Sitting in my mandatory class meeting for EOP, Maritza Martinez, had said something that resounded in me and my current life issues: “employers want to see that you have taken a risk in you”. She was talking about why we should all be taking an interest in applying for internships and studying abroad, and how taking those actions show personal growth and character. It shows people that you are willing to put yourself in uncomfortable situations and rise above it. It shows that you are willing to take a risk on you, and maybe they should too. I never thought of it that way. I believed that doing the things you really wanted to do took courage because of the obstacles you had to face, I did not once think that doing the things I wanted to do was putting myself in a risky situation.
It is like going bungee jumping, you do it because you want to but don’t realize that it’s risky until after you’ve already done it! You look back up from where you’ve jumped and say “I did that?”
It takes guts to move to a different country, walk into a competitive job interview, to give a speech in front of important people. In the end you walk out a different person despite the outcome because at least you did it.
I have currently decided to live on my own next semester, it will be my 5th semester here at UAlbany and to me, that is a big deal. When I first arrived on campus I had dormed with my best friend of 6 years. Before that, I shared a room for 18 years and had lived most of my life in a bubble. I didn’t even learn how take public transportation until the end of my high school years. Needless to say, I got lost a few times. Why am I now deciding to live on my own or with people I barely know? Because I had an even more groundbreaking decision to study abroad my junior year. Crazy right? I was put in tough spot where I had to decide whether or not I live with my friends (the easier choice) or find a place to live for only one semester so that I could do the one thing I knew I wanted to do since I got here: study abroad.
Turns out, I am braver than I ever thought I was. I realized that I am finally moving forward of my own accord and no one else’s. Not my parents’ choices, not my friends’, not my siblings’, but my own. This is the point in my life where I can finally do the things that make me happy. So even if my chances are low and the risks are high, I am going to do the things I have always dreamed of doing. I am going to take whatever opportunities I think are best for me.
In a way it’s absolutely terrifying to think that I am literally throwing myself into the unknown abyss, not knowing where I am going to live, or with who. However, I am excited about the leap and I have faith that things will fall into their place. I am betting on myself and I am going all in. Hopefully my story will encourage you to do the same.
UAlbany Project MyStory 
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