SEMI!

I'm a CBYX semifinalist! I'm going to receive an email soon with my interview date, time, and location. I got the email this morning, and I'm just so happy they haven't decided to cut me because of my young age (I'm 13 days from the cutoff to be too young for CBYX).

I feel like my age is a weapon that can be used against me at any point in the process: choosing semifinalists, choosing alternates, choosing finalists, ranking alternates. At any step of the way, someone could say, "Oh, this girl is so young," so it's a bit nerve-wracking, as while I have some level of control over my interview, I have no control over how people react to my age. I'm unsure as to whether or not I want to make some sort of statement about my age at my interview (I know some organizations don't like 15-year-old CBYXers because of the extra laws applying to them, such as no drinking, 10PM curfew, but to be honest, I would be annoyed if I were rejected for THAT reason). I've heard AFS isn't as discriminatory against younger exchangers as certain other programs...hoping that's true!

I'm also working on my Speedwell application, for which I am applying to Argentina/Portugal/Slovakia. I've decided that I'm not going to worry about percentages and acceptance rates, just work on rocking my applications and interviews. I'm done worrying about paying for ASSE Portugal as my backup for now - I don't want to revisit that option unless I'm rejected from Speedwell (which I'll find out in late March). I'm just done, because it's SO frustrating attempting to have that conversation with my parents about paying for exchange. I've got a plan, so I'm just trying to put it out of my mind for now.

Anyways, now I'm starting to practice questions to prepare for my CBYX interview. I hope I'll receive my date, time, and location soon!