Having A Dream Isn't Enough

I sit here gleaming.

The middle of last week I was finally accepted to a study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'll be there for a month, along with the Netherlands, and Sweden. I have always dreamed about going to the Netherlands and it was a goal of mine when I went back to school to study abroad.

I'm not writing this to brag about this new opportunity but instead to emphasize that just having these dreams and desires wasn't enough. It can be really easy to look at other people who have wonderful things happen to them and think they are somehow luckier, privileged, or simply better in touch with some universal power than you are.

Well, I disagree.

Making things happen for yourself takes a lot of hard work. You not only have to keep what you want in mind, you have to FOLLOW UP.... OFTEN. Let me fill you in:

I went back to school nearly a year ago knowing I wanted to study abroad. Within my Urban Planning + Design program there were no opportunities to travel. (Setback #1). Albeit upset, I sat down with the program director, explained my hope to travel and asked her for some recommendations on places to look into. She told me about DIS, a university in Copenhagen and Stockholm. So I did a little research and found some classes I was interested in and thought coincided with my studies. I took these classes back to my program director to get her OK. All good then, right? Eh....

From there, I had to petition through the study abroad office. (Setback #2). I had to write an essay explaining why this was significant to my studies, why I chose to look outside programs readily offered, and why I qualified to be given this privileged. After a few weeks I still hadn't heard anything back... I sent a few emails, made a few phone calls, and finally got a hold of someone. The petition had been accepted but whoops, somehow I didn't get notified ( Setback #3). So... I'm all set to go right?! Start packing bags!!!! No....

The petition was just preliminary. I still had to apply to the study abroad office at my home university AND put in a full application at DIS- the university in Copenhagen. (Setback #4). Two more essays, a wealth of personal information, a couple application fees, and quite frankly 2 months later, all the applications have been sent off and I await to hear a response. A few weeks go by, and I start to get curious. So I send a friendly email asking for confirmation that my application was received. I get a quick reply with a sincere apology that the computer system had deleted my transcript! ( Setback #5). It is explained to me that it is on record that I had everything turned in but they cannot proceed until another transcript is sent. I promptly turn it in and await... again..

After a total of 3 months, 3 applications, umpteen emails, and a couple phones calls, I was accepted!!! I leave in late June and should return early August.

The true point of me writing this is to show that there isn't always going to be some divine intervention that makes all your dreams come true. No matter how many times I could have meditated on, or prayed about this dream of mine coming true if I wouldn't have worked so hard on the applications and more importantly followed up through the glitches in the process, I'd be sitting around this summer contemplating why awesome opportunities only seem to happen to OTHER PEOPLE.

It's not always enough to dream up a new reality for yourself. Do your research- how did other people make similar things happen for them? What are the resources available to you? How can you make baby steps toward your goals without burning yourself you or pissing off the other people whose help you need? Keep passionate individuals around you. Other people who want you to succeed and have met life goals similar to yours is invaluable. But more than anything else- be willing to put in the work, and FOLLOW UP! Don't get so stuck on the outcome that you're crying yourself to sleep or so anxious that you can't go about your daily life. Have your dreams and goals, do your work, step outside the emotional attachment to the outcome, and revisit this process often, ensuring that you've lined up all the ducks you can.