There I am, a little 5-year-old girl clutching a postcard from Oxford that has just arrived in the post with an aerial image of Oxford, reading ‘Life is beautiful in Oxford. I hope one day you’ll be living it too’.
The postcard was from a family friend who had been presented with the opportunity to be a sessional lecturer in Linguistics within Oxford University’s Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics. I told myself I have to one day go visit, maybe study or live in this place named Oxford with such a beautiful setting and impressive buildings.
Here I am now, having just graduated from the University of Worcester after years of holding on to that dream of mine. It’s true, it’s not Oxford, but it still is a beautiful historic city within a classic English setting and I’ve learnt so much more than I could’ve ever imagined.
I could easily say that my dream has come true. I’ve never said a word to anyone about this dream, but I always kept it in the back of my mind, consciously preparing myself for what there was to come.
I wanted to start learning English in private and not only at school, learn more and more about the English culture and traditions and try to focus on my academic results so as to be able to get into a UK university. I enjoyed having a goal because it meant I was putting work in for myself and not just for the sake of my family, as most of my classmates did. I took my Cambridge proficiency exam when I was 16 and then went on a summer camp in London so that I could see how life in halls is.
Then RIUF (Romanian International University Fair) happened in September 2010. And that’s when my life changed. I realised I could make the little dream in the back of my mind come true. With information about the Student Fee Loan and accommodation fees, my parents knew they would be able to support me financially, so they encouraged me to apply.
I applied to three universities, my first choice being the University of Worcester with itsMarketing, Advertising & Public Relations course. Surprisingly, it was the first one to offer me a conditional offer. I did my research on Worcester, but it was not even close to my expectations, it was better. I was terrified of living alone but once I got there I started to love it.
More about my journey in posts to come 🙂
Worcester Student Life 