Possibilities

I’ve recently started a book called, “Komm, ich erzähl dir eine Geschichte“(Come, let me tell you a story) by Jorge Bucay (I technically got it a little while back, but my German was still too bad to really understand it, but now I can read it with a little bit of help from my dictionary) and it really got me thinking about the things that I limited myself to.

The book contains a series of short stories, and the first story, titled “Der Angekettete Elefant” (The Elephant in Chains) is about a psychiatrist telling his patient a story of when he was a little boy and loved the circus, especially the elephant. And in the story, the little boy wondered why the elephant doesn’t escape, because to the little boy, it is clear that the elephant is stronger than the stake that is holding it in place. Adults tell him it’s because the elephant is trained, but cannot answer his next question “if the elephant is trained, why chain him to a stake at all?” He found the answer to the question years later, and the answer is that the elephant had been chained to that stake since it was very little, and when it was little, it wasn’t strong enough to break free, and it tried and tried until it finally gave up. But when it grew up, it never went back to test its strength again.

The psychiatrist then related this story back to his patient, and told him that all of us are just like the elephant; we chain ourselves to countless stakes, “we live thinking "we can't", making mountains of things simply because once, a long time ago, when we were small, we tried to do something and couldn't. We do the same thing to ourselves that the elephant did, we etch into our minds this message: "I can't - I can't and I never will"”

“I can’t and I never will”

I’ve never really thought of myself as someone who has this message etched into my mind and I’ve never realist how subtle this message really is until I read this story and have been an exchange student for 4 months. As an exchange student, I have many opportunities to try things, old and new, simply because I’m in a different country and even the things I might have done before seem new because I’m experiencing them differently. And it really isn’t until I’ve branched out a little that I realized how much I limited myself to in the U.S., how many things I’ve told myself that I’m not going to try again because I didn’t like it or because I failed when I did it before, or because I simply thought it was impossible for me to enjoy it or succeed. I, like the elephant, have the thought “I can’t and I never will,” but unlike the elephant, I have the ability to change that thought into “I couldn’t, but I might.”

And I think everyone has this ability, so if you think that you will never be able to study abroad (or any other thing, but right here I'm trying to convince you to apply to the program if you want to, but simply think that you aren't able to) because your parents wouldn’t ever let you, or because of the cost of studying abroad or some other reasons. Think again. Or at the least, try, and if you’ve tried before, try again.  Applying to the CBYX program is a great way to leave the “I can’t and I never will” mindset into “I couldn’t (or haven’t), but I might.” It’s never too late to try (well, before the deadline anyways)  

For those that have already started their applications or submitted their applications, I wish you guys the best luck in getting them done and making finalist! Just keep in mind that if you do make finalist and come to Germany, you will having some of the best times of your life!

And for my other readers, I wish you guys the best luck in freeing yourselves from various other stakes that might be holding you guys back :)