Nationality: Swedish
Age: 25
Previous International Experience:
Interest: Traveling, Interior design, film
Dream Big
Me, just as so many others doubt ourselves
many times when it comes to what we are capable of achieving. However most of
the time we are much more capable of doing what we want to do than we give
ourselves credit for. I didn’t think I would be able to be a successful student
in the U.S or even less, be able to get admitted to UCLA’s most compatible
program. My plan was to go to the U.S as an au pair for one year and “try it
out”, but here I am, six years later as junior at UCLA and with the privilege
to also call this country my home.
Conquering new land
It didn’t seem like I could finish high school
fast enough, all I wanted was to graduate and start the adventure that I had planned
for so long. Going to New York as an au
pair had been my focus for years and when I two weeks after graduation left my
home and comfort zone and moved to New York I did so with mixed feelings of
excitement and nervousness. I can say today that decision changed both me and
my life in ways I did not think was possible. Since I had such an amazing
experience and met such great people (Taty is one of them! J) I decided to stay. I took my two suitcases and moved to Los
Angeles, California.
Yay me! °°
I went from being an au pair to becoming a
student. It wasn’t an easy transition since I never thought about going back to
school before the day I was actually in school. What I quickly learned was that
going to school in the States was very different from going to school in Sweden.
The workload was more than I ever experienced and it was a true challenge for
me to succeed in my classes since I had mostly been speaking English before
then, rather than writing. But I was stubborn, I set my goal on finishing my
B.A and nothing could stop me. My focus was set on transferring from my
community college to UCLA. I knew that as an international student that would
be impossible. The tuition is outrageous for students that are not California
residents and the admission rate to their communications program is really
competitive. But I never stopped hoping. Miracles can happen. And a miracle did
happen. I was selected in the diversity lottery (most commonly known as the
green card lottery) and in April 2012 I had the little green card of residency
in my hand and the opportunity of actually applying to UCLA. All my hard work
paid off and I got admitted! I’m currently working through the winter quarter
at the university of my dreams. And when the difficult and sleepless exam weeks
get here I try to stop what I’m doing for a minute and tell myself: “yay me, I
did it!”
Dear Future I am Ready
Next year I’m done with school and I will
have to “go out there” and find a job. It makes me nervous, but sometimes we
have to unwind and hope that it will be all
right. Life usually takes us on paths we didn’t think we would be on or even
knew existed. We have to embrace it and believe that we can do so much more
than we think we can do!
Want to read more? Or even contribute your own story (TStrahlendberg@gmail.com)?
http://bit.ly/FutureIamready || http://bit.ly/KristinFuture || http://bit.ly/RosairusFuture || http://bit.ly/NathalieFuture || http://bit.ly/LeighFuture || http://bit.ly/EugeniaFuture || http://bit.ly/HenniFuture || http://bit.ly/FutureLeanne || http://bit.ly/FutureUli || http://bit.ly/FutureMatt || http://bit.ly/FutureAbby || http://bit.ly/FutureAmy || http://bit.ly/FutureBritta || http://bit.ly/FutureBent || http://bit.ly/ThuDearFuture || http://bit.ly/FutureTaty
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