How did I end up living in Quebec?

15 May How did I end up living in Quebec?

Sometime around mid October 2014, while I was working on my vision board for my leadership class. It dawned on me that I was lacking a lot of student and cultural experiences.  I told my mentor on some random day I was in her office that I really wanted to study abroad.  Do you know what she said? It was such a simple statement but it stuck with me. She said “You should do it”. LOL Then I made some excuse about how my business was in the way and I couldn’t be a full time student because of it (You need to be a full time student to apply for the programs). As we worked through some obstacles together, I had this realization that I have been making excuses the whole time. I was the only person getting in the way of where I wanted to be. So I put it on my vision board and started strategizing of how I was going to make this happen.

Long story short, I signed up for a full course load for spring 2015. Something I haven’t done in over a year. I PANICKED. I was President of the marketing association and running my business. Then having a full course load on top of that?  I was overwhelmed. I wanted to drop my classes on multiple occasions but I didn’t. I had to try. I’ll get into how I got over that another time.

Anyways, I was determined. I found three instead of two notable faculty members who recommended me, acquired full time student status, had my resume revamped, and had my transcript sent to the Study Abroad office. The only thing left that was missing was my GPA score. It was under the requirements but I was still determined to prove to them that my marks didn’t define me and that I was just as qualified as the 4.0 GPA students. They still rejected me. They told me I wouldn’t find out till this September if I got in. I got deferred.  They told me that all my recommendations on file would still be accepted for the re-application. I was so bummed out about the rejection. It felt like another failure. I didn’t understand why I didn’t get in. They made so many exceptions for students in the past.  I tried hard to stay positive telling myself “maybe it isn’t the right time or maybe they will change their mind” but it was so hard. Then one Saturday night in early March out of nowhere I kept thinking about this French program. I did some research and landed on the My Explore website to see if they were still holding applications and GUESS WHAT. They extended their deadline for the following week! All my efforts of preparing for study abroad had opened up an opportunity to apply for this as you need to be a full time student as well. I applied the following Monday and in mid April I was accepted. It all happened so fast. I didn’t even know who to tell! I was on campus for a meeting when I found out so I told the guy in my meeting (he probably thought I was crazy HAHA), texted my sister, and told my mentor.   I didn’t even know how to tell my friends.

And…four weeks later I am living in Riviere-du-loup, Quebec .

Moral of this story?

Everything is a blessing. Just remember for every failure you face it is really a redirection to something better. I know that’s really hard to believe in the moment when you feel like your world is coming down. But I can tell you that first hand that when you realize every experience you face in life is meant to shape you into the character you envision yourself to be. You will naturally embrace all the adversity that comes your way. I firmly believe that if you change your attitude, you will change your life. My Explore is a program that grants full time students a bursary to study french and live abroad at an institution anywhere in Canada.  It includes tuition, accommodations, partial transportation, and meals.

Did I also mention I am still applying for the Study Abroad program at CapU? CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP. I’ll be posting 4 Days in Montreal tomorrow evening.

Until next time.
AL <3