By Miguel Angel Cornelio Martínez

Well, after a while of being inactive in the writing world, it definitely feels great to be back and rolling. Plenty of things have happened in my life as an international student throughout these last few months, and I am excited to share with you all my experiences, feelings, and emotions. I will start with a little bit of my background in case you have not read my previous posts. Almost one year ago, I applied to the University of Texas at Austin (UT) with a solid number of expectations. A few months went through and roughly in March I received my admission application decision to UT, and unfortunately it was denied. 

Although I was very disappointed, I remember I always tried to keep my head up and fight for my dream up to the end. So, I appealed my application decision, and after two months, my dream finally became true and a new one was born. Now, I have been studying my major for one month, getting good grades and meeting new people during class; so far, I have absolutely enjoyed this journey and new stage in my life and even my expectations have been exceeded. In terms of applying to an American institution, this time my advice or comment for you all is to be perseverant, dreams are built to be accomplished, and I can certainly say that the final result will depend on what you have decided to do about it. What are you willing to do for your dreams? 

Be patient and resilient. Good things take time to show results and indeed, to appear in your daily life. Two important values I learned while waiting for my acceptance to UT was to keep my hopes high and always  try to be positive regardless of the circumstances. Also, by being patient you kind of distract yourself from over-thinking the fact that your foreseeable future depends on someone’s decision as well as the fact that your file is competing against hundreds or thousands of other students pursuing the same objective in the same poll. Moreover, be prepared for whatever is yet to come. By this I mean to have second options and prepare a backup strategy in case that things did not end as you were expecting. To be honest with you all, this was something I was not prepared for and I really suffered. Despite the low probability of being accepted as an international student at UT, my expectations were truly high. I am sure you have heard that when pursuing a degree at an American college, applying to as many institutions as possible is a good move; nonetheless, my strategy was different and for one moment, I thought I took the wrong path. Back at that time, I just applied to three universities — my top three choices — and at the beginning, I was just accepted to my last choice. Then, life was good with me, and I did the impossible to be accepted to UT — my first choice — in which now I am studying. 

To sum up, after one month of college, I am now living the American dream I wished for, and it has been such an amazing experience so far. Even though I did not start college as I was expecting, in terms of the method of instruction, I am absolutely enchanted with my courses so far, but I am much more excited for the great things that are yet to come. If you are an international student in the United States, wherever and whatever you are studying, I am glad you are also living your American dream and hope you are enjoying it as much as I am; on the other hand, if you are an student at the position I was one year ago, let me tell you that you are going to accomplish whatever you propose yourself. As long as you give your hundred percent and stay resilient, which all leads you to a final simple question — what are you willing to do for your dreams?

Miguel Angel Cornelio Martínez from Mexico City, Mexico, is studying at The University of Texas at Austin. Miguel finds Austin a great city to study abroad, and he enjoys spending time in its green parks.