Merima Bećirović - her experience of being an exchange student

Hi, my dear colleagues, my name is Merima Becirovic and I come from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently, I am 24 years old and enrolled at the Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar, Faculty of Humanities, department of English language and literature. Having already finished a Bachelor of English language and literature I continued my studies to a higher level, or in this case Master studies. During my postgraduate studies, I participated in three Erasmus + exchange programs. First in Iasi, Romania, second in Almeria, Spain, and during my master studies in Bologna, Italy. There is only one word that I can describe my Erasmus experience and that is EVER-CHANGING. Why exactly this word? Well, this experience Is something that changes you in so many ways. Ever-changing because you are constantly changing. It doesn't matter if you go once, twice, or even thrice, this experience will always bring something different out of you, something that you didn't even know you had. It will constantly change you and help you surpass all your fears and develop your best qualities. In my experience, Erasmus had helped me discover a side of me that I didn't know I had. Coming from a small, conservative country and not-so-heard University, I always struggled to open myself, to be open-minded, and experience something new, because I didn't have a chance to spread my horizon. At first, I was hesitating very much to leave my small city and family. After a lot of thought, I went and saw how actually world is so different than what I expected. Not only that I learned to manage my life alone, take care of my livelihood and bills, documents, embassies, landlords, and so on, I learned through all of my new friendships I gained that we are all so similar. Hearing so many stories, about different lifestyles in different countries made me realize that a lot of people needed to experience Erasmus to enhance and find their own self or even to accept something about themselves. When many people ask me how my experience was, I always tell them the same. That it is something unforgettable and remarkable and that is worth doing so. Being able to travel, learn a new language, travel a lot, being financially independent, and meeting new people, from a totally different background from yours is definitely worth trying by every student. Furthermore, I would recommend everyone to make the most of this exchange experience and use all the opportunities to go and every time go to a different country. Since I used all of my chances of this exchange, there were so many memorable moments and there is not even one that I can say was the best. All of those moments I will remember and carry with me for a long time. Each country offered something different, and throughout the years it helped me discover something different. My biggest advice to other students is to not be afraid. Fear will just stop you from accomplishing everything that you ever wanted and like Will Smith said: "If you can't beat the fear, just do it scared". Trust me, it's worth it.