Brazilian student Jessica Fabiana Rocha Correa found her life completely transformed when she came to Ireland and she hasn’t looked back since
Everything began when I visited Ireland in 2016. I felt like this country had something special reserved for me. I don’t know if it was because I felt welcome or if it was because of the beautiful parks and the lights of Temple Bar during Christmas time, but I knew that I definitely should come back.
At the time I was still studying in my home country but I knew that I wanted to study abroad and experience the immersion into another culture. Ireland was on my list and it did not take much until I started to look up possible colleges. However, I still remained pessimistic because typically international students apply for master’s programmes. Also, I wasn’t sure whether or not I could apply for a bachelor’s degree as a foreign student. Regardless, I continued to search and found out it was easier than I had expected. When I heard that my application to an Irish university had been accepted, I knew that many things in my life would change.
‘I was used to following a strict routine but here you need to go with the flow’
Going with the flow
I moved from one continent to another and my life got a new start. Everything was new to me and this changed my personality and the way I looked at life. In my home country, I was used to following a strict routine but here you need to go with the flow; I mean, even the work shifts rotate every week. Everything used to concern me but here I had to learn that worrying about every little thing is not a healthy habit; in fact, I learned that if you do your best, everything will be okay. To sum up, life is different here compared to home and it definitely changes you. And that is what I consider the best part of studying abroad: the transmutation of yourself.
When challenges become chances
My experience in Ireland has made me see how everything in life is an opportunity. Challenges are part of my routine living in Dublin, but it is the way I deal with them that influences their outcomes.
For example, when I found out that I would have to start my entire degree again to be able to study in Ireland, I could’ve given up; instead, I saw the new start as an opportunity to learn the same things from a different perspective and specialise in the modules that I had done in the past in my home country.
That is just one example of how I consider the challenges in my life as opportunities; and if I could advise anyone that is leaving their comfort zone to study abroad, I would tell them to see every assignment as an opportunity to surpass your own self-imposed limits; to see every class as a chance to learn something new; to see every task as part of your personal growth and to see every life barrier as part of your story.
That’s how I changed my view of life; now I invite you to change yours and see the positive outcomes of studying abroad.
I saw the new start as an opportunity to learn the same things from a different perspective