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2/10/2014

Dear Future I am Ready: Myh

Education: A.A from Santa Monica College, working on B.A at UCLA
Nationality: Swedish
Age: 25
Previous International Experience: Worked in Oslo, Norway for 7 months 
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)? 

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