heartfelt thank-you!

i must say a very heartfelt thank you to all of you who ran alongside me in the whole application process. i daresay i grew to know myself much better through these last couple of weeks and i learnt more about myself during that period than the whole year combined.

thank you for saying i was an inspiration to you. the most important thing, and best gift for me (if you have been inspired) is to translate that inspiration into actuality for yourself.

i hope you can identify why you were inspired. then take the courage, step up and demonstrate that you are committed to put yourself forth in what you aspire to achieve.

say "yes" to yourself, give yourself the opportunity to learn, and every single step you take in life is an experience.

from previous experiences, i realized that failures hurt the ego. and that makes everything hurt so much. so when i chose to put myself forth this time, i recognized that ego is a stumbling block.

choose to recognize and acknowledge that Ego blocks every learning possible. once you choose to let Ego go, even when others say "no" to you, the world has not crumbled; it still holds a plethora of never-ending opportunities for you.

i once came across this short story by andrew matthews. Here is an excerpt:

"Once we change our thoughts about "a bad situation",
we can take advantage of it.
You already know this!

Life's great opportunities mostly arrive
disguised as misfortune and disaster.

EXAMPLE:
Imagine two women, Mary and Jane.
Both get divorced.
Mary says, "I've failed. My life is over."
Jane says, "My life has just begun!"
Who will blossom?

IN A NUTSHELL

Every "disaster" in your life is not so much a disaster,
as a situation waiting for you to change your mind about it."

what's next for me?

the destination's not fixed...

but i am going for exchange. i am keeping an eye out for the openings every single day, and the uncertainty of where i'm headed to makes me excited about the future. if you do know of an opportunity for me, do keep me in mind ;)

one thing's for certain, i've definitely mustered strong determination to keep scaling greater heights! i choose my own attitude, and this will accompany me in my journey for life. :)