Most of the time during lectures, I think about things unrelated to my studies, especially if the lecture is incredibly boring. One of those days, I thought about my next trip abroad. Of course, there were many ideas, but as usual, everything came down to money. I decided to share my ideas with a friend, to which she said: "Why don't we go through Work and Travel USA? We'll earn money and see America, it's our dream after all, and then you can use that money to travel." Without thinking long, after talking to my parents, we reached a consensus. The next day, I immediately made the decision to start collecting documents for the program.

By the way, this was in 2018, and I didn't apply through CMO. I won't say the document collection process was headache-free, but the thought that I would be in America in a few months motivated me to go through all the difficulties, because I knew the result would justify the journey.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that a trip to America was my most cherished dream. Since school, I had been training myself with English, listening to music, watching series, and my whole wall was covered with posters of American stars. As a child, I even told my grandmother: "I'll go to America, find an American, and stay there." And here was such a chance to go to America. If I missed it, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I practically "lived" in the office, coming in several times a week, asking a bunch of necessary/unnecessary questions as if that would change anything.

And then, the day of the visa interview arrived unnoticed. I will probably remember this day for the rest of my life because I have never cried so bitterly. The day was terribly overcast, it was pouring rain. I was very nervous; after all, it was my first trip abroad, and to another continent at that. All these thoughts confused me. Everything started well, I was setting myself up for positive emotions, trying not to worry. The interview took literally a couple of minutes, and I received a blue slip, which means a visa denial. Like a naive child, I tried to persuade the consul, but deep down I understood that my attempts were futile. I realized my mistake immediately, but as they say, the train has left. For me personally, it was worse than having my heart broken, because only I could have let the dream of my whole life slip away so absurdly.