I wanted to mix business (by trying to get admitted to a top-tier university) and pleasure (by choosing a country with a culture that I felt could help me grow gracefully) and this is how I came to the conclusion that the Netherlands will be the most suitable place for me. Upgrade Education provided me with most of the pieces of information I needed, while the meetings, discussion, and homework they had been assigning me worked really well with my style and schedule. Upgrade Education played an important role in my evolution throughout the admission process because it made me discover weaknesses I had encountered before but treated superficially. Through open discussions with the mentors, I began to look at the work I was doing not as a burden that I would eventually get rid of, but as a continuous process I had to enjoy along the way. After almost an entire year spent preparing with the Upgrade Education mentors, what I truly achieved was neither the fact that I managed to be admitted to all the universities I had applied to, nor the books and articles I had read, or the essays I had written, but a better version of myself. What I truly achieved were the transformation I went through and the new approach I gained towards the problems I face. I discovered my true, authentic self and have been sticking to that ever since.