How I Got Here

It's only been about three months since I wrote my first blog post, but so much has changed. I went from submitting my applications and simply hoping that I would get accepted into CBYX or YES Abroad to winning both scholarships and getting my top country for YES. Now that I have officially chosen to go to Indonesia, it's crazy to think that I will be there in just four months. That might sound like a long time, but it's not. These past three months have absolutely flown by, and I'm sure that these next four will be no different.

I remember when I truly decided to study abroad. My decision wan't really triggered by a particular event, but it is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I just wasn't sure that I would study abroad in high school. In fact, I didn't really think it was possible. I honestly never thought that my parents would let me move across the world for an entire year. Being the youngest girl in my family, my dad is understandably protective of me. At first, he was pretty much completely against the idea of me studying abroad. Despite his apparent opposition, I kept bringing it up last year, which was also happened to be the same year that I became friends with a pretty awesome YES student from Pakistan. Somehow all of my study abroad talk prompted my dad to allow me to apply for CBYX and YES (my mom was totally fine with it as well), and now my parents are letting me move to Indonesia for 11 months!

Here's an awesome map of my new home! 

The wait for my finalist notification was hard, but it was totally worth it. The three weeks between IPSE and notification day seemed to drag on, and I'm so glad that I got good news in the end.

I'm planning on writing my next post about advice for future YES Abroad and CBYX applicants, so look out for it in the next week or so. If anyone ever has any questions for me, please feel free to leave a comment!

Selamat tinggal!

P.S. I'm attempting to write a lot now because I want this momentum to carry on and hopefully make me write at least one or two posts a month while I'm in Indonesia!

INDONESIA (I got a yes from YES!)

I'm currently writing this in the wee hours of the morning of Friday, April 11th, which is the day that we believe finalist notifications will come out for YES Abroad. I personally have been super busy this past week and will continue to be super busy until next month. Thankfully, the fact that I have so many other things to worry about has kept me from really worrying about my YES Abroad status...until now. I know for a fact that I am not alone in this. So many other semi-finalists have said the same thing. Even though I already know that I will be studying abroad next year, I still have no idea which continent I'll be on. With that being said, I know that YES has chosen the right people for the program. Whether I am one of them or not is a different story. However, I can truly say that I believe that everyone I met at IPSE would do really well on the YES Abroad Program. Still, there are only 65 spots. I'll finish this post when I find out my status!


As I'm sure you can now tell by the title, I AM A YES ABROAD FINALIST FOR INDONESIA! I am beyond excited. I can't even put this feeling into words! Now the only thing left for me to do is make sure that I can definitely graduate on time and still go to Indonesia. Wow, it's so crazy to think that I actually won the scholarship and got my top choice! That's almost unheard of. I'm sorry that this is so short, but I'm too excited to write anything else!

CBYX Finalist

That's right. You're not just seeing things. I got a call last night that said that I am a finalist for CBYX, which means that I may be spending my senior year in Germany! You might be wondering why I wrote "may"...If you haven't read my previous blog posts (which you so totally should), I guess I should tell you that I applied for both CBYX and YES Abroad, and I also happen to be a semi-finalist for YES. In fact, the YES Abroad in person selection event (IPSE) starts a week from tomorrow. I'm super excited for it! With that being said, I'm still not sure which scholarship I should choose. If I become a finalist for YES, that is. I just really hope that CBYX will let me hold off on my decision until (if..) I find out which country YES assigns me.

Just in case you're wondering, my acceptance came on a totally unexpected day. Unlike with YES Abroad where the other applicants and I were counting down until semi-finalist announcements, the other CBYX applicants and I had no idea when finalists were going to be announced. Anyway, a few people posted in the CBYX Facebook group last evening, and they said that they had received emails stating that they were not accepted. That kinda made me nervous, so I checked my email. There was nothing. I already knew that AFS calls the finalists, but I honestly wasn't sure that I would be one of them. As the night grew later, a few people began posting that they had received calls in order to inform them that they were finalists. Since I still had not received a call, I decided to do my homework. After trying to do it for a few minutes, it just didn't seem to be working, so I went into my parents' room to talk to my mom. A minute or two later, the phone rang. Neither of us picked it up until it went to the answering machine. When we heard that it was AFS calling, my mom quickly picked up the phone and then handed it to me. The man on the other end notified me that I was a FINALIST, and I thanked him a couple of times (I think I may have cut him off...oops!). As soon as I hung up the phone, I started screaming and jumping up and down.

How is it that the first scholarship that I apply to selects me? So many other people have to apply more than once, and I can honestly say that I am extremely thankful and so blessed to be given such an amazing opportunity. PLUS, I still may have the chance to be given another amazing opportunity through YES Abroad. If that is the case, I know the choice will be hard, but I'll go wherever God is calling me. Whether it's Europe, Africa, or Asia, I know that it will change my life.