You never believed that you had possibilities of becoming Someone. You tried to do your best in high school, but you knew you had no chances for a good career. You finished school as the best student of the class of 96 at the Fourth High School in Bialystok, Poland.

But no one cared…

You were only a person with the best grades possible.

You could go to some college. You could finish it. But you couldn't do anything else.

In a country where the unemployment rate crossed 18%, there were not many possibilities.

No work. That's what thousands of young people face when they leave the doors of their high schools behind them.

And you were one of them.

You never imagined that in the future you would live abroad. But when opportunity of going to the United States as au pair was laid before you, you grabbed it with both your hands, and didn't let go.

Coming to the United States turned your life around.

You knew you wanted to go to school. But you also knew that you had to learn English first.

Difficult thing to do, it seemed at first. You were 19 years old, so you couldn't go to high school. You were too old.

But, you were not eligible to go to college either.

Eagerness of getting an education, however, was strong enough; you enrolled in an English as a Second Language course.

You will never forget the first day you went to American school. It was nothing like in Poland. Classrooms filled with computers. Huge labs. Clean halls. The largest library you had ever seen. Nice, clean and beautiful bathrooms that made a bigger impression than the biggest bathroom in your wealthiest friend's house.

And this was only school.

You were even more surprised, when the teacher asked to be called by his first name. You were trying to remember your teachers in high school. And you didn't even know their first names.

And the next shock came when a guy sitting next to you tried to argue with the professor about a poem that you read in class. You tried to remember your professors in high school again. And you couldn't even imagine disagreeing with them.

This school was different.

And you loved the difference.

And you could finally imagine yourself becoming Someone.

Years passed. You graduated from a two-year college, and you transferred to a four-year institution. Finally, you are where you could not imagine yourself being just couple of years before. You are where you did not allow yourself to dream about being. You are where a majority of young people all over the world want to be.

You feel chosen.

You are chosen.

Every day you ask yourself, "How did I get here?" You wake up in the morning and you still cannot believe where you are, and what you have before you.

Last year most of your friends from high school finished their postsecondary education. You were supposed to be among them. You were supposed to have a diploma in your hands right now. You were supposed to have a master's degree.

But you are still in college. You had to take the longer path. You had to be patient. You had to be strong. You had to become acquainted with the language of the country that became your home.

Most of your friends don't have jobs. Their diplomas are put away, and they sit helplessly at home with no perspectives on any changes in the near future.

You have a job. You go to school. You have a future.

You are thankful for the opportunities that are laid before you. You are thankful for the life you have. You are thankful for everything.

You only wish that your own country was able to offer this beautiful life. You only wish that you were able to become Someone in your own country. You only wish that you didn't have to leave your family and friends behind. You only wish that you didn't have to sacrifice so much.

You are thankful for the change that happened in your life, but you wish it didn't have to happen.

But you wanted to be Someone…

Discuss this Story in our Forum!