Check out Sofia’s journey, our Student Ambassador from Mexico to Ireland! 🌍✨ A lunch invite sparked her love for cultural exchange, leading her to study Finance in the Emerald Isle. Discover the magic of studying abroad!🎓
“AND THEN I REALIZED ADVENTURE WAS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN”. (ANNONYMOUS QUOTE)
If you are reading this line at the moment, you might find yourself in the same state of mind I wastwo years ago. Something exciting but scary at the same time to think about, a change, and not a normal day to day one, a radical 180 degrees kind of change. The uncertainty floods your mind, but something in your heart can not stop the curiosity. What if I study abroad? When I first thought of studying abroad I was 15 years old, and it started when a German friend invited me over for lunch at her place. I got to meet all her family and after a lovely day and loads of food, I came back home feeling happy and intrigued by how different her house and her culture was to mine, a Mexican traditional household. Since then, I became very interested in culture exchange and the magic of new languages and how many poeople you can get to know with that tool, but unfortunately in the City where I lived, was too small for being exposed to new experiences as I would have liked.
Finishing High school I got the opportunity to study an eight month English course in Dublin. All I dreamed for many years was about to become a reality for me. I Started packing my bags and saying goodbye to my friends, family, and basically everything I knew as Home. During the plane Journey I could barely contain my nerves, I was so close! At the airport, I was welcomed by the classic Irish charm, a very kind man that in fact was the taxi driver who would bring me for the first time into the city towards the house of the host family that I was going to stay with for the following weeks. The sky was beautiful, blue and the wind had taken every single cloud with it, leaving a blue Canvas to start painting my journey.
The English course went just like I had imagined it, and I started to fall in love with this Emerald Island. The Friends I made, the small countryside towns I visited, the innumerable castles that amazed me and made me feel in a constant fairy tail, all of these wonderful places and people, gave me a new perspective of life, by gifting me adventures I would not even have believed possible before. The eight months went fast, so fast I did not realize I had been enchanted with Ireland, and would not want to leave yet. When I researched for the options of studying for a College degree, I found myself in an entangled decision, keep expanding my horizon here, with great self growth opportunities, such as excellent study programs and many paths for work to take after that, or go back to the comfort of my own home in México. After a few days of internalized reflection, I got to the realization of now having not only one place to call home, but two, Ireland had become mine. Now, three semesters into college already, I find the degree I chose more exciting than ever, Finance and Accountancy. I have the opportunity to learn from a multicultural environment that my college provides, which motivates so much. When you study abroad, you give yourself the chance to try a new life, to try a new perspective and to get to know your own mind better. So, what if I study abroad?
Well, come and discover it! Dream in Irish, where the language of luck is spoken.
By Alejandra Sofía Pérez Rivera.
Sofia Perez Rivera is studying Finance and Accountancy at Independent College via Education in Ireland.