`s programs for the third time this winter. Sweden has become my priority, so I concentrated on it. I uploaded my documents in January, then applied for scholarships and grants in February. I found out that I was accepted in late March and that I got a tuition fee waiver in April. It meant that I would not have to pay for my education, which is awesome. It is hard to say it, but I know that this is the situation when it is appropriate to do so — I AM PROUD OF MYSELF! Not only did I manage to get a Bachelor`s degree in Ukraine for free and continue to receive a scholarship for the entire period, but I also managed to get a chance to do a Master`s degree for free as well. Both of these things were possible, because I worked really hard.

I wanted to make this post a short one, but I failed. Ha-ha! I am going to finish it by answering some practical questions that might arise:
- Which language will your program be in?
- English! Swedish universities have a variety of programs available in English, both for bachelor`s and master`s degrees.
- How long will your program last?
- One year. I wish I could attend a two-year program, but I cannot afford to do so.
- Where will you stay?
- At a dorm. I have a small room for one, which also includes a tiny kitchenette and my own bathroom. I can get from the dorm to the university in thirty minutes, if I walk, and in fifteen, if I take the bus.
If you happen to have any questions — feel free to ask them in the comments section. I will be happy to answer. Also, they can be very helpful for writing my upcoming posts on this subject. Meanwhile, I am going to have a breakfast and then start dealing with a lo-o-ong to-do list, which is a norm for anyone who moves from one country to the other. Have a great day! Dream and work hard, and things will work out!
Originally published at whatbeingtwentyislike.blogspot.com on August 22, 2017.
