An Unexpected Congratulations into NSLI-Y

Introductions!

    As the title suggests, I recently received a scholarship from NSLI-Y to study abroad in South Korea. After spending my fair share of time obsessing over other blogs/vlogs, I now believe it's my turn to chronicle my experiences in this program. (Also, let it be known that the forces behind the unofficial nsliy discord server are very persuasive in their encouragement for doing so.) My name is Abby, and I'm studying in Yongin this Summer (2024). Prospective nsliy students, curious high schoolers like myself, and parents who believe it's all a scam are invited to follow along my journey and ask questions. 

The Story Begins...

The first time I applied to the program was in my junior year. Unfortunately, I was not accepted. Despite feeling obnoxiously dejected, I wasn't ready to pass up this once-in-a-lifetime chance to study abroad. I reapplied in my senior year. Receiving that email was one of the best feelings in the world. I was walking out of class with some friends when I got the urge to check my phone for notifications. I felt the buzz as soon as I grabbed it, and all it took was one word in the preview to know that I was accepted. To say I was elated would be the understatement of the century. Upon our finalist notifications, we were given numerous papers to fill out. From then on, it was a waiting game. Slowly, the excitement on the servers died down, and it almost appeared like nsliy had gone dark. For anyone familiar with the program, this is nothing new. To be honest, it was much better than the other waits we endured during the application. 

Then, almost a month later we began our pre-program language study. 

Please forgive my semi-organized thoughts/ramble. I must admit, I decided to start this on a whim. As you can tell, there wasn't much planning I put into this introduction. From here on, I suspect I'll be putting a lot more thought into what I write and what I want my readers to learn from my words. As of this moment, there isn't much to write about or reflect on. If anyone wants to ask questions about the application process, I'd be happy to give my time. If enough people are interested, I'll write a larger post to answer all questions.

I just wanted to start out this blog with some background information. Obviously, it was nothing detailed. I plan to write a bit more about the pre-study next time I post as it's where I currently am on the timeline. I don't necessarily expect anyone to be interested in the more personal aspects of the story, but I will warn you now that I'm probably going to write that way so I can better remember it in the future. 

Procrastination is the name and inconsistency is the game. After being swamped with finals, nsliy, college, and my graduation I cannot guarantee consistent uploads before the program. However, I will be writing a weekly review while abroad as well as pieces on cultural immersion or other activities. I'm not one to vlog, but I'll take pictures where I can. Side note! I love reading, so any oddly placed pop culture references should be ignored. They are there purely for my amusement. Now...

THANKS FOR READING AND HAVE A GREAT DAY! MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR.