* Please Note: This blog post is a part of my scholarship application for Education New Zealand & Tortuga *

At this exact moment, I am 2 months, 19 days, 5 hours, and 55 minutes away from having my three year dream of studying abroad in New Zealand become a reality.

Why New Zealand you may ask? Well…

It was fall semester of my freshman year of college, and rather than work on the 5 page paper due the next day, I instead opted to Google places to study abroad. An article about studying in Wellington, New Zealand came up and it was love at first Google search. I proceeded to spend the next hour (or three) researching everything there was to know about New Zealand, Victoria University, and Wellington. The avid hiker and explorer in me swooned over the snowy mountain tops, steaming hot springs, and chilling glaciers of New Zealand. The artist, filmmaker and museum enthusiast in me gushed over Wellington’s Cuba Street lined with galleries and vintage shops, “Wellywood’s” amazing history, and the seemingly never ending halls in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. And the student in me studying Digital Media Production and Sociology grew intrigued by the unique programs Victoria University had in Design for Social Innovation and the Victoria Plus Programme.

I fell head over heels with New Zealand, so much so, that I proceeded to make a three year plan on my white board of how I was going to get there. Squares connected to circles that connected to more squares. That white board could have made the set designer from the film Beautiful Minds proud.

I’ll be 100% honest with you and admit that practically nothing on that white board went according to plan, but in the best way possible. Somehow though, the plane ticket is already bought, and I’ll be packing my bags come February.

I’m a strong believer that through traveling and exploring (be it just visiting a town next door you have never been to) and stepping outside of your comfort zone, you grow the most as a person. I look forward to the lessons New Zealand will be teaching me and the person I will become at the end of this journey.

I have always said that no matter where I end up in this life there are three things I want to be doing:

1. Creating anything and everything.
2. Making a difference.
3. Traveling and experiencing new things.

Although I don’t know exactly what the next few months abroad have in store for me, I truly believe that the experiences I will have, the amazing classes I will take, the lessons learned, and the people I meet will be extremely influential in shaping who I will be in the future both personally and professionally.

I’ll be making it a point to update this blog frequently, to share all the amazing opportunities New Zealand has for me. I took my first photograph at 4 years old and have been obsessed with creating and telling stories since. I am so fortunate to have learned skills in computer graphics, photography, videography, and writing that enable me to tell the stories I want in many forms.

It’s been three years of work to make this dream come true. Summer jobs, winter jobs, a myriad of applications, and working 20 hours a week during the semester to try to save as much as possible. It’s been a lot of hardwork, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.