Hey there. My name is Caleb Ostgaard. I just graduated high school from El Toro, in Orange County, California. My high school experience was beyond great, and I'm very thankful for all the opportunities and relationships I was presented with.
But I'm ready to change it up a bit. I've wanted to be an exchange student since my freshman year. When my family looked into and saw how expensive it was, there wasn't really any question that my family couldn't afford it. So, we looked to hosting exchange students instead, and woah, what a blessing it was in my life. We hosted a French student named Sacha my sophomore year, and a German exchange student named Yannik my junior year. I can't tell you how much these experiences changed my life and made me the person I am today. Both Sacha and Yannik became like brothers to me, and it was so hard to have them leave, not knowing when I would see them again.
Then I found out about CBYX and other organization that would completely pay for your year abroad. WOAH. WAIT. What was that? I can go to a different country, live there for a year, go to a foreign high school, and not have to pay for anything. I'm in.
After hours of filling out applications for these scholarships along with my college applications, I was exhausted. It was my senior year, I thought I was be going to be smooth sailing. I didn't expect to not have any free time anymore.
But it was all worth it. Between February and March, I got an email. This email would be the email that would change my future:
"On February 15th, you were one of 134 CBYX students who applied to FLAG for a 2013-14 CBYX academic-year scholarship. Five CBYX Application Review Teams thoughtfully reviewed and ranked student applications over the past week. A final meeting of team leaders was held last night to identify the 64 Finalists in this competition. It is my honor to inform you that you are a Finalist and one step closer to your dream of serving as an ambassador in Germany during the next academic year. Congratulations, you are a Finalist!"Holy crap. I had a chance of going to Germany. All I had to do was interview. I knew I had it in the bag; I'd wanted this for years and I finally had a chance to show my passion.
So, it all happened. I interviewed, waited a month, and got my notification. I was going to Germany. I never thought this would happen.
I'd like to leave who ever follows me with a quote from Jon Krakauer's novel, Into the Wild, one of my personal favorites. A lot of people want change in their life, but are too afraid to initiate it. If you want something, go for it. Who cares what others will think. In the end, people will admire you for passion. Do what you want. You have one life, live it well.
"Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty."
- Jon Krakauer
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