I was denied a visa, and you know what I felt? Nothing. It was as if I didn't even realize what was happening at first. Only an hour later did the bitterness wake up inside me. I started to realize that my summer dreams were over.

There had been many rejections, perhaps that's why I was prepared for a refusal and remained calm, speaking to the consul without fear. I noticed that he didn't care at all about me or my dreams. But you can't blame him for that; there were so many students besides me, if he thought about each one, his head would probably explode.

He only asked me 4 questions - my name, where I'm from, when I enrolled, and what I'll do when I return from the States.

I answered all the questions. I had all the documents. But he didn't even ask for them.

A few days have passed, and I still catch myself thinking out of habit, "once I finish university, in a month... oh, right, I'm..." and it feels unsettling. I hope you won't have to go through this.

The embassy? - That's simple, but what comes after is the hard part.

Good luck.