How to move far away from safety

One day I will take a nice picture, but it was not that day

This is (from the left) me, Lucy and Mari. We are three of the six Norwegians attending MiB at Hult Boston. We took a big decision, and so far, there have been no regrets

Leaving the comfort of your own home is hard when you go of to college. Leaving your country and everything you hold dear to travel across the second biggest ocean in the world is even harder. Still, if you ever want to get anywhere in life you have to overcome obstacles and learn how to handle your fears and learn from the experience, you need to get over it, and just do it.

This journey is really the first thing I have done where I have really left my comfort zone. I planned to go abroad for so many years, but never considered to go this far. Of the about 300 000 students in Norway, only 16 000 study a degree abroad, and most of them chose England or Denmark. Originally I wanted to go to England, and that was my plan my entire bachelor. It would feel close to home, and safe, but some times, things and environments changes. For me, it was the feeling of never having experienced something. I have traveled, but ever since I started to work at the local supermarket when I was 16 I have spent the entire summers there. While other people traveled the world, I was spending my time trying to get experience, and some money to finance my life. Valuable work experience I got in plenty, but I never did anything extraordinary or experienced something new.

So the summer when I was about to start on my third, and last year of my bachelors degree I started to think more and more about this. I had worked at least eight weeks at summer for the past five years and most of the adventurous experience in the summers I got was to gather carts at the upstairs parking lot. Not much to come back and talk about, and even less to tell myself that it was something that made me happier.

The decision

I came back to Bergen for my last year and started researching masters degrees in England, and came to the conclusion that Bath was my number one choice. It was just by random chance I came over Hult, and even the idea of going to USA. I came over an article while studying facts and information about Norwegian students abroad. The student numbers were declining, but most amazed I was by the low number of students in USA, less than 2 000. I Google’d business schools in USA, and the first school that came up was Hult. I entered their web-page and was hooked from the first second, and left my contact information when I applied for their digital catalog.

I have learned from sales that the earlier you call after someone left a trace at your website, the higher is the chances of converting a lead. Five minutes after I was done reading the catalog, I got called up by a very helpful Swede, and as Swedes most are, she was a great seller. She asked me what my preferred campus would be, and without thinking any more of it, I chose Boston. I went through the application process and got accepted. Despite there being an opportunity in London, I still chose Boston. Weird

Why leave

People were mostly impressed that I dared, but I realized that if I were to experience something out-of-the ordinary in my life, I had to do it now. This is an aspect of leaving that I think many people do not realize when they choose to stay at the same place. I both think, and hope, that I made an impact in other peoples decision when I tried to get them to go with me, so I at least had something familiar. A lot of my friends went abroad, but, at that point, sadly for me, no one chose USA and Boston.

I loved my life as a student in Bergen, and I wished at one point that it never ended. I came to a place where everything clicked and I felt safe, and at home. But I still had something missing, I wanted to experience something more in my life. I had people calling me brave for doing something like that, but for me the choice when I had the opportunity was easy in this stage of my life. I am extremely tired of studying, and not serving a bigger purpose than getting a degree, but If I had taken a break, I would never have traveled, and would never have changed my mindset the way I have and opening up for so many opportunities.

The biggest worries

I would miss my family and friends, having them so far away, and at some points I did consider changing my mind because of it. But my biggest worries laid in the logistics of actually moving to USA, and the planning it required. And what if I went through all this and did not get any friends, did not find a place to live or people to live with, or everything there was horrible? I read in a book by Jeb Blunt: “Get over it, and do it anyway”, which is an extremely simple quote, but something that should apply for many more. I knew there were a chance for all of these crisis maximating scenarios could happen, but in the end, it is what you make of it yourself that will decide weather or not you will enjoy your time.

“Get over it, and do it anyway” - Jeb blount

“The only thing stopping you, is you”, said Jessica Day (yes, the one from New Girl) in an episode. I almost stopped myself from going, but I realized that some times when you make a decision you know is positive for your life and future, you got to do it. When you worry that you will not be able to do something, you will never get anywhere in your life. You will be stuck at the same place, without any hope of change. Even if you are happy now, the surroundings will change, and if you do not, it will be a shortcut to unhappiness.

“The only thing stopping you, is you” - Jessica Day

Get over it

There is no real three step plan that fits all to get over your obstacles and fears, you just got to jump in it, and if things goes wrong, learn from it, and you will be better prepared next time. Just like with many entrepreneurs, you will fail with some things, and the journey will be hard, but take the leap. Opportunities like this, that you get while you are young seldom comes again, where you can go away for a year to experience something more than just work. If you want to go, just do it. And then you can solve all the problems along the way as they come up instead of over thinking it months ahead.

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” - Richard Branson

Fun fact: The Mongols are the only known empire to successfully invade Russia.